Barack Obama Books

Barack Obama has written two spectacular best-selling books that you definitely want to buy and read. Below are the titles and descriptions of these outstanding works, followed by a quick question and answer session with Barack.

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

After becoming the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, Barack Obama was offered a book contract, and that is how “Dreams of my Father” began.

It was first published in 1995, but was re-released in 2004 after Barack Obama’s inspiring keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

The book is an autobiographical narrative in which Barack Obama tells of his life up to his entry in Harvard Law School. Born in Hawaii in 1961 to a black Kenyan student and a white American woman, Barack experienced many challenges, which started when his parents separated when he was two years old (and divorced when he was four).

His mother then married an Indonesian man and the family moved to Indonesia, where Barack stayed until he was ten. The gripping narrative continues from there.

“Dreams from My Father” is a must read.

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

“The Audacity of Hope” offers Barack Obama’s personal manifesto for his 2008 presidential campaign.

The term “The Audacity of Hope” was first used as the title for the 2004 Democratic Convention, the speech that propelled him into political superstardom. In his book, Barack expands on many of the themes from his speech.

“The Audacity of Hope” is a must read.

Below is a short interview in which Barack Obama responds to questions about his books and related issues.

Q: How did writing a book that you knew would be read so closely by so many compare to writing your first book, when few people knew who you were? 

A: In many ways, Dreams from My Father was harder to write. At that point, I wasn't even sure that I could write a book. And writing the first book really was a process of self-discovery, since it touched on my family and my childhood in a much more intimate way. On the other hand, writing The Audacity of Hope paralleled the work that I do every day--trying to give shape to all the issues that we face as a country, and providing my own personal stamp on them.

Q: What is your writing process like? You have such a busy schedule, how did you find time to write? 

A: I'm a night owl, so I usually wrote at night after my Senate day was over, and after my family was asleep--from 9:30 p.m. or so until 1 a.m. I would work off an outline--certain themes or stories that I wanted to tell--and get them down in longhand on a yellow pad. Then I'd edit while typing in what I'd written.

Q: If readers are to come away from The Audacity of Hope with one action item (a New Year's Resolution for 2007, perhaps?), what should it be? 

A: Get involved in an issue that you're passionate about. It almost doesn’t matter what it is--improving the school system, developing strategies to wean ourselves off foreign oil, expanding health care for kids. We give too much of our power away, to the professional politicians, to the lobbyists, to cynicism. And our democracy suffers as a result.

Q: You're known for being able to work with people across ideological lines. Is that possible in today's polarized Washington? 

A: It is possible. There are a lot of well-meaning people in both political parties. Unfortunately, the political culture tends to emphasize conflict, the media emphasizes conflict, and the structure of our campaigns rewards the negative. I write about these obstacles in chapter 4 of my book, "Politics." When you focus on solving problems instead of scoring political points, and emphasize common sense over ideology, you'd be surprised what can be accomplished. It also helps if you're willing to give other people credit--something politicians have a hard time doing sometimes.

Q: How do you make people passionate about moderate and complex ideas? 

A: I think the country recognizes that the challenges we face aren't amenable to sound-bite solutions. People are looking for serious solutions to complex problems. I don't think we need more moderation per se--I think we should be bolder in promoting universal health care, or dealing with global warming. We just need to understand that actually solving these problems won't be easy, and that whatever solutions we come up with will require consensus among groups with divergent interests. That means everybody has to listen, and everybody has to give a little. That's not easy to do.

Q: What has surprised you most about the way Washington works? 

A: How little serious debate and deliberation takes place on the floor of the House or the Senate.

Q: You talk about how we have a personal responsibility to educate our children. What small thing can the average parent (or person) do to help improve the educational system in America? What small thing can make a big impact? 

A: Nothing has a bigger impact than reading to children early in life. Obviously we all have a personal obligation to turn off the TV and read to our own children; but beyond that, participating in a literacy program, working with parents who themselves may have difficulty reading, helping their children with their literacy skills, can make a huge difference in a child's life.

Q: Do you ever find time to read? What kinds of books do you try to make time for? What is on your nightstand now? 

A: Unfortunately, I had very little time to read while I was writing. I'm trying to make up for lost time now. My tastes are pretty eclectic. I just finished Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead, a wonderful book. The language just shimmers. I've started Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which is a great study of Lincoln as a political strategist. I read just about anything by Toni Morrison, E.L. Doctorow, or Philip Roth. And I've got a soft spot for John le Carre.

