Written during a time that was more optimistic, Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope details his life as a young senator and his political outlook. I picked this book up when I visited 57th Street Books in Chicago, which is Obama’s local bookstore when he lived in the area.

This is a really intelligent and well thought out book. However, the subject matter was pretty dry, so it was challenging for me to maintain interest. Obama is one of the best speaker/orator of our time, but perhaps his career as a politician and drafting bills (the part where good writing is important) contributed to this book being a slow read. ( )

This book stayed on my back burner, as I assumed it was outdated (2006). Especially the "hope" part! So much has happened since 2006. But, surprise -- the book felt very current. The split in our country goes way back before Trump, and Obama addressed this fairly well. He seemed to vacillate on a lot of issues with "on the other hand..." and I wondered if his middle-of-the-road stance was laying the groundwork for a presidential run. Of course, since he was elected president two years later.

His personal stories were a delight since I'd just read Michelle's "Becoming" and got his point of view of some of her family tales.

So, why was I finally prompted to read this one? Because the Goodreads History Club is about to start his "A Promised Land" and I like to go in order. And I'd already read his first book, "Dreams of my Father." Now I'm looking forward to his latest book, to see if he still has hope! Of course, he does. That's his brand! ( )

Две реалности се преплитат в тази книга.

След първата половина - вижданията на Обама за политиката и икономиката - мислех да я захвърля и да й сложа една звездичка. Знатете какво е булшит - как някой се опитва да ви забълбуква, с красиви думички и дълги, увъртяни и красиво звучащи, но нищо конкретно не значещи изречения да прикрие какво наистина мисли, да се хареса на всички, да извика емоциите ви, вместо разума.

Обама много, ама много внимава думите му да не противоречат кардинално на ничие мнение, което прави на места жалък и смешен опитът му да удовлетвори и да се хареса на радикално противоположни типове избиратели. Защото за икономика и политика той пише като истински, закоравял политик - точно като тия, като които декларира, че никога няма да стане - гладко, мазно, фалшиво.

Втората половина от книгата обаче, е тотално различна. Там той говори за неща, които очевидно са фокусът на вниманието и работата му като политик - социална политика, здравеопазване, образование, религия. Логично, по тия въпроси, той се аргументира доста добре (освен за училищните ваучери - защо ги мрази така и не обясни) и не се страхува да изкаже твърдо мнението си, да опише визията си за това какво трябва да бъде и какво конкретно трябва да се направи. Макар да не съм съгласен с доста от идеите му, хареса ми енергията, с която говори за тях и разбирането в дълбочина на проблемите, които се опитва да пребори.

Общо взето (това личи във всяко изречение в книгата) Обама е типичен представител на Прогресивните Демократи в САЩ - това са идейните наследници на Рузвелт и Кейнс, които смятат, че хората просто не знаят какво искат и какво е добро за тях - и затова правителството е призвано да се грижи за всички аспекти от живота на гражданите си, да регулира и да се намесва с твърда ръка икономиката, да създава заетост, да обгрижва хората със щедри социални програми, да прибира големи данъци и всичко това - с помощта на армия бюрократи.

Един вид, лозунгът, познат твърде добре от близкото минало на България: "Дайте да дадем!" ( )

Listening to this book felt a bit like time traveling, getting to know a much younger Obama who explains his views and hopes for the future, while today we know how the topics he refers to have developed.
While many of the principles that are laid down are timeless, some things feel a bit dated of course. In the end, I enjoyed listening to the political anecdotes and the stories of Obama's personal life more than a lot of the actual politics - but then, most of those are nothing new in 2024, which is not the book's fault. ( )

(2006)NF. A very good insight into the Presidential candidate before that was a possibility. PW Ilinois's Democratic senator illuminates the constraints of mainstream politics all too well in this sonorous manifesto. Obama (Dreams from My Father) castigates divisive partisanship (especially the Republican brand) and calls for a centrist politics based on broad American values. His own cautious liberalism is a model: he's skeptical of big government and of Republican tax cuts for the rich and Social Security privatization; he's prochoice, but respectful of prolifers; supportive of religion, but not of imposing it. The policy result is a tepid Clintonism, featuring tax credits for the poor, a host of small-bore programs to address everything from worker retraining to teen pregnancy, and a health-care program that resembles Clinton's Hillary-care proposals. On Iraq, he floats a phased but open-ended troop withdrawal. His triangulated positions can seem conflicted: he supports free trade, while deploring its effects on American workers (he opposed the Central American Free Trade Agreement), in the end hoping halfheartedly that more support for education, science and renewable energy will see the economy through the dilemmas of globalization. Obama writes insightfully, with vivid firsthand observations, about politics and the compromises forced on politicians by fund-raising, interest groups, the media and legislative horse-trading. Alas, his muddled, uninspiring proposals bear the stamp of those compromises.