Yunxiang yan biography of barack obama
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My fingers are crossed that Maraniss writes a follow-up volume focusing on Obama’s political ascent and presidency. (He has indicated an interest in doing so, but only after Obama’s book is published and once his library archives are accessible) — 4¼ stars (Full review here)
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Best Biography of Barack Obama: ***Too early to call***
Follow-up:
– “Obama: The Call of History” (2017) by Peter Baker
– “Obama: From Promise to Power” (2007) by David Mendell
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China, Unseen: Solving Problems in the New Era Video
Many discussions about “China” are really about the Chinese Communist Party, but governments and the people are not exactly the same thing.
And, of the three books I read, this provides the most informative “all around” coverage of Obama’s pre-presidency – 4¼ stars (Full review here)
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* “Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama” (2017) by David Garrow
This 1,078-page biography, covering Obama’s life up through his presidency, is noteworthy for its length as well as the deep research which supports an often extraordinary level of detail.
After the Republicans won control of the House of Representatives in 2010, the president spent significant time and political effort negotiating, for the most part unsuccessfully, with congressional Republicans about taxes, budgets, and the deficit. And in stark contrast to the first 1000+ pages of the book, Obama’s presidency is covered in less than thirty pages.
May 7, 2019
Research Workshop on Culture and Society, Spring 2019 Event
The Georgetown Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues hosted a two-day research meeting on “Culture and Society,” convened by Dr.
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Yunxiang Yan | September 1, 2020
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He announced plans to remain in Washington, DC, until his younger daughter finished high school and, as a former president, to play a restrained but active role in public affairs. Unfortunately, the degree of satisfaction a reader achieves by patiently navigating its ten chapters is inadequate compensation for the persistently tedious experience.
Garrow makes no discernible effort to separate mundane details from consequential facts and there are few, if any, overarching themes or theses.
After winning a closely fought contest against New York Senator and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination, Obama handily defeated Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee for president, in the general election.
When President Obama took office, he faced very significant challenges.
Obama was elected to the Illinois state senate in 1996 and served there for eight years.
Barack Obama: Life in Brief
Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States—becoming the first African American to serve in that office—on January 20, 2009.
The son of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father, Obama grew up in Hawaii.
But as a presidential biography it proves a mind-numbing exercise in patience and pointless perseverance – 2 stars (Full review here)
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* “Barack Obama: The Story” (2012) by David Maraniss
I had a great experience with Maraniss’s biography of the young Bill Clinton and this book on Barack Obama’s early life did not disappoint.
The economy was officially in a recession, and the outgoing administration of George W. Bush had begun to implement a controversial "bail-out" package to try to help struggling financial institutions. When the Republicans won the Senate in 2014, Obama refocused on actions that he could take unilaterally, invoking his executive authority as president.
In foreign policy, Obama concentrated during the second term on the Middle East and climate change.
Obama left the presidency, at age fifty-five, after his constitutionally limited two terms ended on January 20, 2017. Their two daughters, Malia Ann and Natasha (Sasha), were born in 1998 and 2001, respectively.
As a reference on his pre-presidency this book is, in some ways, commendable. It also ends somewhat abruptly – just as Obama is leaving Chicago to attend Harvard Law and well before the start of his political career.
But it is extremely well-researched, quite well written and, in the end, paints a compelling portrait of the 44th president (as he approaches the end of his third decade of life).