Book Review: The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

As I write this, we are two years into a new administration, one that is in stark contrast to the previous administration. Frankly, I prefer the tone and direction of the Obama administration over the Trump administration. I prefer Barack Obama‘s qualities as a man and President over our current President. While I had not read The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream prior to Barack Obama taking office, I wish I had. I am confident I would have been able to support his agenda more. The Audacity of Hope clearly outlined his agenda and it was about hope. It was about raising the standard of living for everyone and I mean everyone. This is in direct contrast to the agenda of the man currently in office.

In the prologue, Obama pointed out that the book was not a balanced perspective to what was wrong with the country and how to fix it. What he wrote is aligned with my beliefs,

“I suspect that some readers may find my presentation of these issues to be insufficiently balanced. To this accusation, I stand guilty as charged. I am a Democrat, after all; my views on most topics correspond more closely to the editorial pages of the New York Times than those of the Wall street journal. I am angry about policies that consistently favor wealthy and powerful over average Americans, and insist that government has an important role in opening up opportunity to all. I believe in evolution, scientific inquiry, and global warming; I believe in free speech, whether politically correct or politically incorrect, and I am suspicious of using government to impose anybody’s religious beliefs—including my own—on nonbelievers.”

In this 362 page book, Obama addresses many different issues including the difference between Republicans and Democrats, values, faith, politics, opportunity, race, the world and our position in it, and our Constitution. In each section, I could hear Obama speak. After listening to him as President, I could picture him discussing each of these topics. The Audacity of Hope outlined what he tried to do as President.

Throughout the book, Obama shared his lessons learned while on the campaign trail during each of his runs for office to include President. He was not afraid to change his position based on what he learned.

The amount of research, historical detail, and legal detail was fantastic. As I read this book, I could clearly understand why he was taking the positions that he did.

I am glad that I took this opportunity to read The Audacity of Hope. It gave me an opportunity to better understand a man I admire and respect. I believe our country wasted its opportunity while President Obama was in office. I am simply hoping we can survive the man currently in office.

Additional Reading

• #ATD2018: Keynote: President Barack Obama
• Book Review: Becoming
• Stand on the Shoulders of Giants

Image by Mike Brice from Pixabay

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