THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A riveting deeply personal account of history in the
making-from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy. 'Gorgeously
written humorous compelling life affirming' Justin Webb Mail on Sunday In the stirring
highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs Barack Obama tells the story of
his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world
describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments
of the first term of his historic presidency-a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil.
Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the
pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed
night of November 4 2008 when he was elected 44th president of the United States becoming
the first African American to hold the nation's highest office. Reflecting on the presidency
he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of
presidential power as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics
and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House
Situation Room and to Moscow Cairo Beijing and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts
as he assembles his cabinet wrestles with a global financial crisis takes the measure of
Vladimir Putin overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable
Care Act clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan tackles Wall Street reform
responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout and authorizes Operation Neptune's Spear
which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden. A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and
introspective-the story of one man's bet with history the faith of a community organizer
tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a
Black American bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of "hope and change
" and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces
that opposed him at home and abroad open about how living in the White House affected his wife
and daughters and unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from
his belief that inside the great ongoing American experiment progress is always possible.
This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack Obama's conviction that democracy is
not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built
together day by day. 'What is unexpected in A Promised Land is the former president's
candour' David Olusoga Observer *One of Goodreads Most Popular Books of the Past Decade*
