The American Journey of Barack Obama by The Editors of Life Magazine, Edward M. Kennedy (Foreword by)

From the Publisher

When millions of his countrymen first encountered the young politician from Illinois four years ago, they knew immediately that they had never seen or heard anyone like him before. As he spoke at the Democratic convention, his eloquent phrases followed one upon another and rose to an astonishing, inspiring level. The next morning people everywhere asked one another: "Did you see him?"

As America learned more about Barack Obama, they discovered an extraordinary life. The son of a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas; raised in Hawaii , then Indonesia, then Hawaii again; educated at Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the first black president of the Law Review -- this man named Barack seemed an uncanny example of success in the Melting Pot, a true original who had emerged from nowhere and risen to imaginable heights. His story is told in these pages in evocative words and intimate pictures, many of them seldom seen, several presented in a book for the first time.

For decades Americans have turned to LIFE to see, understand, and remember the most important events and people of our time. Just as LIFE once opened up the glittering Kennedy White House, LIFE now focuses its lens on Barack Obama. The American Journey of Barack Obama covers the candidate from his childhood and adolescence to his time as editor of The Harvard Law Review and his Chicago activist years, culminating with the excitement and fervor of the historic 2008 Democratic National Convention. The unfolding drama of Obama's life and political career is cinematic in scope, and never has it been presented so richly.

In addition to a powerful array of photographs that were taken by many of the country's greatest photographers (and some that were snapped, in the quiet moments, by Obama family members themselves), this book also includes an incisive narrative biography, a foreword by Senator Edward M. Kennedy and original essays by some of our finest writers. Gay Talese, Charles Johnson, Melissa Fay Greene, Andrei Codrescu, Fay Weldon, Richard Norton Smith, Bob Greene and several other astute commentators weigh in on various aspects of Obama: Who is this man? What makes him different? What, finally, does his emergence mean for our country?

Many readers who visit these pages will find compelling answers to these questions. All readers will feel that they are bearing witness to a singular, undeniably American story.

LIFE has long been one of the country's preeminent publishers of periodicals and books, and is renowned for its presentation of photography. The editors who bring you The American Journey of Barack Obama are the same who created One Nation: America Remembers September 11, 2001, also published by Little, Brown, which reached No. 1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list and was hailed by The Wall Street Journal as "a thorough and thoughtful telling."

What People Are Saying

Henry Louis Gates Jr.
"The phenomenon that is Barack Obama has intrigued us all. Who is Barack Obama? The editors of LIFE have gone a very long way toward helping us all answer this question. Senator Obama's singularly American life has been characterized by tragedy and triumph, drama and despair, anxiety and anticipation, and, ultimately, enormous excitement and the deepest historical significance. In this book, Obama's tale is told in all of its dimensions, from the mistakes he has made and the obstacles he has confronted and overcome, to his moments of almost sublime and glorious transcendence. With spectacular photographs -- funny, surprising,exceptional in detail -- combined with a highly readable narrative, Obama's biography comes to life, from his youth in Hawaii to his roots in Africa, from Harvard to Chicago and, eventually, to his life as a public servant in Washington. Who is Barack Obama? Read these compelling words and study these exceptionally candid and beautiful photographs and discover the answer for yourself."

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