Wise and profound, Dreams from my Father is Barack Obama's 1995
memoir detailing his journey to understand his place as a man of
mixed race and the place of the black race, in America.
Born to a Kenyan father and white mother and raised by his
grandparents in Hawaii, Obama led an adventurous life, later moving
with his mother to Indonesia when she remarried. After attending
Occidental University in Los Angeles and then transferring to
Columbia in New York, he finally ended up in Chicago where he
started working as a community organizer in the toughest and
poorest neighborhoods on Chicago's south side. Here one can really
see where Obama got his passion for the issues he supports.
Haunted by the stories of his father, whom he only met once when
he was 10, and fascinated by the issues of the black race, led
Obama on an Odyssey to Africa to discover his roots in Kenya.
Meeting many sisters and brothers, aunts, uncles and grandparents,
these real life characters he met while there are some of the most
interesting, strong and most resilient people one could ever hope
to encounter, and also showcasing the struggles of the people of
Kenya, along with the natural beauty of the African plains.
Written by his own hand and in his own voice and at times lyrical
and poetic, this book is an in depth look at what made Barack Obama
the man he is today.
Story ****
Readability ****
Overall rating ****