Q: What inspires you? How do you stay motivated? 

A: I'm inspired by the people I meet in my travels--hearing their stories, seeing the hardships they overcome, their fundamental optimism and decency. I'm inspired by the love people have for their children. And I'm inspired by my own children, how full they make my heart. They make me want to work to make the world a little bit better. And they make me want to be a better man.

Barack Obama Quick Facts

By BarackObama.net Staff

Meaning of the name “Barack”: One who is blessed 
Barack's nickname when he was young: Barry
Birthdate: August 4, 1961 
Birthplace: Honolulu, Hawaii 
Height: 6’1” 
Alma Mater: Columbia University (1983); Harvard Law School (1991)
Marital Status: Married 
Wife’s Name: Michelle Obama 
Date of Marriage: October 18, 1992 
Children: (2) Malia Ann Obama, born 1999; Natasa Obama (known as Sasha), born 2001 
Residence: Chicago, Illinois 
Parents: Barack Obama. Sr., from Kenya, and Ann Dunham, from Kansas (Mother and father have passed away) 
Religion: Christian 
Hobbies: Poker and basketball

Barack Obama Quotes

Compiled by BarackObama.net Staff

Below you will find some insprirational Barack Obama quotes.

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
Barack Obama

There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America . 
Barack Obama

I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.
Barack Obama

We've gotta restore the American people's confidence in the ethics process by ensuring that political self-interest can no longer prevent politicians from enforcing ethics rules.
Barack Obama

If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists - to protect them and to promote their common welfare - all else is lost.
Barack Obama

We have to acknowledge the progress we made, but understand that we still have a long way to go. That things are better, but still not good enough.
Barack Obama

Americans…still believe in an America where anything's possible -- they just don't think their leaders do.
Barack Obama

If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress.
Barack Obama

People are very hungry for something new. I think they are interested in being called to be a part of something larger than the sort of small, petty, slash-and-burn politics that we have been seeing over the last several years.
Barack Obama

Hope – Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.
Barack Obama

Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. And it will leave you unfulfilled.
Barack Obama

In the end, no amount of American forces can solve the political differences that lie at the heart of somebody else's civil war.
Barack Obama

The true test of the American ideal is whether we’re able to recognize our failings and then rise together to meet the challenges of our time. Whether we allow ourselves to be shaped by events and history, or whether we act to shape them.
Barack Obama

Americans…still believe in an America where anything's possible – they just don't think their leaders do.
Barack Obama

Faith doesn't mean that you don't have doubts.
Barack Obama

Faith is not just something you have, it's something you do.
Barack Obama

America is a land of big dreamers and big hopes. It is this hope that has sustained us through revolution and civil war, depression and world war, a struggle for civil and social rights and the brink of nuclear crisis. And it is because our dreamers dreamed that we have emerged from each challenge more united, more prosperous, and more admired than before.
Barack Obama

I always believe that ultimately, if people are paying attention, then we get good government and good leadership. And when we get lazy, as a democracy and civically start taking shortcuts, then it results in bad government and politics.
Barack Obama

When people are judged by merit, not connections, then the best and brightest can lead the country, people will work hard, and the entire economy will grow - everyone will benefit and more resources will be available for all, not just select groups.
Barack Obama

You know, there's a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit - the ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes; to see the world through the eyes of those who are different from us – the child who's hungry, the steelworker who's been laid-off, the family who lost the entire life they built together when the storm came to town. When you think like this – when you choose to broaden your ambit of concern and empathize with the plight of others, whether they are close friends or distant strangers – it becomes harder not to act; harder not to help.
Barack Obama

It's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.
Barack Obama

If we aren't willing to pay a price for our values, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.
Barack Obama

We have a stake in one another … what binds us together is greater than what drives us apart, and ... if enough people believe in the truth of that proposition and act on it, then we might not solve every problem, but we can get something meaningful done for the people with whom we share this Earth.
Barack Obama

The fact that my 15 minutes of fame has extended a little longer than 15 minutes is somewhat surprising to me and completely baffling to my wife.
Barack Obama

What Washington needs is adult supervision.
Barack Obama

The country is not as polarized as our politics would suggest.
Barack Obama

A good compromise, a good piece of legislation, is like a good sentence; or a good piece of music. Everybody can recognize it. They say, "Huh. It works. It makes sense.
Barack Obama

