February 27, 2010
Knopf
Available 04/06/10 in Hardcover
No story has been more central to America’s history this century than the rise of Barack Obama, and until now, no journalist or historian has written a book that fully investigates the circumstances and experiences of Obama’s life or explores the ambition behind his rise. Those familiar with Obama’s own best-selling memoir or his campaign speeches know the touchstones and details that he chooses to emphasize, but now — from a writer whose gift for illuminating the historical significance of unfolding events is without peer — we have a portrait, at once masterly and fresh, nuanced and unexpected, of a young man in search of himself, and of a rising politician determined to become the first African-American president.
The Bridge offers the most complete account yet of Obama’s tragic father, a brilliant economist who abandoned his family and ended his life as a beaten man; of his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, who had a child as a teenager and then built her career as an anthropologist living and studying in Indonesia; and of the succession of elite institutions that first exposed Obama to the social tensions and intellectual currents that would force him to imagine and fashion an identity for himself. Through extensive on-the-record interviews with friends and teachers, mentors and disparagers, family members and Obama himself, David Remnick allows us to see how a rootless, unaccomplished, and confused young man created himself first as a community organizer in Chicago, an experience that would not only shape his urge to work in politics but give him a home and a community, and that would propel him to Harvard Law School, where his sense of a greater mission emerged.
Deftly setting Obama’s political career against the galvanizing intersection of race and politics in Chicago’s history, Remnick shows us how that city’s complex racial legacy would make Obama’s forays into politics a source of controversy and bare-knuckle tactics: his clashes with older black politicians in the Illinois State Senate, his disastrous decision to challenge the former Black Panther Bobby Rush for Congress in 2000, the sex scandals that would decimate his more experienced opponents in the 2004 Senate race, and the story — from both sides — of his confrontation with his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. By looking at Obama’s political rise through the prism of our racial history, Remnick gives us the conflicting agendas of black politicians: the dilemmas of men like Jesse Jackson, John Lewis, and Joseph Lowery, heroes of the civil rights movement, who are forced to reassess old loyalties and understand the priorities of a new generation of African-American leaders.
The Bridge revisits the American drama of race, from slavery to civil rights, and makes clear how Obama’s quest is not just his own but is emblematic of a nation where destiny is defined by individuals keen to imagine a future that is different from the reality of their current lives.
January 10, 2010
Regnery Press
Available 01/04/10 in Hardcover
What Should Conservatives Do in the Age of Obama?
Two Words: Fight Back
President Obama ran on promises of bipartisanship and centrism, but he’s delivered something else: unprecedented government borrowing and spending, unsustainable debt, and audacious attempts to usher in a colossal, overbearing government, the likes of which we’ve never seen.
In Right Now, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele blows the whistle on the entire Obama agenda. Setting aside appeals for caution in taking on a popular president, Steele throws down the gauntlet, insisting Republicans must expose and refute the policies lying at the heart of this administration’s attempts to resurrect a discredited brand of extreme liberalism. A call to arms for grassroots America, this book argues for abandoning “conservatism-lite,” returning to core conservative principles, and launching an uncompromising campaign for limited government. The path to a Republican renaissance has already been laid, says Steele: the target is the Obama agenda, the method is active opposition, and the time is Right Now.
Bonus: Foreword by Newt Gingrich
September 20, 2009
The Preacher and the Politician: Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama, and Race in America
by Professor Clarence E. Walker PhD (Author), Dr. Gregory D. Smithers PhD (Author)
University of Virginia Press
Available 10/15/09
Barack Obama’s inauguration as the first African American president of the United States has caused many commentators to conclude that America has entered a postracial age. The Preacher and the Politician argues otherwise, reminding us that, far from inevitable, Obama’s nomination was nearly derailed by his relationship with Jeremiah Wright, the outspoken former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ on the South Side of Chicago. The media storm surrounding Wright’s sermons, the historians Clarence E. Walker and Gregory D. Smithers suggest, reveals that America’s fraught racial past is very much with us, only slightly less obvious.
