The first installment of Barack Obama’s presidential memoirs, A Promised Land, has finally reached its long awaited release date almost a full presidential term after President Obama left the White House in January of 2017. For a less capable writer, this long lead time could render the book outdated or irrelevant, especially after the particularly tumultuous four years this has been. But fortunately for readers, President Obama’s talents extend far beyond the political sphere. In this thoughtful and whip smart memoir, our nation’s first black president details for us his origin story—he was raised by his mother and grandparents in Hawaii, spent part of his childhood in Indonesia with his stepfather, and then eventually attended Occidental College and then transferred to Columbia University. At Columbia, he seems to have discovered his passion for social and racial justice, reading the works of black activists, philosophers, and thinkers. After graduation he becomes a community organizer in Chicago, working with local faith-based organizations to boost job training and educational opportunities for the black community.
Dismayed by how difficult it can be to enact change from the outside, a young Barack Obama goes off to Harvard Law School, returning in the summers to work as a summer associate at a Chicago law firm, where he is supervised by the brilliant and charming Michelle Robinson, his future wife. I am going into such detail about President Obama’s academic history because I think it is so foundational to his presidency: his indoctrination in black activism and intellectualism and commitment to making change from inside institutions are fundamental facets of his career, and greatly informed his time in office. President Obama writes about his curiosity in these early years, his passion and ambition practically bursting through the pages, but with the wisdom of his older self he reflects on the merits of those ambitions, constantly wondering if he was misguided in some areas or deluded by pride, and he refuses to engage in any self congratulation that can poison political memoirs. He then continues on to write about his early campaigns for Illinois state senate, and then for his U.S. Senate seat, and the grassroots campaigning that helped him defeat incumbents and inspire his community, all the while with an eye on the toll that his political aspirations were taking on his wife and his young daughters, Sasha and Malia, whom he wished he could spend more time with.
While charting his ascendance to the presidency, and his eventual victory, and then his first term in office, President Obama writes with astonishing clarity and insight about the figures surrounding him during this crucial time. His insight into the minds of the world leaders and politicians he meets is incredible, he brings such a deep understanding of people’s motivations to each interaction, and a comprehensive knowledge of the pressures and outside forces they are partially controlled by. He turns this human lens on the most complicated of issues he sought to deal with during his presidency: reforming the healthcare system in America, helping the nation recover from the 2008 financial crisis, dealing with unrest in the Middle East, advancing policies to combat climate change globally, and other issues. He seems aware of every side of the issue, and the ways that they differently affect groups throughout America and the world, and his thoughtful consideration of other people in his administration’s viewpoints and his comprehensive research on these issues is a stunning testimony to how central humility and preparedness are to good governance. This book is a beautifully woven history of President Obama’s life and work up until 2011, filled with stunning observations and informed by a significant poetic talent. A Promised Land is a thoughtful and beautifully observed memoir from an incredibly gifted writer.
I will end this review with a quote from an interview with Jesmyn Ward, where President Obama perfectly sums up his vision for the book better than I could: “I hope when people read this, in addition to thinking this is a good story; in addition to young people hopefully being inspired that maybe ‘I, too, can get involved in public service in some fashion, even if it’s not elective office, but I want to be involved in the course of our society.…’ More than anything, I want people to come away with a sense that, I really do believe America is exceptional, but maybe not for the reasons that sometimes we think. It’s not because we’re the wealthiest nation on earth, or we have the most powerful military on earth. It’s because, uniquely among great powers throughout history, we are not only a democracy, but we are a multiracial, multiethnic democracy, and that we have fought battles internally over several centuries now to try to expand the number of people who can sit at the table, who qualify as ‘We the People.’ Black folks and poor folks and women and the LGBTQ community and immigrants. If we can make that work, if we can learn to embrace a common creed and respect each other, and treat every child in our care with regard and concern, then that is what makes us that shining city on a hill. That’s the example that the world looks for. That American idea is worth preserving.”
Further Reading: President Obama’s 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father, is a beautiful memoir about growing up in Hawaii, written during his early Senate campaign in Illinois. Michelle Obama’s memoir, Becoming, is also a fascinating portrayal of their marriage and the stress of the presidency on the Obama family.