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Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama

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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ? ONE OF ESSENCE'S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS In this iconic memoir of his early days, Barack Obama guides us straight to the intersection of the most serious questions of identity, class, and race (The Washington Post Book World). Quite extraordinary.--Toni Morrison In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father--a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man--has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey--first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother's family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family, confronts the bitter truth of his father's life, and at last reconciles his divided inheritance. Praise for Dreams from My Father Beautifully crafted . . . moving and candid . . . This book belongs on the shelf beside works like James McBride's The Color of Water and Gregory Howard Williams's Life on the Color Line as a tale of living astride America's racial categories.--Scott Turow Provocative . . . Persuasively describes the phenomenon of belonging to two different worlds, and thus belonging to neither.--The New York Times Book Review Obama's writing is incisive yet forgiving. This is a book worth savoring.--Alex Kotlowitz, author of There Are No Children Here One of the most powerful books of self-discovery I've ever read, all the more so for its illuminating insights into the problems not only of race, class, and color, but of culture and ethnicity. It is also beautifully written, skillfully layered, and paced like a good novel.--Charlayne Hunter-Gault, author of In My Place Dreams from My Father is an exquisite, sensitive study of this wonderful young author's journey into adulthood, his search for community and his place in it, his quest for an understanding of his roots, and his discovery of the poetry of human life. Perceptive and wise, this book will tell you something about yourself whether you are black or white.--Marian Wright Edelman Editorial Reviews Provocative . . . Persuasively describes the phenomenon of belonging to two different worlds, and thus belonging to neither.--The New York Times Book Review Fluidly, calmly, insightfully, Obama guides us straight to the intersection of the most serious questions of identity, class, and race.--The Washington Post Book World Beautifully crafted . . . moving and candid . . . this book belongs on the shelf beside works like James McBride's The Color of Water and Gregory Howard Williams's Life on the Color Line as a tale of living astride America's racial categories.--Scott Turow Obama's writing is incisive yet forgiving. This is a book worth savoring.--Alex Kotlowitz, author of There Are No Children Here - From the Publisher Elected the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, Obama was offered a book contract, but the intellectual journey he planned to recount became instead this poignant, probing memoir of an unusual life. Born in 1961 to a white American woman and a black Kenyan student, Obama was reared in Hawaii by his mother and her parents, his father having left for further study and a return home to Africa. So Obama's not-unhappy youth is nevertheless a lonely voyage to racial identity, tensions in school, struggling with black literature-with one month-long visit when he was 10 from his commanding father. After college, Obama became a community organizer in Chicago. He slowly found place and purpose among folks of similar hue but different memory, winning enough small victories to commit himself to the work-he's now a civil rights lawyer there. Before going to law school, he finally visited Kenya; with his father dead, he still confronted obligation and loss, and found wellsprings of love and attachment. Obama leaves some lingering questions-his mother is virtually absent-but still has written a resonant book. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour. (June) - Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly Barack Obama, a black man raised by his white mother and grandparents, decided to journey to Kenya to learn more about his African father after receiving news of his death. This memoir is not about his father's life, but about Obama's, and he brings that home with an intimate tone rather than that of his public speeches. (His 2004 Democratic Convention keynote address is included at the end.) Throughout the book, the U.S. Senator looks at race from the point of view of someone who has seen and been part of a variety of cultures, and he explains how his perspective shaped his views. The book, written in 1995, before his election to the Illinois Senate, gives listeners a chance to learn more about a young senator who has recently made news by speaking out on the Patriot Act and President Bush's next Supreme Court nomination. J.A.S. 2006 Spoken Word Grammy Award Winner AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine - OCT/NOV 05 - AudioFile
Publication Details

Title: Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

Author(s):

  • Barack Obama

Illustrator:

Binding: Paperback

Published by: Crown Publishing Group: , 2004

Edition:

ISBN: 9781400082773 | 1400082773

464 pages. 5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

  • ENG- English
Book Condition: Very Good
3318ak

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What does the Book Condition Very Good mean? Good? Fair?
See our descriptions of book descriptions here: book's conditions.
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Foxing is an age-related process of deterioration that causes spots and browning on old books. The causes of foxing are not well understood, but high humidity may contribute to to foxing. 
Foxing - Wikipedia
What is tanning?
Age tanning, or browning, occurs over time on the pages of books. This process can show up on just the edges of pages, when this occurs it is sometimes referred to as "edge tanning." This kind of deterioration is commonly seen in books printed before the advent of acid-free paper in the 1980s.
r/BookCollecting - Is this mold or normal aging for a well used book?
 
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To date it was a first edition first printing copy of JRR Tolkien’s The Two Towers. It was in very poor condition but still was worth over NZ$1000.
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We had a lot of trouble sourcing the right sort of bubble mailer to send our books out in, and eventually found a supplier of high quality mailers in China to import them from. We figured other sellers of small items in New Zealand might like to also use them.
Are you open to the public?
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Contact Details

  • Trade Name: Book Express Ltd
  • Phone Number: (+64) 22 852 6879
  • Email: sales@bookexpress.co.nz
  • Address: 35 Nathan Terrace, Shannon, 4821, New Zealand.
  • GST Number: 103320957 - We are registered for GST in New Zealand
  • NZBN: 9429031911290

       

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