The Audacity of Hope

For the speech made by Barack Obama using this phrase, see 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address.

The Audacity of Hope

Author	Barack Obama
Language	English
Subject	Political convictions
Publisher	Crown/Three Rivers Press
Publication date	October 17, 2006
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	362
ISBN	0-307-23769-9
OCLC	71312726
Dewey Decimal	973/.04960730092 B 22
LC Class	E901.1.O23 A3 2006
Preceded by	Dreams from My Father
Followed by	Of Thee I Sing

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream is the second book written by then-Senator Barack Obama. In the fall of 2006 it became number one on both the New York Times and Amazon.com bestsellers lists after Obama was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey. In the book, Obama expounds on many of the subjects that became part of his 2008 campaign for the presidency. The book advance from the publisher totalled $1.9 million contracted for three books. Obama announced his ultimately successful presidential campaign on February 10, 2007, a little less than three months after the book's release.

Origin

Further information: 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address

The title of The Audacity of Hope was derived from a sermon delivered by Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Wright had attended a lecture by Dr. Frederick G. Sampson in Richmond, Virginia, in the late 1980s, on the GF Watts painting Hope, which inspired him to give a sermon in 1990 based on the subject of the painting - "with her clothes in rags, her body scarred and bruised and bleeding, her harp all but destroyed and with only one string left, she had the audacity to make music and praise God ... To take the one string you have left and to have the audacity to hope... that's the real word God will have us hear from this passage and from Watt's painting." Having attended Wright's sermon, Barack Obama later adapted Wright's phrase "audacity to hope" to "audacity of hope" which became the title for his 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, and the title of his second book.

While a Senate candidate, Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention, entitled The Audacity of Hope that propelled him to national prominence. In the less than twenty minutes it took to deliver the speech, Obama was catapulted to sudden fame, with many analysts predicting that he might be well positioned to enter a future presidential race. In 2006, Obama released The Audacity of Hope, a book-length account that expanded upon many of the same themes he originally addressed in the convention speech.

In his speech addressing the Democratic National Convention in 2004, Obama said:

In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? John Kerry calls on us to hope. John Edwards calls on us to hope. I'm not talking about blind optimism here — the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don't talk about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. No, I'm talking about something more substantial. It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!

Contents

The book outlines Obama's political and spiritual beliefs, as well as his opinions on different aspects of American culture. The book is divided into nine chapters.

Eating dog meat

A section of the book reads: "With Lolo, I learned how to eat small green chill peppers raw with dinner (plenty of rice), and, away from the dinner table, I was introduced to dog meat (tough), snake meat (tougher), and roasted grasshopper (crunchy)." During the 2012 election year, this quote received significant publicity after Obama's campaign manager chastised Mitt Romney for transporting his dog Seamus in a portable kennel on the roof of the family car.

Reception

A "political biography that concentrates on the senator's core values," according to the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times noted that "Mr. Obama’s new book, ‘The Audacity of Hope’ ... is much more of a political document. Portions of the volume read like outtakes from a stump speech, and the bulk of it is devoted to laying out Mr. Obama’s policy positions on a host of issues, from education to health care to the war in Iraq".

The Chicago Tribune credits the large crowds that gathered at book signings with influencing Obama's decision to run for president. Former presidential candidate Gary Hart describes the book as Obama's "thesis submission" for the U.S. presidency: "It presents a man of relative youth yet maturity, a wise observer of the human condition, a figure who possesses perseverance and writing skills that have flashes of grandeur." Reviewer Michael Tomasky writes that it does not contain "boldly innovative policy prescriptions that will lead the Democrats out of their wilderness," but does show Obama's potential to "construct a new politics that is progressive but grounded in civic traditions that speak to a wider range of Americans."

An Italian edition was published in April 2007 with a preface by Walter Veltroni, former Mayor of Rome, currently leader of Italy's Democratic Party and one of Obama's earliest supporters overseas, who met with Obama in Washington in 2005 and has been referred to as "Obama's European counterpart."

