While it would appear to anyone tracking how long it has been since I announced this book that it has taken me two months to read Obama's first book, this is not the case. I must admit I tucked The Other Boleyn Girl in before starting Dreams in order to read it before the movie. (As a brief aside, the book is much better than the movie.)
For anyone wanting to know who Barack Obama the man is, you need look no further than the pages of this book. Dreams of My Father is an unabashed look at what it is to grow up of mixed race in America - an enlightening view for those of us blessed with fair skin and the perks that come along with it. Obama wrestled with how to be black without that presence in his life everyday. Reading his life's story one understands that he truly does see the world through many lenses - a perspective that makes him uniquely suited to lead our melting pot nation.
At a time when the media is fixated on the idea that Obama is out of touch with average Americans I wish the press would pay attention to this book - to more than the passages acknowledging drug use. As Reverend Wright's anger and frustration at his government dominate headlines, I wish the media would look to Obama's struggle with such bitterness throughout his life. For those that insist Wright's focus on skin color must translate to a similar obsession on Obama's part I wish they would read this book. Obama is not out of touch with the average American. He wants to be defined by his race no more than the average white southerner wants to be defined by a racist heritage.
"I had stumbled upon one of the well-kept secrets about black people: that most of us weren't interested in revolt; that most of us were tired of thinking about race all the time; that if we preferred to keep to ourselves it was mainly because that was the easiest way to stop thinking about it, easier than spending all your time mad or trying to guess whatever it was that white folks were thinking about you."
This passage struck me because throughout this campaign I have found myself wondering what black people think of skinny white girls like me who are running around with Obama stickers on their cars. Aware of lingering racism, I grew-up wondering in the back of my mind if anything I did could be wrongly construed as such. To learn that the same insecurities plagued Obama and his friends was just one example in this book of how truly similar we all are.
In Dreams of My Father, Barack Obama talks about healing from start to finish. He often doesn't use that word but in his search for self and heritage and harmony, he is seeking to heal, to meld the diverse parts of himself. It is this same sense of healing - both racial and non - that he seeks to bring to our country now, at a time when we have so much healing to do. Anyone questioning Obama's character or understanding of what it is to be American and to love a country and want to work to make life better for all of us needs to read this book.
4 of 5 stars
Next selection: Thunderstruck by Eric Larson. Thunderstruck is the historical tale of Hawley Crippen and Guglielmo Marconi, of murder and invention. It is the account of one of the greatest criminal chases of all time.
Thunderstruck by Erik Larson is a non-fiction account of how the lives of a murder and an inventor entwined during one of the most sensational manhunts in British history. Thunder reads much like a novel and is intriguing and educational. I learned more than I ever thought I would about how telecommunications began. To me the story of Marconi's unlikely road to inventing the telegraph waffled between interesting and tedious at times. However, the story of Scotland Yard's pursuit of "The North London Cellar Murderer" is compelling from start to finish.
3 of 5 stars
Next Selection: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. This novel about love, mystery and life with the circus comes highly recommended from a dear friend!