With meticulous research and insightful analysis, Walker and Smithers take us back to the Democratic primary season of 2008, viewing the controversy surrounding Wright in the context of key religious, political, and racial dynamics in American history. In the process they expose how the persistence of institutional racism, and racial stereotypes, became a significant hurdle for Obama in his quest for the presidency.The authors situate Wright’s preaching in African American religious traditions dating back to the eighteenth century, but they also place his sermons in a broader prophetic strain of Protestantism that transcends racial categories. This latter connection was consistently missed or ignored by pundits on the right and the left who sought to paint the story in simplistic, and racially defined, terms. Obama’s connection with Wright gave rise to criticism that, according to Walker and Smithers, sits squarely in the American political tradition, where certain words are meant to incite racial fear, in the case of Obama with charges that the candidate was unpatriotic, a Marxist, a Black Nationalist, or a Muslim.
Once Obama became the Democratic nominee, the day of his election still saw ballot measures rejecting affirmative action and undermining the civil rights of other groups. The Preacher and the Politician is a concise and timely study that reminds us of the need to continue to confront the legacy of racism even as we celebrate advances in racial equality and opportunity.
April 18, 2009
By LEANNE ITALIE, Associated Press Writer Leanne Italie, Associated Press Writer
Thu Apr 16, 4:07 pm ET
Now that Bo has his paws firmly planted in the White House, let the marketing begin!
A small Virginia publisher is racing out the first picture book for kids featuring the precious little Portie, with the pup on the cover in his colorful lei.
How’d they do it so fast? After all, Bo just made his official debut Tuesday.
“I would suggest that I’ve got some inside Washington information, but that wouldn’t be entirely truthful,” said the author, Naren Aryal, who is also the publisher and CEO of Mascot Books in Herndon.
Aryal said Thursday he began writing a generic Portuguese water dog story about two months ago after the Obamas seemed to have their dog choices down to a portie or a Labradoodle to accommodate first daughter Malia’s allergies.
Bo himself was inserted last minute and some fresh White House traditions like first lady Michelle Obama’s new vegetable garden were incorporated to make the book more Obama specific. The illustrations are digital, speeding up the process to get “Bo, America’s Commander in Leash” out in less than a week.
Mascot Books, with six employees, specializes in titles about school and professional sports mascots. For the Bo book, the company already has 50,000 preorders, with a healthy first print run of about 100,000 planned, Aryal said. The book, which retails for $14.95 and is aimed at kids 4 to 10, will be sold through major retailers and should be out in about five days, he said.
In the story, illustrated in-house by Danny Moore, the energetic first dog is the narrator and takes readers on a tour of the White House. He plays basketball with the president and shares White House rituals like the Easter Egg Roll. Fact boxes with tidbits about the history of the White House itself and a collage of famous pets are included. Did you know John Quincy Adams kept an alligator there?
A tuckered Bo curls up on a bean bag bed for a well-deserved rest at the end, Aryal said.
Yahoo News
April 4, 2009
April 3, 2009
Obama sibling as writer
President Obama’s half-sister has a book deal for a children’s picture story.
Maya Soetoro-Ng’s “Ladder to the Moon,” based in part on Obama’s mother and other family members, will be published by Candlewick Press at a date not yet determined. According to Candlewick, Soetoro-Ng will pay “homage to her mother’s tradition of storytelling.”
The late Ann Dunham is mother both to Obama and Soetoro-Ng, who was born in 1970, nine years after the future president. (Obama and Soetoro-Ng have different fathers.) Soetoro-Ng, who teaches at an all-girls school in Honolulu, campaigned for her half-brother and spoke at last year’s Democratic National Convention.
Los Angeles Times
January 18, 2009
From toddler photo editions to volumes for older kids, they’ve got the inauguration-ready ex-senator covered.
Associated Press
January 16, 2009
Books to inspire and inform young people about President-elect Barack Obama and his historic inauguration include an artist’s celebration of the American spirit, the life of the first lady-to-be and a look at our 44th commander in chief for preschoolers.
