Barak Obama truly is a storyteller. His words are so thought out and truthful. I have always wanted to read this book and finally had the chance. It definitely shows you a perspective of who the man is and how he came to be.

Am I the only one who didn’t know how compelling, tender, brilliant, not-intellectual but yet quite informative and mind-blowing, and just plain good this memoir is? I avoided it the whole time he was president until now, and with time it has only widened the distance between what he was as president and where he came from in this telling of his life. And that’s good because if you read it more as a person who became president without judgment, it’s like reading any memoir of someone who became something spectacular but didn’t grow up with any inkling that would be their future.

All that aside, it’s just plain beautiful. There’s no politics but you do learn what a community organizer does, which I didn’t really, really understand, to be honest. Still, not political in the boring sense. Or very political in the get-things-done, make-the-world-a-better-place sense.

It’s easy to get drawn into such a movie-like life, and I don’t why it hasn’t yet been made into a movie. It’d be fun to see the cast, and the locations, and the drama between family.

This autobiography is dull reading through Obama's childhood but becomes more interesting from his teen years onward. Part 2 describing his community-organizing struggles in south Chicago is compelling reading as Obama comes face-to-face with poverty and racism (that he hadn't experienced in Hawaii). The title might more appropriately be "Dreams from My Maternal Grandfather" as his formative years were lived in his grandfather's home in Hawaii. It's unfortunate that the only family photographs are on the cover of the book (without captions).

Powerful: how ones identity or lack thereof, shapes who we are: the quest, if successful, leaves more questions than answered, room to form a unique identity from a blend of what is gleaned from the quest. And to know this man became president of the United States makes his story even more poignant. I truly believe we were privileged to have had such a man as our leader.

So inspiring!
   And that voice!

This was a fascinating look at the internal struggles Obama dealt with in his youth.

Too bad the former President started with such promise ended by dividing the country and constantly apoligizing for America to other countries. His infamous “red line” to Syria’s Assad not to use chemical weapons was crossed with no repercussions. He allowed Russia and Iran to set up in that country because they saw a weak President. His ideology is one of appeasement. All the “illegal” immigration problems are layed at his feet, He doubled the national debt with his socialist views. etc. etc. etc

Written before he entered the political sphere, in 'Dreams from My Father' Barack Obama explores his personal history as a child and young man of mixed race growing up in Hawaii and Indonesia. He goes on to detail his simultaneously discouraging and rewarding experiences working as a community organizer in Chicago's underprivileged south side. Finally, he documents his poignant first visit to his father's ancestral homelands in Kenya, making the acquaintance for the first time with the extended family who had existed to him previously only as an anonymous collection of half-siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins.

While I didn't find this memoir as riveting as I'd hoped -- and, to be fair, I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting -- I was grateful for, appreciative of and occasionally surprised by this insight into Obama's earlier life. Additionally, in a time when so many memoirs are co-written, and when others of our political leaders seem unable to formulate a single grammatically correct sentence, I found myself continuously impressed by his natural writing ability.

This is a beautifully written book, whether the author became President of the United States or not, and there is no consciousness at all that this could even possibly be his destiny. As a work of memoir, he has invented conversations and combined or renamed characters, but the book rings true to its very core. I can’t imagine that there could be a greater contrast than that between ‘Dreams from My Father’ and ‘The Art of the Deal’, the memoir of the current presidential incumbent.

For my complete review, please visit:
https://residentjudge.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/dreams-from-my-father-by-barak-obama/

A magnificent piece of work, one that humanizes President Obama, and provides deep insight into his motivations. I found myself appreciating his background, culture, and humanity more with each chapter. Very much worth a read, especially as a contrast to the current U.S. administration.