Saturday, October 29, 2011

Five best books by 2012 presidential hopefuls

At the Christian Science Monitor, Husna Haq tagged five books by the 2012 presidential hopefuls, including--under the category "best written"--Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope:
When his books hit coffee table and bookshelves across America – and long after – reviewers couldn’t stop cooing about Barack Obama's gift for writing and the success of his books "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope." The president is a natural storyteller and his days as editor of the Harvard Law Review honed his eloquent style.

“Dreams from my Father,” which was published before Obama began his political career, tells his life story up to his entry in Harvard Law School. One Monitor reader said of the book, "He tells his story so earnestly and movingly that a person learns about himself/herself through this book and about the society she/he lives in."

“The Audacity of Hope,” which introduced Obama as a politician, was an instant bestseller, described, like his campaign, as a shot of inspiration. Monitor reviewer Ari Pinkus wrote of this book in 2007, "The openness and eloquence with which Obama shares his personal story interwoven with his broad vision for America is compelling. For those who have been disillusioned by the divisiveness of politics, Obama inspires."
Read about the other books on the list.

Dreams from My Father also appears on Alice-Azania Jarvis's reading list of family memoirs, Gillian Orr's reading list on fatherhood, Sammy Perlmutter's list of the five best books from Nobel winners who didn't win their medal for literature, and Iain Finlayson's critic's chart of six books on young leaders.

--Marshal Zeringue