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| The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream | 
 enlarge | Author: Barack Obama
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (545 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1209
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0307237702
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.04960730092
EAN: 9780307237705
ASIN: 0307237702
Publication Date: November 6, 2007
Release Date: November 6, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
?A government that truly represents these Americans?that truly serves these Americans?will require a different kind of politics. That politics will need to reflect our lives as they are actually lived. It won?t be pre-packaged, ready to pull off the shelf. It will have to be constructed from the best of our traditions and will have to account for the darker aspects of our past. We will need to understand just how we got to this place, this land of warring factions and tribal hatreds. And we?ll need to remind ourselves, despite all our differences, just how much we share: common hopes, common dreams, a bond that will not break.?
?from The Audacity of Hope
In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners? minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Senator Obama called ?the audacity of hope.?
Now, in The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics?a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the ?endless clash of armies? we see in congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of ?our improbable experiment in democracy.? He explores those forces?from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media?that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He also writes, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating humor, about settling in as a senator, seeking to balance the demands of public service and family life, and his own deepening religious commitment.
At the heart of this book is Senator Obama?s vision of how we can move beyond our divisions to tackle concrete problems. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and the transnational threats?from terrorism to pandemic?that gather beyond our shores. And he grapples with the role that faith plays in a democracy?where it is vital and where it must never intrude. Underlying his stories about family, friends, members of the Senate, even the president, is a vigorous search for connection: the foundation for a radically hopeful political consensus.
A senator and a lawyer, a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic, and above all a student of history and human nature, Senator Obama has written a book of transforming power. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. Those Americans are out there, he writes??waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them.?
From the Hardcover edition.
Amazon.com
Barack Obama's first book, Dreams from My Father, was a compelling and moving memoir focusing on personal issues of race, identity, and community. With his second book The Audacity of Hope, Obama engages themes raised in his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, shares personal views on faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves repairing a "political process that is broken" and restoring a government that has fallen out of touch with the people. We had the opportunity to ask Senator Obama a few questions about writing, reading, and politics--see his responses below. --Daphne Durham
20 Second Interview: A Few Words with Barack Obama
 Q: How did writing a book that you knew would be read so closely by so many compare to writing your first book, when few people knew who you were?
A: In many ways, Dreams from My Father was harder to write. At that point, I wasn't even sure that I could write a book. And writing the first book really was a process of self-discovery, since it touched on my family and my childhood in a much more intimate way. On the other hand, writing The Audacity of Hope paralleled the work that I do every day--trying to give shape to all the issues that we face as a country, and providing my own personal stamp on them.
Q: What is your writing process like? You have such a busy schedule, how did you find time to write?
A: I'm a night owl, so I usually wrote at night after my Senate day was over, and after my family was asleep--from 9:30 p.m. or so until 1 a.m. I would work off an outline--certain themes or stories that I wanted to tell--and get them down in longhand on a yellow pad. Then I'd edit while typing in what I'd written.
Q: If readers are to come away from The Audacity of Hope with one action item (a New Year's Resolution for 2007, perhaps?), what should it be?
A: Get involved in an issue that you're passionate about. It almost doesn?t matter what it is--improving the school system, developing strategies to wean ourselves off foreign oil, expanding health care for kids. We give too much of our power away, to the professional politicians, to the lobbyists, to cynicism. And our democracy suffers as a result.
Q: You're known for being able to work with people across ideological lines. Is that possible in today's polarized Washington?
A: It is possible. There are a lot of well-meaning people in both political parties. Unfortunately, the political culture tends to emphasize conflict, the media emphasizes conflict, and the structure of our campaigns rewards the negative. I write about these obstacles in chapter 4 of my book, "Politics." When you focus on solving problems instead of scoring political points, and emphasize common sense over ideology, you'd be surprised what can be accomplished. It also helps if you're willing to give other people credit--something politicians have a hard time doing sometimes.
Q: How do you make people passionate about moderate and complex ideas?
