Barack Obama is widely considered to be the best American president in recent decades, becoming the first African American to hold the post. His premiership was filled with big changes and crises, both in his country and around the world, and the first volume of his presidential memoirs, A Promised Land, vowed to take us on a tour of the decision-making behind his first term in office.
A Promised Land tells the story of President Obama’s early life, rise to politics and first term as President of the United States, as well as the campaign it took to get him there. It covers many of the major policies and crises he had to deal with in this first term, from the financial crisis to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. It also gives an insight into the reasons behind the decision-making and the trials that came from leading one of the most powerful nations on Earth.
I really enjoyed this book. I found it incredibly interesting to track the intricacies of President Obama’s campaign and the policies he helped to enact in his first term, as well as the roadblocks he faced in getting his policies through Congress. It also gave great humanity to the team around him, helping to paint a picture of the advisers and secretaries in his administration, a part of American politics that is so often unheard about with emphasis placed on the president alone. The book was largely well measured and considered, but I did feel that some parts left out a little bit of consideration for the negative elements of legislation. No enactment is perfect, and I would have liked to read a little more about what he thought some negative repercussions of his legislation may have been.
Nevertheless, this book was a brilliant gaze into the business of President Obama’s first term, and I found myself unable to put it down. I enjoyed the insight it gave me into the first U.S. president I remember, and I cannot wait to read about his second term!
Rating: ★★★★☆
A Promised Land (ISBN: 978-0-241-491515) was published in 2020
