Remarkably thorough, even for a presidential biography
This is the story of Barack Obama's unlikely rise to the White House, from his birth in Kenya to his socialist indoctrination in ultra-militant madrassas to his animation/voiceover work on Al Qaeda training videos. Kidding. But really: Obama's loudest and least informed critics would do well to read The Bridge before they pack up the misspelled protest signs for the next birther party. Even for a presidential biography, this book is remarkably thorough. David Remnick, New Yorker editor by day, doesn't just talk to everybody from every phase of Obama's life (teachers, teammates, co-workers) he does the same for Michelle, his parents and his mentors. And as we follow young Barry from one colorful and complicated backdrop to the next — Hawaii, Jakarta, Harvard, Chicago — the man, the thinker and the politician gradually come into focus. And that's great, that's what books like this are supposed to do. But The Bridge really shines in its efforts to place Obama in a historical context. The Civil Rights Movement didn't just shape the man who would become the first black president of the United States, it shaped the country's readiness to elect him.
Summary
The Bridge
Narrarated by: Mark Deakins
eMusic Review 0
04.05.10
David Remnick, The Bridge
2010 | Label: Random House Audio
This is the story of Barack Obama’s unlikely rise to the White House, from his birth in Kenya to his socialist indoctrination in ultra-militant madrassas to his animation/voiceover work on Al Qaeda training videos. Kidding. But really: Obama’s loudest and least informed critics would do well to read The Bridge before they pack up the misspelled protest signs for the next birther party. Even for a presidential biography, this book is remarkably thorough. David Remnick, New Yorker editor by day, doesn’t just talk to everybody from every phase of Obama’s life (teachers, teammates, co-workers) he does the same for Michelle, his parents and his mentors. And as we follow young Barry from one colorful and complicated backdrop to the next — Hawaii, Jakarta, Harvard, Chicago — the man, the thinker and the politician gradually come into focus. And that’s great, that’s what books like this are supposed to do. But The Bridge really shines in its efforts to place Obama in a historical context. The Civil Rights Movement didn’t just shape the man who would become the first black president of the United States, it shaped the country’s readiness to elect him.
