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Dreams From My Father

A Story of Race and Inheritance

Barack Obama author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Canongate Books

Published:1st Dec '16

Should be back in stock very soon

Dreams From My Father cover

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.

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 * *

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

ISBN: 9781782119258

Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 26mm

Weight: 337g

464 pages

Main - Canons Edition