Skip to main content

January 2021 Read of the Month Review

 Happy to report that I finished my January 2021 Read of the Month, A Promised Land by President Barack Obama. This autobiography (the first of two volumes according to this work) covers mainly Obama's political career but the major focus is on his early political career as state senator in Illinois and United States Senator. It then shifts and covers his decision to run for the office of President of the United States, his journey to win the Democratic nomination and eventually the office of President of the United States. The remainder of the book runs through his first term in office as President of the United States. The book ends with his description of the events leading up to and the eventual capture of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, spoiler alert our Navy Seals were successful and killed Bin Laden in the May 2011 raid.

Ok a few comments about the book, fair warning I am an Obama fan; not an owning Obama clothing/flag waving fan, but a fan nonetheless.

  • As I mentioned in my introduction of the book I am amazed Obama writes his book longhand before sitting in front of a computer, as a journal writer I can respect that.
  • It is a long book, and some of the foreign policy sections can get long and dry. I had no problem reading through the sections on Obama's early years, his election journeys, and his domestic programs.....I did struggle with some of the foreign policy chapters/journeys. 
  • In true Obama style, he does not take many "shots" at the opposition. Sure he had a few words for some in GOP leadership, but for the most part he is quite respectful. Obama does take a few swipes at President Trump, mainly because of Trump's "birth certificate" claims about Obama, and to be honest who can blame the author for being annoyed by that farce

So overall rating, I will give it a 4/5 with a markdown for the long-winded foreign policy sections, but that is probably more on me not be interested than it is on Obama. I get it, I mean it is a big part of the job as President of the United States. I respect it as extremely important, it is just not something I am as interested in as a reader. I look forward to volume two, which I will guess covers his second election and term as President of the United States. Now to find a fiction title for February. Happy Reading!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Your Own Personal Library Catalog

So, how many of you have remember using an old style, card catalog?  You know, you want to find a book in your local library, so you pull out the long drawers flipping through cards.  Well those days are long gone of course (thankfully) and nearly all libraries use an electronic catalog system to keep track of their collections.  Many of the school districts in Wayne County are using a system developed by Follett .  It is a great system for school age children and prepares them for many of the advanced catalogs available in public and university libraries. Catalog software is quite expensive and really impractical for home libraries.  Some book lovers may create their own spreadsheet or database to keep track of their books, however there is a great (free) tool online to not only catalog your books, but also meet and communicate with other book lovers online.  The site  librarything.com is a wonderful site that lets you catalog your own home library.  Think of it as a "Facebook
7 comments
Read more

A Once-In-A-Lifetime Event

Back in November I wrote about what I believe to be the best part of my job; running into Carlson High School graduates that are success stories and hearing about how well they are doing in the "real world."  Carlson High School graduate Nathan Matatall is clearly one of these success stories.  After graduating from Carlson High School and Michigan State University Nathan has gone on to very successful career at Dell Computers.  The News Herald even published a feature piece on Nathan a few years ago.  This past week, Nathan provided my family with a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will never forget.   Nathan, my former public speaking student, contacted me via email a few weeks ago and inquired about taking my kids on a tour of Marine One (one of the helicopters used to transport The President of the United States and other dignitaries) and to possibly attend the landing of Air Force One when President Obama was scheduled to arrive in Detroit.  I was very excited a
7 comments
Read more

A Little R & R

I decided to take a little R & R before things get crazy with back to school.  I wanted to spend some time with my family for these final weeks of summer, so I decided a break from writing was in order.  A trip to Kalahari and fun times with friends and family made August fly by.  So, what does school year 2014 bring for me?  Quite a bit, as always: Back to teaching two courses at Wayne County Community College.  Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings I head to Northline Road to teach college level English.  I really love this second job! Tuesday, I start my 17th year at O.A. Carlson High School.  While public education continues to face challenges, there is no other job for me at this time.  I love my co-workers and students.  Gibraltar is a great place to work. I will be running my kids all over as usual.  Gymnastics, religious education, flag football (which I coach as well), and others events "to be determined."  I would not have it any other way.  I love watch
Post a Comment
Read more