Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama

Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama

Intended Audience: Adults or teenagers interested in racial issues

I first heard of Barack Obama back in 2004 when he became a candidate for the US Senate for Illinois. Although at the time, his selection and ultimate victory seemed a lucky fluke, he quickly became rather famous, giving the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. Currently he is the only seated US Senator of African American descent. On Saturday, February 10, 2007, Obama is expected to announce that he is running for President of the United States.

Obama’s biography, Dreams from My Father was selected for Kewanee Public Library’s Adult Book Club read for February in honor of Black History month. It is a fitting book for February as it deals with both racial discrimination and identity in a fair and balanced manner. The book will also give readers an inside glimpse into the history and character of this rising star in our political sky. Obama birth was the result of a racially mixed marriage. His father was a foreign student from Kenya who ultimately returned to his native country to fulfill his own destiny. Barack Obama was raised by his white mother and grandparents, mostly in Hawaii. Barack remained relatively innocent about racial tensions in the world until junior high school. Once he became aware of the undercurrents and power disparities in the world Obama spent the rest of his adolescence questioning his role as a black man in America and ultimately reached the realistic but hopeful tone he implores today.

One copy of Dreams from My Father is available at the Kewanee Public Library in Adult Biography

Reviewed by Jill Gray

Information Services, Kewanee Public Library