Spanish and German translations were published in June 2007; the French edition, subtitled une nouvelle conception de la politique américaine, was published in October 2007. The Croatian edition was published in October 2008.

The book remained on the New York Times Best Seller list for the 30 weeks since publication. The audiobook version won the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.

A number of blogs and newspapers repeated inaccurate rumors that the book contains the passage, "I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." The actual quote does not mention Muslims at all, referring instead to Arab and Pakistani-Americans in the context of immigrant communities generally.

Versions and translations

Obama signs copies of The Audacity of Hope at a town hall meeting in Elkhart, Indiana on economic recovery in February 2009.

• English: The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream,
  • hardcover Crown (October 17, 2006), ISBN 978-030-723-769-9
  • paperback Edinburgh : Canongate (2008), ISBN 978-184-767-083-0
  • audio CD: RH Audio; Abridged edition (October 17, 2006), ISBN 978-073-933-408-9
  • large print Random House Large Print (November 7, 2006), ISBN 978-073-932-665-7
  • large print Paragon (2009), ISBN 978-140-841-424-8
  • Braille Crown (2006), OCLC 263091599
• Albanian: Guximi për të shpresuar : refleksione për rikthimin e ëndrrës amerikane, translated by Diana Ndroqi, Marin Barleti University Press, (November 17, 2008), ISBN 978-999-430-080-8 [1]
• Arabic: Barāk Ubāmā : jurʼat al-amal, translation, Madbūlī al-Saghīr (al-Jīzah), (2009), ISBN 9789772862740, OCLC 630811628
• Bengali: Daya ayaḍāsiṭi aba hopa : āmerikāra cirāẏta svapnera punrujjibana bhāvanā, translated by Māsumura Rahamāna Khalilī and Māsuma Billāha, Aṅkura Prakāśanī, ISBN 978-984-464-223-2
• Bulgarian: Дързостта на надеждата / Dŭrzostta na nadezhdata Сиела, Sofii︠a︡ : Siela, (2008), ISBN 978-954-280-354-6
• Chinese: translated by Luo Xuanmin, Jing Wang and Yin Yin Law Press at Beijing, (August 25, 2008), ISBN 978-750-368-690-0 [2]
• Catalan: L'audàcia de l'esperança. Ed Mina (Barcelona, 2008) ISBN 978-84-96499-99-7
• Croatian: Odvažnost nade : razmišljanja o obnavljanju američkog sna, translation, Profil (Zagreb), (2008), ISBN 9789531209373, OCLC 496864339
• Czech: Odvaha doufat : úvahy o vzkříšení amerického snu, translated by Lucie Matějková, Voznice : Leda; Praha : Rozmluvy, 2010, 342 p., ISBN 978-80-7335-251-6 (LEDA), ISBN 978-80-87440-07-0 (Rozmluvy)
• Danish: Mod til at håbe. Tanker om generobringen af den amerikanske drøm, translated by Niels Ivar Larsen, Information 2008, ISBN 978-877-514-195-1
• Dutch: De herovering van de Amerikaanse droom, Atlas (Amsterdam), (2007), ISBN 978-904-501-380-0
• French: L'audace d'espérer: une nouvelle conception de la politique américaine, Presses de la Cité, (April 5, 2007) 368 p., ISBN 978-225-807-451-4
• German: Hoffnung wagen. Gedanken zur Rückbesinnung auf den American Dream, Riemann Verlag, (April 5, 2007), 466 p., ISBN 978-357-050-081-1 [3]
• Greek: Τολμώ να ελπίζω : σκέψεις για την ανάκτηση του Αμερικανικού ονείρου, translated by Royla Kokolioy, Polis (Athēna), (2008) 467 p., ISBN 978-960-435-168-8
• Hindi: Āśā kā saverā, translated by Aruṇa Ānanda, Prabhāta Prakāśana (Dillī), (2009), ISBN 9788173157288, OCLC 456521743
