Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBrilliant Book. Recommended.
Reviewed in Australia on 8 December 2020
I have read his previous books (“Dreams from My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope”) and enjoyed them both. The first is an autobiography of his early life and the second is more of a policy document. In the case of “A Promised Land”, it falls somewhere in between. It covers his life from his rise in Illinois politics, through to his time in the US Senate and finishes with his early years as US President up to the time of the killing of Osama bin Laden.
The book is both long in terms of the number of pages (greater than seven hundred) as well as long on details. However, Obama is such a great wordsmith that to read the book is a pleasure. It simply glides along. I was disappointed to reach the end. I certainly look forward to the second volume.
As one reads “A Promised Land”, it is impossible not to be drawn into a comparison between Obama and the incumbent US President. Obama is erudite, contemplative and wise. It is simply impossible to attribute any of these characteristics to the man presently in the Oval Office.
In sum, for any reader with even the slightest interest in US politics, history or society, this book is most highly recommended.
