Books : The Audacity of Hope

Rating: - Part memoir, part manifesto, the political creed of an optimist
This is the first book by an aspirant politician, indeed the first political manifesto, (for that is what it is) that I have read cover to cover. (Perhaps, it occurs to me, I should read some of the works by serving British politicians, too, and not just rely on commentaries by journalists?) I bought the book the day after Barack Obama slipped up re-using the "lipstick on a pig" cliché, when, for the first time, McCain and Palin seemed to have achieved a significant lead in the polls.

Obama wrote this book to update his life story, including how he came to be elected senator for Illinois (he completed his first book "Dreams of my father" some ten years earlier), to offer an analysis of how modern American political life has become so polarised, but above all to state his personal and political principles. It would be easy to be cynical: his principles turn out to offer something to everyone, but this is the prerogative and the stategy of the political centrist. Economically, his liberalism demonstrates why Milton Friedman and others were forced to rebrand themselves as libertarians. He seems well versed in the pros and cons of state intervention, and clearly believes in the value of Keynsian-style state intervention, lamenting the breakdown of the New Deal consensus in the 1970s and 1980s. He does, however, go on record as recognising some of the limits of government. While he offers few concrete proposals as to what should be done, the reader does get the impression that this is a man who is aware of major issues and has thought them through in depth. Sadly but unsurprisingly he has not come up with any new solution to the problem that globalisation presents to American manufacturing and the American working class.

I was left with the impression that Barack Obama is a man of principle, but not one whose principles lead him to try to impose them on others. He recognises, for example, the abortion debate as being one of the most polarising in the US, and lays out his own pro-choice view very carefully, doing his best to respect the "social conservatives" who oppose his view. In one recollection he refers to how a pro-life doctor (but potential Democrat voter) who objected to Obama's implicit inclusion of him within the category of "right wing ideologues who wish to take away a woman's right to choose", and how, having thought the matter through, he changed this statement on his web site to a less confrontational one. Obama sketches out (but no more than sketches) a personal journey that led to his being baptised as an adult (his mother was not an adherent of institutionalised religion, but rather of spiritualist, new age inclinations). Cynically, perhaps, I was reminded of an oft-repeated statement that it would be impossible for an atheist to be elected to high office in the US. Obama believes in the separation of church and state, in accordance with the US Constitution; I do too, and perhaps therefore the privacy of his beliefs, whatever they actually are, should be respected.

Obama devotes a whole chapter to Race, although it is inevitably a backdrop to the whole book. He is of course aware that it is the colour of his skin that has given him the early prominence he has achieved. He tells us of his Kenyan cousins, the mainstream African American family of his wife Michelle, his Indonesian step-father and his white mother's family and mentions ethnic Chinese in-laws. He quietly implies that his background makes him both the epitome of the American dream and someone uniquely placed to deal with the domestic and international problems that confront the US, and to represent and to lead a multi-ethnic America. Not everyone is going to be convinced by that argument: he is certainly not guaranteed to succeed and, to be fair, he does not suggest that others with a less heterogeneous background could not succeed. His analysis of the condition of black America seems balanced - much progress made, but much more still to be made. My only concern for the US is that the programmes that he seems inclined to follow would involve a great deal more state expenditure. It is a shame that he has not put more effort into learning Spanish, acknowledging as he does the burgeoning Latino population of the US.

This is an excellent book. As a commentary on politics in the US over the past 30 years it is easy to read precisely because it is not done to any real depth. As a memoir by someone who is, at the very least, a remarkable man from a very unusual background it is uplifting. Whichever way we might prefer to see the Americans vote, I would hope that all would think it a loss to his country and the world if 2008 turns out to have been the high point in Obama's career. I was convinced that Obama is more than just an excellent public speaker or a politician riding high because of the novelty of his background. He is less beholden to interest groups than most contenders for the presidency. The USA could do a lot worse than bet on Barack Obama for the next 4 years - and I say that as someone who sees a good man in John McCain, too, (although I cannot but feel that he would have made a better president 8 years ago). As we enter the last 8 weeks of the US elections, this is the time to read "Audacity of Hope" if you have not yet done so.

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Rating: - Inspiring
I don't really know what I was expecting when I started to read this book, but what I wasn't expecting was a genuinely interesting, even-handed and thoughtful portrayal of the American democratic system. While I have obviously seem Obama on the Teevee, I can't say that he ever really energised me in the same way he did so many others. However, upon finishing this book I started to understand a bit more why people find his message so resonant. He writes with compassion and respect for differing opinions, and with the obvious intelligence he displays in speeches and interviews.

It's a refreshing book - I don't know if it's an honest book, because I don't know the man in person - but it certainly comes across as honest. It's well worth reading no matter your views on Obama himself or his political positions - even those at opposite ends of the spectrum should find his gentle humanity somewhat inspiring.

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Rating: - Good, but could be better; much too much rhetoric
Barack Obama clearly has a lot to say about vision, but when it comes down to it, not enough reality to talk about. The first few chapters about this book are about visions, values, morals, goals, beliefs, ideals, principles and expectations, and then go on to talk more about visions, values, morals, goals, beliefs, ideals, principles and expectations but around a different theme. This type of talk no doubt works brilliantly as a passionate speech, but reading at this level of detail gets tedious pretty quickly. Fortunately, in between all that there are stories to tell that embellish points effectively and there are other points of reference, but compared to other political books I have read, this one took much longer to make its points.

All in all, still worth reading, but be prepared to slog through some of this!

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Rating: - Boring but informative
I wanted to read the book published by the presidential candidate who I plan on voting for, so I figured that I would buy this book.

While I admit that it reinforces my feeling that Obama will provide for the US and the world much better than McCain, I have to say that it is quite a boring book....difficult to continue reading after a few pages.

Definitely interesting if you have no idea what Obama is about, but dont expect any fireworks!

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Rating: - He writes beautifully but has to nothing to say
The coming general election campaign might be a better way of finding out what Barack Obama actually thinks than reading this book.

For a politician, this is a very open and well written book on a number of subjects that matter to us all (in the US or abroad). Chapter by chapter, Obama mixes historical detail, life stories and political issues to try and present an explanation of how we have come to this point in time with sometimes such savage disagreements over how to proceed.

It's at that point I found the book disatisfying. Barack Obama doesn't commit to any policy ideas that really go beyond Democrat platitude: healthcare is good, crime is bad, etc. I can understand that he needed to keep some solid statements back prior to the election (or have them lobbed back at him negatively by Clinton or McCain) but it just leaves a final feeling of vagueness in a book that was building towards inspiring.