A: I think the country recognizes that the challenges we face aren't amenable to sound-bite solutions. People are looking for serious solutions to complex problems. I don't think we need more moderation per se--I think we should be bolder in promoting universal health care, or dealing with global warming. We just need to understand that actually solving these problems won't be easy, and that whatever solutions we come up with will require consensus among groups with divergent interests. That means everybody has to listen, and everybody has to give a little. That's not easy to do.
Q: What has surprised you most about the way Washington works?
A: How little serious debate and deliberation takes place on the floor of the House or the Senate.
Q: You talk about how we have a personal responsibility to educate our children. What small thing can the average parent (or person) do to help improve the educational system in America? What small thing can make a big impact?
A: Nothing has a bigger impact than reading to children early in life. Obviously we all have a personal obligation to turn off the TV and read to our own children; but beyond that, participating in a literacy program, working with parents who themselves may have difficulty reading, helping their children with their literacy skills, can make a huge difference in a child's life.
Q: Do you ever find time to read? What kinds of books do you try to make time for? What is on your nightstand now?
A: Unfortunately, I had very little time to read while I was writing. I'm trying to make up for lost time now. My tastes are pretty eclectic. I just finished Marilynne Robinson?s Gilead, a wonderful book. The language just shimmers. I've started Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which is a great study of Lincoln as a political strategist. I read just about anything by Toni Morrison, E.L. Doctorow, or Philip Roth. And I've got a soft spot for John le Carre.
Q: What inspires you? How do you stay motivated?
A: I'm inspired by the people I meet in my travels--hearing their stories, seeing the hardships they overcome, their fundamental optimism and decency. I'm inspired by the love people have for their children. And I'm inspired by my own children, how full they make my heart. They make me want to work to make the world a little bit better. And they make me want to be a better man.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 540 more reviews...
 Obama is a mental lightweight August 19, 2008
I browsed this book of lies and half-truths from the man with the messiah complex. Barry O. has no clue as to what makes America great. His election would destroy our economy. With higher taxes and more government regulation on the horizon, what business would want to invest in the future (except maybe trial lawyers). Barry O. would hurt our education system with more political correctness and less true learning.
Barry O. would weaken our military and support every anti-American thug and communist around the world. Our country would be left wide open to unrestricted illegal immigration. This guy is a true empty suit who would be the most liberal President ever. If you have any intelligence at all, you will never follow B. Hussein Obama. Obama is a disaster waiting to happen.
 I dare anyone who doubts this man to read this book - fantastic August 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Wow. This is one smart and insightful guy. I understand that he does his own writing (which is unusual for anyone in Washington). He really has a beautiful vision of America. One where we welcome diversity of opinion an are no longer polarized. I can't imagine anyone not voting for him after reading this one book.
EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT BARACK OBAMA'S VIEWS ON HISTORY AND POLITICS August 12, 2008
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
The book immediately held me with a beautiful description of the Senate chamber, followed by an analysis of how it operates. Mr. Obama writes in a warm, distinctive tone that instantly takes you into its confidence. In contrast to political books that sound like they were written by a campaign strategist, there is an authentic voice here. (Note to politicians: it helps if you actually write your own books!)
In Audacity of Hope, Barack Obama tells us what he thinks about the two party system, the economy, the military, the constitution, the American family, diplomacy/foreign policy, race relations, and faith. Each chapter begins with a revealing personal account, then ties his life to the greater American experience, and finally gives specific policy solutions.
