I was given a copy of A Promised Land by Barack Obama for Christmas and finally finished it a few days ago. It's a big book, with 700 pages of tightly packed text, so I couldn't easily read it in bed and had to work through a few pages at a time when I was sitting downstairs.
I asked to have this book as I am a big fan of both Barack and Michelle Obama, and I already have other books they have written on our bookshelf. I first became interested in Obama during his presidential campaign in 2007, when I read an extended article in the Sunday Times describing his aspirations, and how he was reaching out to ordinary people who had never voted before. I was immediately struck by his caring attitude towards forgotten sections of the population and the way he conveyed his ideas without ever talking down to people.
When he was elected President of the United States I remember rushing home from work on inauguration day so that I could watch the ceremony live on television. Dinner was delayed that evening as nothing was going to move me from my spot on the sofa until it was all done and dusted.
Having followed his career over the years, I am already familiar with a few of the names of his closest advisors, and I remember some of the challenges he had to face during his presidency, so I had some background knowledge to help me keep on track with the book. I was also able to watch the 'fly on the wall' documentary The Final Year on Netflix at the same time I started the book, so that also helped with my understanding of more complex issues.
The book sets out how Obama entered the White House as the first black president, and what that meant to all black people across America and the world beyond. He got to his position by shear hard work and determination, and always being on top of the detail for everything he had to deal with. I think it would be difficult to find another president who was as well read as Obama on such a wide range of subjects.
He entered the White House with a wife and two small girls, so he not only had to take responsibility for running the country, but also to stay in touch with his family and meet their needs as they adapted to life in the public eye. Obama gives great credit to Michelle for keeping his feet on the ground during his presidency, and between the two of them they set the bar high for moral standards and transparent working.
The honest accounts given in the book include times of doubt and mistakes made, and although this is a personal view of his term in office, I think we can appreciate that Obama did the best that he could and was always willing to be held to account for his actions.
The book ends with probably the most difficult decision that Obama had to make during his two terms in office, and that was the order to kill Osama Bin Laden at his compound in Pakistan. Bin Laden was the leader of al-Qaeda, and masterminded the September 11 attacks which resulted in the deaths of 3000 Americans that made him the subject of a decade long manhunt. When he was finally identified in his compound, Obama made sure that any attack would not result in the unnecessary killing of other family members. This was not to be revenge at any cost and, although there was a need to act quickly, it was necessary to plan the whole mission carefully to ensure success and to get all the Navy SEALs home safely.
Although this was a successful mission, Obama was determined not to glory in the taking of a human life and he ensured that photographs of Bin Laden's dead body were not circulated to the press. He also directed that the body was to be buried at sea within 24 in accordance with the customs of Islam.
Unless you have an interest in American politics, then this book may prove to be a struggle as there is a great deal to take in and understand. The reader is assisted to some extent by Obama's inclusion of background history that appears before his accounts of major events. He also has an easy style that makes the detail as easy to follow as it can be, so it is worth the effort to concentrate and get to the end.
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