The world seems to be full of Barack Obama fans and enthusiasts. That doesn’t surprise me one bit, because this man is very promising and from a distance he even comes across as intelligent and capable of making a real difference.
Besides that, he is also from the same generation as I am, virtually my age even, and this gives hope too. He might not have the same drawbacks as the old farts who used to call the shots in the USA until now.
Because of this, and because of Obama’s appearances on TV where he displayed an attitude and well-spokenness that I found really appealing, I thought it would be a good idea to read something of this man. So I bought myself the books “The Audacity of Hope” and “Dreams of My Father” to get into this man’s mind, and I started reading the first one (TAOH).
So now, while reading TAOH, one thing keeps popping up in my head. I am constantly thinking “Hey, Obama should read this book! There are some great ideas in here!” Obama is quoting authors I really dig, and he is making statements that could have originated from myself, or from some of my smart friends. So content-wise, this book is quite palatable and reassuring. In that respect, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to regain some sense of hope for the USA, and for the rest of the planet in its wake, so to speak.
But, sadly, I must say, I am very disappointed with Obama’s writing style. He is no high-flying author. And my wife thought the same thing about DOMF, which she is currently reading. We even share the simultaneous sigh, every now and then, because we’re bored with Obama’s Rococo-style language. But hey, maybe that comes with having such a high achiever as author. Maybe it comes with being so focused on improving the world, which even resulted into achieving the seemingly impossible, that is: becoming a black president of the USA.
Maybe “great writing” should not be asked of Obama, because, besides the things he DOES do right. Perhaps it is simply unobtainable with a life like his. But, finally, maybe it has to do with the way a broad American audience should be addressed. I wouldn’t know, but I do have my suspicions.
I know that writing is a difficult and tedious activity. I read my own blog articles back and sometimes I think that the content may be fine, but the transformation into texts had its difficulties. I see that Obama had some difficulties too, but this should not keep you from reading his books. They are worth the time, because BarackO-man has some important things to say.
It might be wise to read just one book of Obama’s; the one that I consider the most important one at the moment: “Change We Can Believe In”. It saves you some boredom and brings you up to speed with the current Obama thinking, and the effect it will have on his presidency. That is what I would do, had I read a “review” like the one above….
