Dreams from My Father: Difference between revisions
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In discussing ''Dreams from My Father'', Nobel Laureate [[Toni Morrison]] has called Obama "a writer in my high esteem" and the book "quite extraordinary." She praised "his ability to reflect on this extraordinary mesh of experiences that he has had, some familiar and some not, and to really meditate on that the way he does, and to set up scenes in narrative structure, dialogue, conversation--all of these things that you don't often see, obviously, in the routine political memoir biography. [...] It's unique. It's his. There are no other ones like that."<ref>{{cite web|last=Ulaby |first=Neda |url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98072491 |title=Toni Morrison On Bondage And A Post-Racial Age |publisher=NPR |work=Tell Me More |date=December 10, 2008 |accessdate=2009-01-21}}</ref> |
In discussing ''Dreams from My Father'', Nobel Laureate [[Toni Morrison]] has called Obama "a writer in my high esteem" and the book "quite extraordinary." She praised "his ability to reflect on this extraordinary mesh of experiences that he has had, some familiar and some not, and to really meditate on that the way he does, and to set up scenes in narrative structure, dialogue, conversation--all of these things that you don't often see, obviously, in the routine political memoir biography. [...] It's unique. It's his. There are no other ones like that."<ref>{{cite web|last=Ulaby |first=Neda |url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98072491 |title=Toni Morrison On Bondage And A Post-Racial Age |publisher=NPR |work=Tell Me More |date=December 10, 2008 |accessdate=2009-01-21}}</ref> |
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The book "may be the best-written memoir ever produced by an American politician," wrote ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' columnist [[Joe Klein]].<ref>{{cite news | last = Klein | first = Joe | title = The Fresh Face | publisher = Time | date = [[2006-10-23]] | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546362-1,00.html | accessdate = 2006-10-19}}</ref> In 2008, ''[[The Guardian]]'''s [[Rob Woodard]] wrote that ''Dreams from My Father'' "is easily the most honest, daring, and ambitious volume put out by a major US politician in the last 50 years."<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2008/nov/05/obama-writer-dreams-from-my-father "Books Blog: Presidents who write well, lead well"], [[The Guardian]], 2008-11-05. Retrieved on 2008-11-08.</ref> [[Michiko Kakutani]], the [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning critic for ''[[The New York Times]]'', described it as "the most evocative, lyrical and candid autobiography written by a future president."<ref>{{cite news | last = Kakutani | first = Michiko| title = From Books, President-elect Barack Obama Found His Voice | publisher = The New York Times | date = [[2008-01-18]] | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/books/19read.html?_r=1&hp | accessdate = 2008-01-19}}</ref> |
Commentators have expressed amazement that a U.S. politician was able to write a book of literary merit without the help of a [[ghostwriter]]: "I’ve read Obama’s books, and they are first-rate. He is that ''rara avis'', the politician who writes his own books," wrote ''[[The Daily Beast]]'' columnist [[Christopher Buckley]].<ref>Buckley, Christopher, "[http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-10-10/the-conservative-case-for-obama/2/ Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting for Obama]", ''The Daily Beast''.</ref> The book "may be the best-written memoir ever produced by an American politician," wrote ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' columnist [[Joe Klein]].<ref>{{cite news | last = Klein | first = Joe | title = The Fresh Face | publisher = Time | date = [[2006-10-23]] | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546362-1,00.html | accessdate = 2006-10-19}}</ref> In 2008, ''[[The Guardian]]'''s [[Rob Woodard]] wrote that ''Dreams from My Father'' "is easily the most honest, daring, and ambitious volume put out by a major US politician in the last 50 years."<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2008/nov/05/obama-writer-dreams-from-my-father "Books Blog: Presidents who write well, lead well"], [[The Guardian]], 2008-11-05. Retrieved on 2008-11-08.</ref> [[Michiko Kakutani]], the [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning critic for ''[[The New York Times]]'', described it as "the most evocative, lyrical and candid autobiography written by a future president."<ref>{{cite news | last = Kakutani | first = Michiko| title = From Books, President-elect Barack Obama Found His Voice | publisher = The New York Times | date = [[2008-01-18]] | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/books/19read.html?_r=1&hp | accessdate = 2008-01-19}}</ref> |
