 The Simple Life of a Great Man |
| Review Date: October 23, 2008 |
| Reviewer: James Hiller, Beaverton, OR |
Many times has it has been said, Barack Obama comes from humble roots: an absent father, being raised by his grandparents in Hawaii, excels and acheives all the way to Harvard. His meteoric rise, the result of a supportive extended family, and a fierce intellect, is inspirational enough. Life has taken that story, and told it again, this time, accompanied by some of the most touching and revealing pictures I have seen of Obama yet.
The pictures span his own life, from childhood to the present, and offer a glimpse into the world of this man who might be about 44th president. The pictures of his childhood are absolutely endearing, and show what a diverse world Obama came from. Growing up in Hawaii, he was often the only student with partial African-American heritage in his classes, and he recounts how kids wanted to touch his hair because it was so different. One picture of his grandmother hugging him at his graduation reveals intense love and pride she had; it's one of my favorites just because of the look on her face.
As Barack grows up, the man that we see today starts to take shape; out of college, this gangly community organizer meets his future wife Michelle Obama, and a glimpse into their love and their relationship shows up in the book. I am always particularly touched by any picture of Barack and his girls. They are poignant, fun, and show Obama in the role he probably loves best: dad.
One final photo in a book of trememdous photos really brings Barack to the everyday man: a picture of him with his feet up, and holes in the bottom of the soles of his shoes. I look in my closet, and see most of my shoes with the same problem, and I realize how much like me, like all of us, this man truly is. Life has created a book that anyone, Barack Obama voter or not, would be proud to have on their shelf, in their collection. |
"The American Journey of Barack Obama" by LIFE
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| Review Date: October 18, 2008 |
| Reviewer: J. R. Crawford, Atlanta, GA (Metro) |
| LIFE has done an excellent job in capturing Obama's "journey"---from the beginning to present! The book is an excellent combination of text and pictures. In addition to summarizing his successful political life, the book also gives a realistic and well-rounded view of Senator Barack Obama's life as a man, husband and father. This book is unbelievable and would make a great gift for family and friends OR for yourself! |
The Journey Has Just Begun...
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| Review Date: January 21, 2009 |
| Reviewer: laytonwoman3rd, Clarks Summit, PA United States |
As one would expect with a LIFE publication, this coffee table book contains many excellent photographs of its subject. It was published after Obama won the Democratic nomination, but before the election results were known. We see Barack Obama in his youth; in Hawaii; at Harvard; with his family, immediate and extended, in the U.S. and in Kenya; at work and at play. The text gives us background biographical details about his life and complicated family history. It is certainly not an in-depth look at the politician or the man, but was a comfortable, pleasing read for the eve of his inauguration as the 44th President of the United States. It has the feel of a souvenir. The best part of the text are several essays on specific topics---race, faith, the world's view of Obama---by well-known writers including Gay Talese, Bob Greene, Nancy Gibbs, and my personal favorite, Andrei Codrescu who discusses immigration from his own unique perspective . Some of the photos are spoiled, in my opinion, by being spread over two pages. I would rather have had them reproduced on a single page to avoid that spinal crease through the center.
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A gorgeous coffee table book; nothing more, nothing less.
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| Review Date: December 17, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Kelly Garbato, Kearney, MO USA |
I've long been a fan of the Time/Life glossy pictorial hardcovers (e.g., the Time Annual Year in Review and Life Album: Pictures of the Year series), so when Life's THE AMERICAN JOURNEY OF BARACK OBAMA became available through Library Thing's Early Reviewer program, I jumped at the chance to review a copy. Though I'm not an Obama voter - I supported Kucinch in the primaries, McKinney/Clemente in the general election - I found myself moved by the historic nature of his campaign (and victory) nonetheless. In particular, the photos and speeches which came out of the 2008 campaign cycle have proven poignant and inspirational; considering previous Life volumes, I hoped that this book might capture some of the more memorable campaign moments.
