Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

1995 • 461 pages

Ratings73

Average rating4

15

I get intimidated by long reviews, so I will keep this one short:

Obama, as a writer, is incredibly articulate and meticulous. As politicians go, he's honest with his mishaps and up front with his “reckless” behavior in his past, which was really quite tame for the average well-intending American.

Through reading this book, I came to see that Obama is very human like the rest of us, yet has the insight, dedication, and cultural experience that few of us have the chance to absorb out of life. His struggle with multi-racial identity, his frustration with uncooperative people, his stubbornness to succeed in his ambitions, and his open-minded attitude towards people of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds are apparent in his stories of his childhood, then young adulthood, and visit to Africa to explore his (1/2-)roots.

I would not say this is an intense read. There is a humbleness and mildness to his writing that made this book a very leisurely and mind-opening experience.

March 1, 2009