Most people who meet my wife quickly conclude that she is remarkable. They are right about this. She is smart, funny and thoroughly charming. Often, after hearing her speak at some function or working with her on a project, people will approach me and say something to the effect of, you know, I think the world of you, Barack, but your wife, wow!
Barack Obama

My wife has been my closest friend, my closest advisor. And ... she’s not somebody who looks to the limelight, or even is wild about me being in politics. And that’s a good reality check on me. When I go home, she wants me to be a good father and a good husband. And everything else is secondary to that. 
Barack Obama

We need to steer clear of this poverty of ambition, where people want to drive fancy cars and wear nice clothes and live in nice apartments but don't want to work hard to accomplish these things. Everyone should try to realize their full potential.
Barack Obama

We can't change the way Washington works unless we first change how Congress works.Barack Obama

Whenever I write a letter to a family who has lost a loved one in Iraq , or read an email from a constituent who has dropped out of college because her student aid has been cut, I'm reminded that the actions of those in power have enormous consequences – a price that they themselves almost never have to pay. 
Barack Obama

That is the true genius of America , a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. 
Barack Obama

Our goal is to have a country that's not divided by race. 
Barack Obama

Iraq is sort of a situation where you've got a guy who drove the bus into the ditch. You obviously have to get the bus out of the ditch, and that's not easy to do, although you probably should fire the driver. 
Barack Obama

My faith reminds me that we all are sinners.
Barack Obama

Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. it's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.
Barack Obama

I have seen, the desperation and disorder of the powerless: how it twists the lives of children on the streets of Jakarta or Nairobi in much the same way as it does the lives of children on Chicago ’s South Side.
Barack Obama

When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.
Barack Obama

Yes, our greatness as a nation has depended on individual initiative, on a belief in the free market. But it has also depended on our sense of mutual regard for each other, of mutual responsibility. The idea that everybody has a stake in the country, that we're all in it together and everybody's got a shot at opportunity. Americans know this. We know that government can't solve all our problems - and we don't want it to. But we also know that there are some things we can't do on our own. We know that there are some things we do better together.
Barack Obama

Most people who serve in Washington have been trained either as lawyers or as political operatives – professions that tend to place a premium on winning arguments rather than solving problems. 
Barack Obama

We’ve come to be consumed by a 24-hour, slash-and-burn, negative ad, bickering, small-minded politics that doesn’t move us forward. 
Barack Obama

In an interconnected world, the defeat of international terrorism – and most importantly, the prevention of these terrorist organizations from obtaining weapons of mass destruction -- will require the cooperation of many nations. We must always reserve the right to strike unilaterally at terrorists wherever they may exist. But we should know that our success in doing so is enhanced by engaging our allies so that we receive the crucial diplomatic, military, intelligence, and financial support that can lighten our load and add legitimacy to our actions. This means talking to our friends and, at times, even our enemies.
Barack Obama

We should be more modest in our belief that we can impose democracy on a country through military force. In the past, it has been movements for freedom from within tyrannical regimes that have led to flourishing democracies.
Barack Obama

Race is still a powerful force in this country. Any African American candidate, or any Latino candidate, or Asian candidate or woman candidate confronts a higher threshold in establishing himself to the voters 
Barack Obama

Our enemies are fully aware that they can use oil as a weapon against America . And if we don't take this threat as seriously as the bombs they build or the guns they buy, we will be fighting the War on Terror with one hand tied behind our back.
Barack Obama

Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can't tackle the big problems that demand solutions. And that's what we have to change first. We have to change our politics, and come together around our common interests and concerns as Americans.
Barack Obama

It's not just enough to change the players. We've gotta change the game. 
Barack Obama

The Barack Obama Family

Members of Barack Obama’s family:

Michelle - Barack's beautiful wife

Malia (prounuced muh-lee'uh) - Barack's oldest daughter, born in 1999

Natasha (known as Sasha) -Barack's youngest daughter, born in 2001

Please enjoy the pictures of the Obama family below:

Barack Obama is sworn in as a U.S. Senator with his family by his side.

A big wave to Obama supporters!

The Obama Family: happy and united!

Barack gives Malia a big kiss!

The Obama family: an inspiration to us all!

Sasha points to the next president of the United States
(that would be her dad: Barack Obama!)