A Promised Land – Barack Obama

Barack Obama is a natural storyteller, gifted writer and compelling orator, which helped make this beast of a memoir go down relatively easily. Ultimately, I found “A Promised Land” to be informative but not necessarily entertaining for the casual politico.

This obsessively detailed account of his political life primarily focuses on 2004 – 2011, and encompasses his time as a U.S. Senator, presidential candidate and key moments from his first term, concluding with Osama bin Laden’s death on May 2, 2011.

Yes, in 750-pages (30 hours), we don’t even make it all the way through his first term. While he acknowledges early — and often — that streamlining his thoughts has never been easy, all the digressions and detail at times detract from the broader story at play, which is how he navigated uncharted and rough seas while staying true to himself and his promises to others.

His historic presidency deserves to be captured and preserved for future generations, but I think most people — myself included — would prefer to experience that at his presidential library rather than in this dense tome.

All that to say, this isn’t a bad book, but it’s not necessarily the right book for me.

It certainly benefits from an audiobook format as Obama’s dynamic personality can still make me smile, and the compassion and respect that he has for the United States, its people and allies is refreshing to hear after four years of utter nonsense.   

However, political memoirs come with bias and this one is no different. He exhaustively recounts battles with Republicans, some Democrats and assorted world leaders on topics ranging from the 2008 financial crisis, Affordable Care Act, environmental protections and the Middle East.

He’s trying to right wrongs, address criticisms and show receipts, but he never comes across as petty or bitter — even though he has every right to be given the levels of obstruction and racism he dealt with.

There’s so much ground covered, but below a few things that stuck out:

The first 100-pages give a Cliff’s Notes version of his childhood, education, family, early career and courting of Michelle was a welcomed way to level-set the reader on what early influences informed his political ideologies, especially if you didn’t read his previous memoirs.

He doesn’t shy away from naming names and calling people out. Richard Lugar, Indiana’s Republican senator for 36 years before being unceremoniously primaried by a Tea Partier, was specifically recalled as a bipartisan bridge-builder and early champion of Obama.

Sarah Palin on the other hand, well, she gets what she deserves for ushering in Trump’s political era of fake news and alternative facts. And, John Edwards, one of his early Democratic primary candidates in 2008 was described as “akin to a manufactured boy band created to give people what they want.”

It was a reminder of how much history I’ve lived through. From 9/11, the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 financial crisis, bail outs and Arab Spring — not to mention Obama’s election — this has been a tumultuous century from the get-go, and that’s only up to 2011!

He’s still as charming as ever. There’s a reason Obama appealed to young voters. He broke the career politician mold — while still obviously being one — through his compassion and relatability. Whether he recounts canvassing neighborhoods in Iowa, shooting hoops with Secret Service agents or dropping f-bombs and throwing zingers at rivals, you can still hear the pride he took in every facet of his service to others.

But, these moments of humanity are largely overshadowed by policy. If you are a political junky that wants to understand the “why” behind decisions, you’d absolutely love to hear his replaying of major decisions that became hallmarks and detriments of his first term.

Most importantly, he acknowledges mistakes, which brought out a level of humility and humanity — something that’s been missing from US politics since he left office — proving he can still give me hope for those that wish to serve.

Rating (story): 3.5/5 stars

Rating (narration): 5/5

Formats: Audiobook (library loan)

Dates read: December 26 – January 5, 2021

Multi-tasking: Good to go, although you’ll miss some detail.