Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Barack Obama's first book, Dreams from My her, was a
compelling and moving memoir focusing on personal issues of race,
identity, and community. With his second book The Audacity of
Hope, Obama engages themes raised in his keynote speech at the
2004 Democratic National Convention, shares personal views on
faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves
repairing a "political process that is broken" and restoring a
government that has fallen out of touch with the people.
Amazon.com had the rtunity to ask Senator Obama a few
questions about writing, reading, and politics--see his responses
below. --Daphne Durham
20 Second Interview: A Few Words with Barack Obama
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 her 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
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 a--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 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 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.
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