• Hungarian: Vakmerő remények : gondolatok az amerikai álom újraélesztéséről, translated by István Lantos, Budapest : Cor Leonis, (2008), ISBN 9789630652186
• Indonesian Menerjang harapan : dari Jakarta menuju Gedung Putih, Ufuk Press, Jakarta, Indonesia, (2007), ISBN
• Italian: l'Audacia della speranza, traduttore: Laura Cecilia Dapelli, Lorenza Lanza, Patrizia Vicentini, Introduttore: Walter Veltroni, ISBN 978-881-701-658-2
• Japanese: Gasshūkoku saisei : ōinaru kibō o idaite(合衆国再生 : 大いなる希望を抱いて), translated by Shikō Tanahashi, Kaedeshoten : Daiyamondosha, (Tokyo, Japan), (2007), ISBN 9784478003534 447800353X
• Korean: Barack Obama, Damdaehan huimang(버락 오바마, 담대한 희망), translated by 홍수원, Random House Korea, (2007), ISBN 978-89-255-1105-4
• Malay: Keberanian menggapai harapan : gagasan meraih kembali impian Amerika, Institut Terjemahan Negara Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, (2009), ISBN 978-98-306-8349-2
• Marathi: Audācītī apha hōp : dharībhiya-- aśāvādācaṅ!, translated by Prakāśā Bhāve, Ameya Prakāśana (Pune), (2009) ISBN 9788190729437, OCLC 560466082
• Persian: جسارت امىد / Jisārat umīd, translated by Abūā lḥasan Tahāmī, Intishārāt nigā (Tihrān), (2009), ISBN 9789643515355, OCLC 489354708
• Polish: Odwaga nadziei : [moja droga życiowa, wartości i ideały polityczne], translated by Grzegorz Kołodziejczyk, Wydawn Albatros A. Kuryłowicz (Warszawa), (2008), ISBN 978-837-359-801-0
• Portuguese: A Audácia da Esperança: Reflexões sobre a Reconquista do Sonho Americano (2007), Editora Larousse do Brasil, ISBN 8576352192.
• Russian: Derzost' Nadezhdy (October 2008) ISBN 978-5-395-00209-9 [4] [5]
• Serbian: Smelost nade : o američkom snu i kako ga ponovo ostvariti, Beograd : Interkomerc, a.d., 2008, ISBN 978-869-056-592-4
• Slovenian: Pogum za upanje : misli o obnovi ameriškega sna, translated by Igor Antič and Milan Kučan, Sanje, (2008), ISBN 978-961-665-395-4
• Spanish: La audacia de la esperanza: Reflexiones sobre cómo restaurar el sueño americano, translated by Claudia Casanova and Juan Elroy Roca, Knopf Publishing Group (June 19, 2007), ISBN 978-030-738-711-0
  • audio CD: Findaway World, LLC (2009), ISBN 978-160-847-562-9
• Swedish: Att våga hoppas : tankar om den amerikanska drömmen, translated by Thomas Engström, Bonnier (Stockholm), (2008), ISBN 978-910-011-807-5
• Tamil: நம்மால் முடியும் / Nammal mutiyum, translated by Nākūr Rūmi, Kizhakku Pathippagam (Chennai), (2009), ISBN 9788184934663, OCLC 690516102
• Thai: Klā wang klā plīan, translated by Sunisā Kānčhanakun and Krung Thēp, Samnakphim Matichon, (2009), ISBN 978-974-020-285-1
• Vietnamese: Hy vọng táo bạo : suy nghĩ vè̂ việc tìm lại giá̂c mơ Mỹ, translated by Hà̆ng Nguyẽ̂n, Nhà xuá̂t bản Trẻ (Thành phó̂ Hò̂ Chí Minh), (2008), OCLC 298347843

External links

• Gary Hart, "American Idol", New York Times, December 24, 2006. Retrieved on January 16, 2007
• Tomasky, Michael (November 30, 2006). "The Phenomenon". New York Review of Books. Retrieved 2009-12-07. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Senator Barack Obama talks at length about "The Audacity of Hope" with New York Times columnist Bob Herbert on fora.tv (video and real-time transcript, October 20, 2006)
• All editions at WorldCat

Book excerpts

• TIME magazine
• Chicago Sun-Times