I usually do not read autobiographies. Or books by politicians. But Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance is an exception.
First of all, it’s written by Barack Obama and was written before he got into politics. So it’s refreshingly honest. Secondly, Obama writes well, very well.
Dreams from My Father is basically about the young Obama’s quest for identity. As a child of a Kenyan black man and a Kansan white woman who was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents, he was somewhat of an outsider to both the African American experience and the general White majority.
It is a work of self-reflection and Obama comes across as a thoughtful and honest person.
I read the book on the way to Pakistan (more about that in my next blog post) and during my stay there.
If you want to understand Obama the man and where he comes from, I think this book is essential reading.
The Audacity of Hope
I read Obama’s book about his political program during the election and inauguration.
Here is his honesty:
From Dreams of My Father: ‘I ceased to advertise my mother’s race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites.’
From Dreams of My Father : ‘I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mother’s race.’
From Dreams of My Father: ‘There was something about her that made me wary, a little too sure of herself, maybe and white.
From Dreams of My Father: ‘It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names.’
From Dreams of My Father: ‘I never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn’t speak to my own. It was into my father’s image, the black man, son of Africa, that I’d packed all the attributes I sought in myself: the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela.’
And FINALLY, and most scary!
From Audacity of Hope: ‘I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.’
D. McTee: And here is your dishonesty:
These two quotes do not exist in Dreams from My Father.
This quote is also misquoted and distorted.