A riveting deeply personal account of history in the making—from the president who inspired us
to believe in the power of democracy #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAACP IMAGE AWARD
NOMINEE • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND
PEOPLE NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • Jennifer Szalai The
New York Times • NPR • The Guardian • Slate • Vox • The Economist • Marie Claire In the
stirring 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.
