An international bestseller which has sold over a million copies in the UK, Dreams From My Father is a refreshing, revealing portrait of a young man asking big questions about identity and belonging.

The son of a Black African father and a white American mother, Barack Obama recounts an emotional odyssey, retracing the migration of his mother's family from Kansas to Hawai'i, then to his childhood home in Indonesia. Finally he travels to Kenya, where he confronts the bitter truth of his father's life and at last reconciles his divided inheritance. Written nearly fifteen years before becoming president, Dreams from My Father is an unforgettable read. It illuminates not only Obama's journey, but also our universal desire to understand our history and what makes us who we are.

About the Author

Barack Obama was born in Honolulu in 1961. In his early twenties he found his vocation working among poor communities on the south side of Chicago. Later he went to law school at Harvard University, where he became the first Black president of the Harvard Law Review. In 1995 he published his memoir Dreams From My Father, which became a bestseller soon after it was reissued in 2004. After returning to Chicago, he was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996.

Barack Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and later that year he was elected to the US Senate. His second book, The Audacity of Hope, was published in 2006 and became an immediate bestseller. In November 2008 Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States of America, following which he published the bestselling Change We Can Believe In. He was re-elected in 2012 and served a second term which concluded in 2016. His next book, A Promised Land, is released in November 2020. He is married to Michelle, with whom he has two daughters, Sasha and Malia.

Reviews
Extraordinary . . . It's unique. It's his. There are no other ones like that -- TONI MORRISON
An American classic, written with grace and precision * * Observer * *
Thoughtful, moving and brilliantly written * * The Times * *
A man with a phenomenal life story * * Spectator * *
A bestseller because of its freshness and honesty -- CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS * * Sunday Times * *
A well-written account of Obama's struggle to establish his own views on identity and race, and all the more entertaining for its honesty * * Financial Times * *
The only politician's life I have read that made me cry . . . elegant and surprising prose as well as a solid personal statement -- IAN KELLY * * The Times * *
With its honesty and cool language, and by virtue of having a story worth telling, the book impresses far more than the typical political memoir -- COLIN WATERS * * Sunday Herald * *
Obama has written a memoir . . . that evokes the anguish of miscegenation yet culminates in a cry of faith in human community . . . Obama is a born narrator, with a mastery of colour, scene and personality, deftly stirring them into the melting pot of a shared American identity. Rarely has that identity found so vivid a portraitist -- SIMON JENKINS * * Sunday Times * *
[Obama] writes with candour about racism, bigotry and hardship, but always there is a sense of wisdom - you feel you are in the presence of a very mature man . . . You will not fail to be moved by Obama's warmth and humility * * Good Book Guide * *


Awards
Winner of The British Book Awards - Best Biography 2009 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9781782119258
Author Barack Obama
Format Paperback
Page Count 464
Imprint Canongate Canons
Publisher Canongate Books
Weight(grams) 337g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 26mm