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The [[audio book]] edition earned Obama the 2006 [[Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album]].<ref>Joan Lowy, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121200160_2.html Presidential Hopefuls Publishing Books (Page 2)], ''Washington Post'', December 12, 2006</ref> |
The [[audio book]] edition earned Obama the 2006 [[Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album]].<ref>Joan Lowy, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121200160_2.html Presidential Hopefuls Publishing Books (Page 2)], ''Washington Post'', December 12, 2006</ref> |
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Revision as of 04:33, 23 January 2009
| File:Dreams from my father.png | |
| Author | Barack Obama |
|---|---|
| Genre | Autobiography |
| Publisher | Three Rivers Press |
Publication date | 1995 |
| Publication place | United States |
| ISBN | [[Special:BookSources/ISBN+1-4000-8277-3+%28Paperback+reprint%29%3Cbr+%2F%3EISBN+1-56836-162-9+%28Paperback+1st+ed%29 |ISBN 1-4000-8277-3 (Paperback reprint) ISBN 1-56836-162-9 (Paperback 1st ed)]] Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| Followed by | The Audacity of Hope |
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|---|---|---|
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Personal
Illinois State Senator and U.S. Senator from Illinois 44th President of the United States Tenure
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Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance is a memoir by President of the United States Barack Obama. It was first published in 1995 after Obama was elected the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review, but before his political career began. The book was re-released in 2004 following Senator Obama's keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC); the 2004 edition includes a new introduction by Senator Obama as well as his DNC keynote address.
Narrative
The autobiographical narrative tells the story of the life of Obama up to his entry in Harvard Law School. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Obama, Sr. of Kenya, and Ann Dunham of Wichita, Kansas, both students at that time at the East-West Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and divorced in 1964. Obama formed an image of his absent father from stories told by his mother and her parents. He saw his father only one more time, in 1971, when Obama Sr. came to Hawaii for a month's visit.[1] The elder Obama died in a car accident in 1982.[2]
After her divorce, Ann Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, an East-West Center student from Indonesia. The family moved to Jakarta. When Obama was ten, he returned to Hawaii under the care of his grandparents (and later his mother) for the better educational opportunities available there. He was enrolled in the fifth grade at Punahou School, a private college-preparatory school. Obama was one of three Black students among the majority Asian-American population at that school,[3] and he first became conscious of racism and what it means to be an African-American.
Obama attended Punahou School from the 5th grade until his graduation in 1979. Obama writes: "For my grandparents, my admission into Punahou Academy heralded the start of something grand, an elevation in the family status that they took great pains to let everyone know."
Upon finishing high school, Obama enrolled at Occidental College, where he describes living a "party" lifestyle of drug and alcohol use.[4][5][6] He transferred to Columbia College at Columbia University, where he majored in political science.[6] Upon graduation, he worked for a year in business. He then moved to Chicago, working for a non-profit doing community organizing in the Altgeld Gardens housing project on the city's South Side. Obama recounts the difficulty of the experience, as his program faced resistance from entrenched community leaders and apathy on the part of the established bureaucracy. It was during his time spent here that Obama joined Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ.[6]
Before attending Harvard Law School, Obama decided to visit relatives in Kenya. He uses part of his experience there as the setting for the book's final, emotional scene.
As well as relating the story of Obama's life, the book includes a good deal of reflection on his own personal experiences with race and race relations in the United States.
