Renegade: The Making of a President

Well written, terrific read! (2010-08-12) : 5/5
This book is well written with an intellect and command that lets you get the meat without having to wade through anything frivolous or distracting. It gives substance and direction to what is left out of informed conversation and what is spewed on the tube. It bestows upon a deeply meaningful time in our history a reality check that reminds the reader that politics and the workings of government are extremely complex and issues and questions are sticky and seemingly impossible;that it takes a thorough understanding, a massive desire and a willingness to change one's life in ways unimagined, and a deep love for one's country to take on this job.(It isn't the pay or the great invasion of privacy) It also takes tremendous intellect and an ability to see the whole picture with the country's core needs always in mind and heart, to have the guts to spend a lot of money to repair and rebuild a self-destructive country before it dissolves itself, to turn our Titannic around by inviting a self-serving party with no head and all body (the GOP) to get a grip and step up. This book clarified that that party thinks little of the needs, intellect and power of it's own contituency. I could not put this book down. The Promise is next.
Campaigning Ad Nauseam (2010-07-27) : 5/5
It's simple, really. You have to be absolutely out of your friggin' gourd to run for President of the United States. The grueling days. Being under the media microscope. Surrounded with Secret Service. Political gasbags constantly pontificating about your missteps. Break wind and it's on every cable-news station for the umpteenth news cycle. The herculean struggles against Senator Clinton during the primaries. The whole Reverend Wright debacle which led to his historic speech on race. Senator Obama spent 21 months in pursuit of the Holy Grail, but it came with a very, very steep price. Mr. Wolffe lays out a flattering portrait of our 44th President. The book is an exercise in trying to flesh out Barack Obama. How he grew and was tested as a candidate permeate this volume. This book is a good followup to President Obama's own two works, "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope." Adversaries will hate. Supporters will love it. The Open-Minded will come to understand a little more as to how and what makes President Obama tick. An illuminating, enjoyable read.
Obama Deserved Better, as Did His Opponents (2010-07-24) : 2/5
Yes, I did not vote for Obama. Nevertheless, I wanted to learn more about him than I had learned during the campaign. The book started out well. The description of how he came to decide to make the run for president, and how he put together a group of financial backers, was very interesting. I started to like him more and more. Too bad the author didn't stop in the first third of his book. He soon was jumping back and forth in time. I should have had a calendar in front of me, because I got thoroughly mixed up. Obama was elated at a win. Then he was dejected (oh wait, that was earlier). Through it all the author let his bias show. He is a good enough writer to be able to cleverly pull to pieces Obama's opponents. He savages Clinton, McCain, and George W. Bush, in a way remeniscent of the back-room snickering of young campaign workers. He even manages to destroy the man that he admires. I found the Obama of the first part of the book to be dedicated and fascinating; but by the last half, the writer had turned him into a wooden statue. We were cheated of an unbiased telling of a fascinating election, and Obama was cheated of a well-written record of how he made history.
Excellent, well written book (2010-05-28) : 5/5
Richard Wolffe did an excellent job with this book. I usually don't enjoy non-fiction, but this book is so easy and enjoyable to read, I totally recommend it.Renegade: The Making of a President
Helped me figure out why Pres. Obama actually pronounces "Pakistan" correctly (2010-05-22) : 4/5
I definitely recommend reading Richard Wolffe's book. It goes behind the scenes and explains Barack Obama the person. Also, Wolffe discusses some things left out of Obama's books, like visiting Pakistan with his Pakistani college roommate when he was in college and how he and Michelle Obama were not on speaking terms during his run for Bobby Rush's House of Representatives seat in 2000.