The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama

Description

The rise of Barack Obama is one of the great stories of this century: a defining moment for America, and one with truly global resonance. This is the book of his phenomenal journey to election, updated in paperback to cover his first two extraordinary years in Office. Through extensive on-the-record interviews with friends and teachers, mentors and disparagers, family members and Obama himself, David Remnick has put together a nuanced, unexpected and masterly portrait of the man who was determined to become the first African-American President. Most importantly, The Bridge argues that Obama imagined and fashioned an identity for himself against the epic drama of race in America. In a way that Obama's own memoirs cannot, it examines both the personal and political elements of the story, and gives shape not only to a decisive period of history, but also to the way it crucially influenced, animated and motivated a gifted and complex man.

David Remnick was a reporter for the Washington Post for ten years, including four in Moscow. He joined the New Yorker as a writer in 1992 and has been the magazine's editor since 1998. His last book was King of the World, a biography of Muhammad Ali, which was selected by Time as the top non-fiction book of 1998. Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire won a Pulitzer Prize in 1994.

"Brilliantly constructed, flawlessly written....A near-definitive study of Obama." -"The Los Angeles Times" "If you care about American politics, you have to read "The Bridge."" -"Salon" "Superb. . . . Remnick is a master blender of history, reporting and narrative." --"The""Seattle Times" "Insight[ful] and nuance[d]. . . .Writing with emotional precision and a sure knowledge of politics, Mr. Remnick situates Mr. Obama's career firmly within a historical context." -Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times"" ""There are a few people of such skill that envy gives way to admiration, and one is left feeling not hostility but respect. Remnick is one of those exceptional practitioners."-"Newsweek" "His work will serve as a building block for all future works on Obama. . . .Lovely and assured." -"Entertainment Weekly"" ""Engaging. . . .Sparkling." -"San Francisco Chronicle"" ""An expansive work. . . .Recounting a pivotal March 2007 speech in S "If you care about American politics, you have to read "The Bridge."" -"Salon" "Writing with emotional precision and a sure knowledge of politics, Mr. Remnick situates Mr. Obama's career firmly within a historical context." -Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times" "A brilliantly constructed, flawlessly written biography." - Douglas Brinkley, "The Los Angeles Times"" ""Exhaustively researched...Remnick has many important additions and corrections to make to our reading of "Dreams From My Father"...The book's insights into Obama's character will be very useful for understanding the man's performance as president." -Garry Wills, "The New York Times Book Review" "An expansive work...Recounting a pivotal March 2007 speech in Selma, Remnick writes that Obama's words were 'at once personal, tribal, natio