Since THE AMERICAN JOURNEY OF BARACK OBAMA is largely a work of photojournalism, let's start with the photographs. TAJOBO is a gorgeous, colorful book, filled to the brim with photos: Obama/Dunham and, later, Obama/Robinson family snapshots; photos of Barack Obama during his college years; pictures taken throughout Obama's political career; candid shots of Barack and Michelle with children Sasha and Malia; and, of course, a number of photos from the campaign trail, including a few stills of the Obamas working the daytime talk show circuit. If you followed the 2008 elections, no doubt you'll recognize some of the more iconic photographs, such as the one of Obama, leaning back in an office chair, with a phone nestled snugly between ear and shoulder, feet propped up on a desk - showing two very beaten, worn soles.
Sadly, Life only includes a few photos of Obama's supporters, taken during his speeches and rallies; of the shots they do include, most are of the stadium-sized crowds, rather than of individual supporters. For me, these have been some of the most moving and emotional images from the campaign trail: seeing African American children and adults interact with Obama and react to his speeches. It's a shame that Life didn't feature more of these photographs.
In regards to the biographical text of TAJOBO, the book is primarily divided into five sections: Roots, Boyhood, A Young Man on the Rise, Chicago and Washington. The biographical section is largely laudatory, as you might expect; after all, one purchases Life pictorials for the photos - the hard hitting journalism, not so much.
The final section, Aspects of Obama, features twelve essays from "fine thinkers" (while I probably take in more CSPAN than your average American, none of the names ring a bell), with the goal of examining how Obama is viewed "by the black man and the white, the cultural anthropologist and the historian, the northerner and the southerner, the immigrant and the foreigner, the woman who suffered when Hillary got beat." While this section practically begs for an essay critical of Obama - just one, mind you! - the editors at Life wouldn't hear of it. Likewise, the specter of racism is discussed in depth, as it should be - as I noted above, this was a historic election cycle. However, 2008 was notable not just because it saw the first African American presidential candidate on a major party ticket - but because he was competing against the first viable female candidate in the Democratic primaries. Just as race(ism) was at the forefront in 2008, so too was sex(ism) - but the misogyny directed at Hillary Clinton and her supporters (and later, Sarah Palin and her supporters), is barely given a nod. But again, I expected as much when I requested the book from LT; a masterpiece of political journalism, TAJOBO is not.
To be fair, THE AMERICAN JOURNEY OF BARACK OBAMA doesn't claim to be a comprehensive biography or exhaustive journalistic endeavor. Rather, it's a pretty book, meant to commemorate the first African American President of the United States. (I somewhat doubt that Life would have released THE AMERICAN JOURNEY OF JOHN MCCAIN, had Obama lost the election, you know?) In this, the editors at Life largely succeed; and yet, because Obama's American journey is also a journey shared by the many people of color who supported Obama, campaigned on his behalf, braved harsh weather and crushing throngs in order to hear him speak, and celebrated with him when he won the election, I can't help but feel as though more of the photos in this (photo)essay could have - should have - been dedicated to them: "Yes WE Can." |
America unbound: no barriers of class and race
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| Review Date: November 23, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Gautam Maitra, Kolkata, India |
The marvellous depiction by the editors of the LIFE Magazine on Barack Obama's life's sojourn leading to his assuming US Presidency is another example of America's cutural and social richness where family or social background hardly matters. Anybody having true worth and imagination can make it big in that promised land. Truly, Obama's life vindicates the de facto American motto E Pluribus Unum.
The American Journey of Barack Obama is the most appropriate title picked by by the LIFE Editors. The rich reserves of photographs in this book is the icing on the cake for the readers.
So far so good. But it's only half completed journey. The real test of Obama would be in his ability to lift the United States out of its current impasse and steer the bald eagle to its intended course as envisaged by the Founding Fathers. Obama's optimism as expressed in his best selling books might prove to be a plus point in this respect.
Gautam Maitra
Author of 'Tracing the Eagle's Orbit: Illuminating Insights into Major US Foreign Policies Since Independence'. |
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