Book Review: The Audacity of Hope

I read a book. I deserve a cookie. But there are no cookies, so I'm gonna write a review instead.

I've just finished Barack Obama's second book The Audacity of Hope. I figured that since I'm gonna vote for the guy, and I even gave him money, I might as well take the oppourtunity to see what he's really about. Finding a copy was an adventure. My main library said they had a copy, but despite the best efforts of myself and two librarians it was impossible to find. They figured it was likely stolen. A trip to a second library yielded success.

This book is basically a series of essays, each one of which addresses some overarching policy or societal theme. Obama talks about political polarization, health care, the economy, family, national defense and other things. In each chapter he relates experiences from his life in and out of politics, with a focus on his life as a senator. Occasionally he will interject with policy ideas which he believes would help remedy our national ills. I don't agree with all of them, but they serve more as a starting point for discussion rather than a comprehensive blueprint.

What's interesting about this book was its release in 2006, only two years ago but what seems like eons in political time. Several things have changed in the interim, not the least of which is that Obama is now an official nominee for president. There are a number of small things in the book, word choices or the inclusion of certain passages, which you might have expected a presidential nominee not to include for fear of offending somebody and costing them votes. I wonder if the text would remain unchanged if the book was released today. Another big change is the mentions of Obama's former pastor the Reverend Wright, whose congregation Obama publicly left early this year because of controversy about Wright's sermons. Its ironic that the title of the book comes from one of Wright's sermons and now, just two years later, Obama and Wright are publicly at odds.

The book is an easy read, which I mean in a good way. It's engaging and not overly preachy or dull. Obama is a good, not great, writer who comes off as honest, smart, self-effacing and passionate about his points of view. More than that, he really seems to understand not only politics but America, what ails our society and what our strengths are. I think he uses a few too many words at times and relies too much on pleasing both sides with his examples. He'll frequently be discussing something and cite both a liberal and conservative example, a practice which makes sense given the aim of the book but makes getting through the text a little more of a strain than it could be. Nevertheless the book never drags.

I can easily see how those who come to this book with hard political beliefs will interpret it as confirming their points of view. Liberals will love it and get fired up about Obama, while conservatives will have lots of things to hate. But it is the open minded reader, whether conservative, liberal or moderate, to whom this book is addressed and who will get the most out of it. I urge anyone to give it a try. You may not have your mind changed on politics or policy, but more than likely you'll get to thinking about things in a new and more positive way.