Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance(Canons)

An international bestseller which has sold over a million copies in the UK, Dreams From My Father is a refreshing, revealing portrait of a young man asking big questions about identity and belonging. The son of a Black African father and a white American mother, Barack Obama recounts an emotional odyssey, retracing the migration of his mother's family from Kansas to Hawai'i, then to his childhood home in Indonesia. Finally he travels to Kenya, where he confronts the bitter truth of his father's life and at last reconciles his divided inheritance. Written nearly fifteen years before becoming president, Dreams from My Father is an unforgettable read. It illuminates not only Obama's journey, but also our universal desire to understand our history and what makes us who we are.

About the Author :
Barack Obama was born in Honolulu in 1961. In his early twenties he found his vocation working among poor communities on the south side of Chicago. Later he went to law school at Harvard University, where he became the first Black president of the Harvard Law Review. In 1995 he published his memoir Dreams From My Father, which became a bestseller soon after it was reissued in 2004. After returning to Chicago, he was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996. Barack Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and later that year he was elected to the US Senate. His second book, The Audacity of Hope, was published in 2006 and became an immediate bestseller. In November 2008 Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States of America, following which he published the bestselling Change We Can Believe In. He was re-elected in 2012 and served a second term which concluded in 2016. His next book, A Promised Land, is released in November 2020. He is married to Michelle, with whom he has two daughters, Sasha and Malia.

Review :
* This may be the best-written memoir ever produced by an American politician. -- Joe Klein Time * A remarkable story, beautifully told. -- Robert McCrum Observer * Whatever else people expect from a politician, it's not usually a beautifully written personal memoir steeped in honesty. Barack Obama has produced one. -- Oona King The Times * Obama's writing is characterised throughout by a graceful eloquence, a generosity of perception and spirit rare in young men of many gifts and charisma...here is a testimony for the ages. -- Candace Allen Independent * It is an almost illicit pleasure to be reading the unspun memories of a man who may yet become president of the US. Guardian * This book is simply justified, whatever its long-term political significance may or may not be, as a rich and rewarding read Herald * ...it is a well-written account of Obama's struggle to establish his own views on identity and race, and all the more entertaining for its honesty. -- Elaine Moore Financial Times * [Obama] writes with candour about racism, bigotry and hardship, but always there is a sense of wisdom - you feel you are in the presence of a very mature man ... You will not fail to be moved by Obama's warmth and humility. Good Book Guide * With its honesty and cool language, and by virtue of having a story worth telling, the book impresses far more than the typical political memoir. -- Colin Waters Sunday Herald * Obama has written a memoir ... that evokes the anguish of miscegenation yet culminates in a cry of faith in human community ... Obama is a born narrator, with a mastery of colour, scene and personality, deftly stirring them into the melting pot of a shared American identity. Rarely has that identity found so vivid a portraitist. -- Simon Jenkins Sunday Times * Because he held to the good and transcended the bad, in Obama's genesis millions of us will find hope ... his search to know and forgive his absent Kenyan father holds lessons for us all. Especially in relative terms, his clear prose is refreshing. -- Ross Leckie The Times * Worthy of attention in its own right ... his prose is both vivid and engrossing. New Nation * The only politician's life I have read that made me cry ... elegant and surprising prose as well as a solid personal statement. -- Ian Kelly The Times * It's touching, revealing, brave and generous ... unprecedentedly well written for any politician. Evening Standard * Obama is a subtle writer, with an extraordinary breadth of vision. -- Margaret Elphinstone Sunday Herald * This memoir displays great intelligence and humility ... and proves a rewarding read. Beyond * The book that revealed Barack Obama as not just an ambitious politician but also as an eloquent writer and deep thinker. -- Erica Wagner The Times * A touchstone for future politicians. -- Philip Womack Daily Telegraph * A memoir recounting Barack Obama's humble political beginnings and search for racial identity that relies on eloquence, rhapsodic prose and powerful, soul-stirring emotion as a crutch. Easily one of the top three Barack Obama memoirs of all time! The Onion