Obama-mania has generated junior biographies and fresh presidential encyclopedias by the armload in time for the big swearing-in Tuesday, but parents beware: Splashy Obama covers or promised post-election updates may not pay off, so check inside.
For very young children, there is, with a little help from a grown-up, “my first presidential board book” from Michaelson Entertainment in Santa Monica: “Barack Obama 101” by Brad M. Epstein ($10.95). It includes full-color photos of the smiling first family, Obama grinning at the wheel of a bumper car with daughter Sasha, and Obama the boy, college guy and community organizer.
Other standouts:
- “Yes We Can!” (Scholastic, $4.99, ages 4-8) with numerous photo credits.
This quick and simple picture-book companion to the biography of the same name pairs colorful news photos of Obama, his family and young supporters with text from his victory speech. The borderless images and his plea for help are a powerful match for kids.
- “Change Has Come” (Simon & Schuster, $12.99, 9-12) illustrated by Kadir Nelson, with the words of Obama.
Kadir captures Obama’s messages of strength, hope and change in black-and-white drawings in this small celebration of the American spirit for young people.
- “Barack Obama, People We Should Know” (Gareth Stevens Publishing, ages 9-12) by Geoffrey M. Horn.
Out in paperback this month, this slim volume from Weekly Reader offers the victorious highs but also details the tough stuff from Obama’s childhood and young adult years: his mother’s marital and financial struggles, his early election defeats and the bad impression he left on Michelle Obama when he was late for their first date.
- “Barack Obama, Our 44th President” (Simon & Schuster, $5.99, ages 9-12) By Beatrice Gormley.
Among the better biographies for young people, recently updated with Obama’s victory.
- “Michelle Obama, Meet the First Lady” (Harper Collins, $16.99, ages 8-12) by David Bergen Brophy.
Drawing strength from the struggles of her disabled father and hardworking mother on Chicago’s South Side, Michelle Obama’s life as a young girl at predominantly white Princeton is described with a steady hand, as is her first look at her husband-to-be in “bad sport jacket and a cigarette dangling from his mouth.” Brophy relies nicely on the soon-to-be first lady’s own words.
Los Angeles Times
January 13, 2009
Change Has Come
An Artist Celebrates Our American Spirit
By Kadir Nelson
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Available 01/13/09
The black and white images throughout are personal reflections, uniquely felt and rendered by award winning artist Kadir Nelson. They are accompanied by the uplifting words of Barack Obama and commemorate the movement and the moment that have changed our history. It’s a celebration of the power of inspiration. It’s a celebration of how far we have come and how determined we are to look ahead. It’s a celebration of pride, hope and joy personally felt and publicly shared. Most of all it’s a celebration of the 44th president – a new president and a new chapter in the American story.
December 23, 2008
By John Timpane
Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted on Mon, Dec. 22, 2008
“Elizabeth Alexander may turn out to be the perfect inaugural poet,” says Al Young, California’s poet laureate from 2005 to 2008.
“To me, she arrives at the perfect hour,” says Aaron Fagan, poet and editor at Scientific American. “Also a surprising choice, not at all polite or safe.”
“Her selection really affirms our generation of American poets in ways that will resonate for a long time to come,” says Herman Beavers, an associate professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, fellow poet, and longtime friend.
They’re reacting to news that Alexander – Yale professor, Pulitzer finalist, Penn Ph.D. and member of a longtime political family – has been chosen to deliver an original poem at the inauguration of Barack Obama next month.
Alexander, speaking by phone from her office at Yale, says she “was thrilled to hear from the inaugural committee” and fervently wishes “to do a great job.”
Brent Colburn, an Obama inaugural spokesperson, calls the poet “incredibly gifted” and says her selection “demonstrates the important role that the arts and literature can play in helping to bring our country together.”
If that sounds political, it’s because it is. The choice of Alexander is more than just an invitation to a poet; it’s also an attempt to define this moment in U.S. politics and history.
