In Dreams From my Father, Obama's first book, I was most interested in the parts of his life I had never heard about. Once he establishes himself in Chicago as a well-connected community organizer, meets Reverend Wright and goes off to Harvard Law, the novelty of Obama: the Early Days largely wears off (though his first trip to Kenya, which is the last part of the book, is fascinating in its own right - I'm still reading it though).
But the narrative of growing up in Hawaii with his grandparents, moving to Indonesia with his Mom and newfound step-dad, finally meeting his biological father, then on to Los Angeles and New York for his undergrad - is endlessly illuminating. Knowing Obama is now about to become president adds an element of importance and irony to many of his young experiences, whether it is his drug use in college, being exposed to developing world poverty in Jakarta, making his first public address at an anti-Apartheid rally or finally coming to accept his first name (he was known as 'Barry' until college).
The photo above comes from a remarkable collection recently published in Time magazine's 'Person of the Year' coverage. It was taken by one of Obama's college friends - then an aspiring photographer - and stored in a safety deposit box until after the election. The series has reminded me that I really need to finish the book.
3 comments:
Interesting. I might just have to read this one now. I finished The Audacity of Hope not that long ago, and it was quite good as far as thinly-veiled, extended versions of one's political platform go. And while Obama's storytelling style definitely draws on anecdotes of his early life in that book, I think perhaps a more in-depth reading would be worthwhile. Thanks for this post, bud.
After finishing Dreams from my Father, I would definitely recommend you take a look at it (I'm just starting Audacity of Hope now myself). The last third of the book is totally devoted to his first trip to Kenya, and I absolutely devoured it. I don't think I'm ruining anything by saying a six-generation oral history of the Kenyan side of his family, as passed down to him by his step-grandmother, is the highlight of the book for me. But then again, I'm kinda fond of African history. I think you'd like it though, feel free to borrow once you're back.
Sounds good. It's now officially on the list. Also, meant to mention that I enjoyed the Joyce reference in the title of this post.
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