"Opportunity" is Obama's chapter on economic matters. It begins with a visit he paid to Google headquarters. Obama has a novelist's eye for detail, making me feel like I was there with him, although the policy discussions can at times get a little dry. He also describes a visit he paid to billionare Warren Buffet, who asks why "Washington continued to cut taxes for people in his income bracket when the country was broke." Buffet tells him, "I did a calculation the other day. I've never used tax shelters [yet] I'll pay a lower effective tax rate this year than my recpetionist. I pay a lower rate than the average American." Moreover, "Between 1971 and 2001, while the median wage and salary income of the average worker showed no gain, the income of the top hundredth of a percent went up almost 500 percent." Obama vows to change this. He begins his policy discussion by posing a crucial question: What is the role of government in a free market? He answers this by looking back at American history and noting a) how has government traditionally dealt with the economy and b) which of these policies have worked, and which haven't? He agrees with "Hamilton's and Lincoln's basic insight that the resources and power of the national government can fascilitate, rather than supplant, a vibrant free market." He criticizes the economic policies of the last few years (Reaganomics). The Bush Administration and Republican-controlled Congress "have pushed successive rounds of tax cuts, but have refused to make tough choices to control spending." The result is a govrnment severely in the red. Obama promotes pay-as-you-go policies. (The need for this becomes obvious when we consider that the Republicans didn't pay for a single cent of the Iraq War, but charged it to the national credit card. Who is going to pay for the war?) Here's a sampling of some of Mr. Obama's policy views: "America can't compete simply by erecting trade barriers and raising the minimum wage." (However, he also says that wages need to keep pace with inflation.) "An experienced, highly qualified, effective teacher should earn $100,000 at the peak of his or her career...those willing to teach in the toughest urban schools should be paid even more. [But] teachers need to become more accountable for their performance--and school districts need to have greater ability to get rid of ineffective teachers." He justifies this pay raise for teachers by noting that the best thing we can do for students is have the best minds teaching them. "Bankruptcy laws should be amended to move pension beneficiaries to the front of the creditor line so that companies can't just file for Chapter 11 to stiff workers." "Health insurance can't just run through employers anymore. It needs to be portable." "We can only compete if our government [invests in the American people]." "Once your drapes cost more than the average American's yearly salary, then you can afford to pay a bit more in taxes." We must stop running "up the national credit card" for the benefit of multinational corporations, especially when it's the average American who gets stuck with the bill. We must "close loopholes that let corporations get away without paying taxes."
His chapter on foreign policy begins with a vivid account of the years he spent in Indonesia, where his mom taught English at the U.S. embassy. He recounts how insurgencies that were funded and supported by the U.S. led to a military dictatorship that slaughtered "between 500,000 and one million people, with 750,000 others imprisoned or forced into exile." He recounts how the new U.S.-backed government led to prosperity, but also to a host of other problems, eventual instability, and the rise of radical Islam in Indonesia. He relates this to our foreign policy in the Middle East. Mr. Obama writes, "Osama bin Laden understands that he cannot incapacitate the U.S. in a conventional war. What he and his allies can do is inflict enough pain to provoke a reaction of the sort we've seen in Iraq--a botched, ill-advised U.S. military incursion into a Muslim country." This chapter helped me understand why Barack rufuses to praise the surge. He knows that many of the ill effects fester out of sight and effect consequences years later, despite what may look good in the short-term. Barack's foreign policy mission is to "incapacitate terrorist networks AND win the global battle of ideas" among our allies. He argues that the U.S. has the "unilateral right to defend itself against attack." He even argues that "we have the right to take unilateral military action to eliminate an IMMINENT threat." But he argues that Saddam was not an imminent threat to the U.S. or its allies; therefore, a unilateral preemptive war was not justified.
I wish I had room to go into more detail. Mr. Obama gets very specific about policy. He also gets personal. Of course, people have the right to disagree with Mr. Obama's positions, but to claim that he takes no positions is nothing but politically motivated nonsense. I read George W. Bush's book (which actually was ghost written by Karen Hughes), and Obama's is many times more personal and specific.
 What is the message?? August 11, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
I listened twice and I am still not certain about the real message.
Good style but mostly false August 11, 2008
6 out of 11 found this review helpful
Had I read this knowing nothing about Obama I would probably give it a higher rating because he can indeed write. But knowing it is supposed to be nonfiction and that he blatantly lies about his past and omits much of the thuth...that he is no reformer but the dirtiest of Chicago politicians...I must give him a failing grade. Should he take up fiction...which is actually what he is trying to sell...he will do quite well. As I said he is a smooth writer and you will doubtless enjoy the narrative. Just do not believe it. Glad I borrowed my copy.
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