Basis for Characters
With the exception of family members and a handful of public figures, Barack Obama is open in the preface about using changed names for privacy reasons and composite characters to expedite the narrative flow.[citation needed] Various writers have suggested that the following characters are based on real people Obama knew:
| Real life person | Referred in the book as |
|---|---|
| Earl Chew | Marcus[7] |
| Frank Davis | Frank[8] |
| Loretta Herron | Angela[9] |
| Emil Jones | Old Ward Boss[10] |
| Keith Kakugawa | Ray[11] |
| Jerry Kellerman | Marty[12] |
| Sohale Siddiqi | Sadik[13] |
Reception
In discussing Dreams from My Father, Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison has called Obama "a writer in my high esteem" and the book "quite extraordinary." She praised "his ability to reflect on this extraordinary mesh of experiences that he has had, some familiar and some not, and to really meditate on that the way he does, and to set up scenes in narrative structure, dialogue, conversation--all of these things that you don't often see, obviously, in the routine political memoir biography. [...] It's unique. It's his. There are no other ones like that."[14]
Commentators have expressed amazement that a U.S. politician was able to write a book of literary merit without the help of a ghostwriter: "I’ve read Obama’s books, and they are first-rate. He is that rara avis, the politician who writes his own books," wrote The Daily Beast columnist Christopher Buckley.[15] The book "may be the best-written memoir ever produced by an American politician," wrote Time columnist Joe Klein.[16] In 2008, The Guardian's Rob Woodard wrote that Dreams from My Father "is easily the most honest, daring, and ambitious volume put out by a major US politician in the last 50 years."[17] Michiko Kakutani, the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for The New York Times, described it as "the most evocative, lyrical and candid autobiography written by a future president."[18]
The audio book edition earned Obama the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.[19]
Publication history
- New York: Times Books; 1st edition (July 18, 1995); Hardcover: 403 pages; ISBN 0-8129-2343-X
- This printing is now very rare. Only a few signed copies are known, and are estimated to be worth up to $5,000 (depending on condition).
- New York: Kodansha International (August 1996); Paperback: 403 pages; ISBN 1-5683-6162-9
- New York: Three Rivers Press; Reprint edition (August 10, 2004); Paperback: 480 pages; ISBN 1-4000-8277-3
- New York: Random House Audio; Abridged edition (May 3, 2005); Audio CD; ISBN 0-7393-2100-5; Includes the senator's speech from the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
- New York: Random House Audio; Abridged edition on Playaway digital audio player [20]
- New York: Random House Large Print; 1st Large print edition (April 4, 2006); Hardcover: 720 pages; ISBN 0-7393-2576-0
- New York: Crown Publishers (January 9, 2007); Hardcover: 464 pages; ISBN 0-3073-8341-5
- New York: Random House (January 9, 2007); eBook; ISBN 0-3073-9412-3
References
- ^ Merida, Kevin (2007-12-14). "The Ghost of a Father". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
- ^ "Father's Abandonment Molded Obama". The Washington Post. 2007-12-14. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- ^ "Punahou School Data". National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education. www.schooldigger.com. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
- ^ Obama (1995), pp. 93–94. see: Romano, Lois (January 3, 2007). "Effect of Obama's Candor Remains to Be Seen". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
- ^ Seelye, Katharine Q (October 24, 2006). "Obama Offers More Variations From the Norm". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c Barack Obama ’83. Is He the New Face of The Democratic Party? Columbia College Today.
- ^ Helman, Scott (2008-08-25). "Small college awakened future senator to service". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ Thanawala, Sudhin (2008-08-03). "Advice dissent". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ "They knew him when: First impressions of Barack Obama". Chicago Tribune. 2008-11-15. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ Wills, Christopher (2008-04-01). "Obama's 'godfather' an old-school Chicago politician". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ Tapper, Jack (2008-04-03). "Life of Obama's Childhood Friend Takes Drastically Different Path". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ Littwin, Mike (2007-08-29). "Obama's 'change' could be more than a coined phrase". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ Goldman, Adam (2008-05-18). "Old friends paint portrait of Obama as young man". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ Ulaby, Neda (December 10, 2008). "Toni Morrison On Bondage And A Post-Racial Age". Tell Me More. NPR. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ Buckley, Christopher, "Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting for Obama", The Daily Beast.
- ^ Klein, Joe (2006-10-23). "The Fresh Face". Time. Retrieved 2006-10-19.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Books Blog: Presidents who write well, lead well", The Guardian, 2008-11-05. Retrieved on 2008-11-08.
- ^ Kakutani, Michiko (2008-01-18). "From Books, President-elect Barack Obama Found His Voice". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Joan Lowy, Presidential Hopefuls Publishing Books (Page 2), Washington Post, December 12, 2006
- ^ [1]
See also
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