Got Volume 1 of @BarackObama’s political memoir #APromisedLand on Wednesday, along with 890,000 others in the US & Canada alone https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/18/barack-obama-book-presidential-memoir-a-promised-land It is one of the best written books I’ve read in any genre, &, effortlessly one of the best political biographies.

The number of Post-It notes reflect the many pages that I will return to in years to come. President Obama’s journey to White House is as compelling to read as reflections on wife, family & dog. It also brings back so many memories of 1st & 2nd terms.

Recall his speech at the DNC but honestly, what I was rocking to was http://will.i.am ’s Yes We Can which was just lyrical politics unheard of then. After Obama won, listened to It’s. New Day on loop

#APromisedLand will be read in the context of Trump, but that would be a disservice to writing & reflections. Having read Ben Rhodes & Michelle Obama previously, the terrain covered is familiar but Obama sheds new light as only a POTUS, husband & father can. It’s riveting.

Loved the sections on family & wife, as well as his own upbringing, mother & grandmother. The indescribable loneliness &, ironically, near complete lack of privacy, is finely drawn out. To carry burden of knowledge esp. around terrorism & keep it from family unimaginable burden.

Obama the erudite, class & caste conscious President is juxtaposed with Barack the fallible, reflective & self-critical man. Freed from imposed decorum, his takes on well-known politicians highlights of the book, incl. devastating put down of Rahul Gandhi. Vol 2 may find Modi.

Obama the Nobel Peace Laureate is even more tragi-comic after this book. Author himself questions why he got the Prize. There’s performance moralising & hand-wringing over committing to attrition, but nothing on dramatic increase of drone strikes under his administration.

Author’s love of politics shines through, as does his love of engaging youth on it. From the WH to his trips, the book captures how much he was frustrated with the GOP at home but never stopped engaging people - esp youth - on politics & political engagement. Amazing.

Vol 2 may consider how what he says about Hillary Clinton as erstwhile Presidential candidate in ‘08 changed in ‘16. But some of the most compelling bits of book are around the real West Wing staffing & drama. Beats the TV series by a mile, and that’s saying something.

Obama’s capture of Rhodes, David Axelrod, Rahm Emanuel, David Plouffe & so many others who were familiar names back then a real joy to read. You feel & sense the highs & lows. It’s like you are in the room with them. It’s something else.

And of course - my favourite bits - political communications & campaigning. Author repeatedly reflects on how what was seeded then & by his own campaign transformed in just two presidential terms into hyper-partisan instrumentalisation by 2016.

There’s also a very interesting reflection on how Sarah Palin - mention of whom brought back so many memories that seems quaint in light of Trump/GOP today - was even then indicative of growing divisions across aisle & performative politics over principles.

We discover what Obama thought of @PeteSouza whose photo collection of Obama’s presidency is one of the most treasured in my library. #APromisedLand scattered w/ gems providing author’s searing insights into individuals, institutions & human relations, incl. amongst WH staff.

From the Deepwater Horizon debacle to the killing of Osama Bin Laden, both know & relatively unknown, domestic & international incidents are unpicked with remarkable detail. I found most fascinating Obama’s unorthodox antics at UN both hilarious & diplomacy at its best.

#APromisedLand covers the Middle East, Europe, India & China. It’s the last & the US engagement w/ the then CCP leadership I found really interesting https://twitter.com/sanjanah/status/1329631286718124034 incl. extraordinary measures when visiting the country. It’s another, alien world of bilateralism.

President @BarackObama’s book best read w/ @Isabelwilkerson’s utterly compelling ‘Caste’ (a far more insightful/visceral take on race in the US), ‘The World As It Is’ by @brhodes & of course @MichelleObama’s ‘Becoming’. These are all unputdownable books.

US media coverage after #APromisedLand release fawns over @BarackObama. I can well understand why, but the man & t(his) book really call for someone from another context, outside the US, to ask harder questions around silences, decisions, failures & legacy.

As @mohammedhanif frames so well https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/03/donald-trump-us-presidents-joe-biden Obama is no angel. No US President is & #APromisedLand makes clear why realpolitik always wins out. To seek a return to country or context under Obama is to be wistful for a past that created the issues at present.

Kept PhD aside & read #APromisedLand for 2 days not because I uncritically love Obama, but because I remember him & family on stage as President + celebrations. It was an indescribable feeling as much as an indelible memory. This book reminded me of what politics sh/could be.