This will be only the fourth time a poet has been made part of the inaugural ceremonies; in each case, the man being sworn in has been a Democrat. Robert Frost, then 86, braved the chill to recite “The Gift Outright” at John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural. Maya Angelou read at Bill Clinton’s first swearing-in, Miller Williams at his second.
Al Filreis, Kelly Professor of English at Penn, says Alexander “doesn’t have the standing Frost had in 1961, but that doesn’t matter”; she’s a “better poet” than the popular Angelou.
Born in 1962 in Harlem, Alexander grew up in Washington. She did undergraduate work at Yale and completed a master’s degree at Boston University before writing her doctoral thesis at Penn on 20th-century African American poets. She has taught widely, including stints at Germantown Friends School and Haverford College.
Her selection is “a bit of a generational shift,” according to Robert Von Hallberg, a professor at the University of Chicago. Part of that is age – at 46, Alexander is the youngest inaugural poet so far – and part has to do with history. Beavers calls her “the absolute right choice, generationally speaking . . . She’s very different from an earlier generation of African American poets, who established themselves with an 1960s rhetoric of anger. Her poetry befits Obama’s outlook: measured, comfortable with being a cultural hybrid.”
Alexander’s poetry fits Obama’s politics in taking a view of race and culture that will challenge Americans of all backgrounds. Whether writing about her own life or the lives of American slaves, her great theme is multiplicity, the fact that most people combine many bloodlines and historical lines. She constantly asserts that black people, any people, any culture, are not just one thing, but a variety of places and people and voices.
That’s very American, as is her powerful directness. Young admires the way she “artfully uses everyday speech and vernacular diction to conceal a vision of the world that is far more complex than the buy-and-sell viewpoint you’ll get from the corporations and mass media they control.”
The word that comes to mind for her is cosmopolitan.
Alexander says that quality in a black poet shouldn’t surprise people. “African American poets have always been a cosmopolitan people. We think of Langston Hughes as a ‘Harlem poet’ or an ‘urban poet,’ but he had been to several continents by the time he was 19. It’s an oversight not to understand black people as citizens of the world.”
She is most excited to share the inaugural stage with violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, singer Aretha Franklin and other artists. “That art is visible and part of the conversation – it’s very meaningful.” She connects this with Obama’s expressed wish to make the White House “a people’s house” and to have concerts, poetry readings and arts events be a part of life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
For the full article, see The Philadelphia Inquirer website.
December 1, 2008
Michelle Obama: An American Story
by David Colbert
Available December 2008
Michelle Obama grew up on Chicago’s South Side, and while the world outside her door was chaotic and ever-changing, her family provided a stable environment in which she could grow and flourish. This look at Michelle Obama’s life and the turning points that shaped her shows how a girl from a working class background could rise to become one of the most influential women of her day.But this is more than a straight chronological retelling. This book looks at Michelle Obama’s life story within the context of the larger movements in African American history: slavery, freedom, the Reconstruction era, the Civil Rights movement, and finally, her own era. History is what has shaped Michelle and challenged her. And ultimately, not only has she overcome any obstacles put before her, she has carved out her own place in history as well.
October 7, 2008
The Breakthrough
Politics and Race in the Age of Obama
Written by Gwen Ifill
Available January 20, 2009
In THE BREAKTHROUGH, veteran journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power.
Ifill argues that the Black political structure formed during the Civil Rights movement is giving way to a generation of men and women who are the direct beneficiaries of the struggles of the 1960s. She offers incisive, detailed profiles of such prominent leaders as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and U.S. Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama, and also covers up-and-coming figures from across the nation. Drawing on interviews with power brokers like Senator Obama, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and many others, as well as her own razor-sharp observations and analysis of such issues as generational conflict and the “black enough” conundrum, Ifill shows why this is a pivotal moment in American history.
THE BREAKTHROUGH is a remarkable look at contemporary politics and an essential foundation for understanding the future of American democracy.
