No story has been more central to America’s history this century than the rise of Barack Obama, and until now, no journalist or historian has...
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May 06, 2010
Erik
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When a friend gave this to me recently, I wasn't sure I would read it. I thought it was too soon for a biography on Obama. But then I realized that it wasn't too soon to talk about his life up to this point. After all, that's not going to change. In addition, when it comes to history, we tend to think the more recent the better, but the fact is that those books written about people or events closer to their time tend to capture nuance in a way the later stuff can't. For instance, Simon Schama's
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Sep 13, 2010
Maureen
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Terrific. One of several definitive books about the President and campaign. Recommend highly. You can never go wrong w/ Remnick's writing.
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Jul 23, 2010
Mary
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Inspirational and Revealing!
Fascinating journey and ascent of a younng black man, who in the beginning seemed to have little going for him. With a brilliant, but self-delusional Kenyan father, who deserted him as a baby and a devoted, but often absent mother, Barack (known as Barry growing up)learned at an early age that he had to more or less shift for himself. Fortunately he met the right people along the way who helped him on his journey, and he didn't waste time feeling s More...
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Mar 23, 2011
Caroline
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I very much doubt there'll be a better biography of Barack Obama, at least not within the next decade or so, because this book is truly excellent. I came away from it not just with a better understanding of Obama, but the civil rights movement and race relations in America in general.
It really clarified my image of Obama as an extraordinary man - not necessarily an extraordinary President, because history will tell on that one, and simply being the first African-American President in n More...
It really clarified my image of Obama as an extraordinary man - not necessarily an extraordinary President, because history will tell on that one, and simply being the first African-American President in n More...
Dec 13, 2010
Boekenbuzz.nl
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De Brug. Leven en opkomst van Barack Obama vertelt het verhaal van het leven en de verkiezing van de eerste Afro-Amerikaanse president van Amerika. Sinds de val van het communisme in 1991 is er geen enkele gebeurtenis geweest die over de hele wereld zozeer tot de verbeelding heeft gesproken als de verkiezing van Barack Obama. Amerika werd opnieuw het land van de onbegrensde mogelijkheden, van hoop en van openheid. Het bijzondere was dat dit allemaal werd bewerkstelligd door een politicus die nog
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Jul 10, 2010
Greg
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I'm trying to be better about posting what I read...
This was an engaging look at Obama's history that helped me fill in a few gaps that were unclear. In particular, the sections on Obama's community organizing activities in Chicago, and his early family life were interesting and constructed with the deft sensibility of a journalist. Remnick certainly is an Obama supporter, but does an excellent job focusing on the symbolism of the "Yes we can" movement in relation to the ci More...
This was an engaging look at Obama's history that helped me fill in a few gaps that were unclear. In particular, the sections on Obama's community organizing activities in Chicago, and his early family life were interesting and constructed with the deft sensibility of a journalist. Remnick certainly is an Obama supporter, but does an excellent job focusing on the symbolism of the "Yes we can" movement in relation to the ci More...
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Jun 01, 2010
Jim
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This lengthy (591 pages) book tells us in considerable detail all that we already know about the life and election of Obama, with some added information, based on Remnick’s extensive interviewing and research, plus perspective offered by Remnick. Remnick situates Obama’s life and rise to the Presidency within the history of race in America. Obama represents the “Joshua generation”, a generation that missed out on the struggles and heroics of the Civil Rights movement era but having benefited fro
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May 31, 2010
Carol
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This biography of Barack Obama, by the white editor of "The New Yorker", offers a little more detail about the lives of Obama's parents than hitherto discussed, more detail about his schooling, and much more information about his life as a community organizer and state senator in Illinois, and his subsequent political campaigns. His mother achieved a PhD; she is not usually discussed in detail, but she was a courageous, warm and intelligent person. His father had expected a government
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Apr 27, 2010
Blog on Books
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You would have to be living under a rock, as they say, not to have noticed New Yorker editor David Remnick making the rounds of the news-talk shows the last few weeks in support of his new book, ‘The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama.’ Remnick has appeared on virtually every show and newspaper column and seemingly for good reason. For as much as there are more Obama books on the market than any first year president in recent memory, ‘The Bridge’ stands out as the one book, save Obama’s o
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Apr 19, 2010
Donna
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This is a really good book detailing the life of Barack Obama. Even though many would say that he is over-exposed, I learned alot about him that I hadn't read before. More importantly, I learned about many of his colleagues and friends which helps to put him in context.
Perhaps the most interesting parts of the book for me were the Chicago chapters. I know second-hand some things about the areas in which he worked as a community organizer and know people who know people who know hi More...
Perhaps the most interesting parts of the book for me were the Chicago chapters. I know second-hand some things about the areas in which he worked as a community organizer and know people who know people who know hi More...
Jun 22, 2010
Brian
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This biographical analysis of Barack Obama might be better left for the historians of 30 to 50 years from now, but through fresh, detailed reporting, David Remnick pieces together the rise of Obama and his complicated place in the racial history of our country and his relationship with the civil rights movement's ideals, values and still living figures. The back half of the book is a rehash of the 2008 presidential primaries and general election with little in the way of new reporting, but the m
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Jun 16, 2010
Bookmarks Magazine
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Most reviewers were pleasantly surprised to find that anyone could find anything new to say about the president, since he is one of the most scrutinized people on the planet and has already written two memoirs. But Remnick pulls off The Bridge, in part, through innovative and exhaustive research. Several critics remarked how Remnick's reporting expanded their views of the Obama of Dreams From my Father; others were grateful for the author's elucidation of the president's crucial years in Chicago
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May 06, 2010
Tad
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What I enjoyed most about this book was perspective. I've read Obama's two books and I mostly enjoyed them. My general feeling is it's WAY too early to have a biography written about Obama but this book is an exception to that thought (in my mind). If you've read Dreams of My Father you probably feel you know quite a lot about his background. What you don't learn is anything about his mother and very little about his father. You have no idea really how they came to know one another nor do y
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Jan 30, 2011
Brad
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The Bridge is, as the subtitle suggests, at the life and rise of Barack Obama, and at times it's a great read. But it is a long book, with several tangents that sometimes seem appropriate and sometimes seems like the author is being paid by the word.
David Remnick, the editor The New Yorker, starts the book with a look at Obama's parents, in particular his father, a man who had several families and ended up embittered and impotent with anger. Obama was determined not to repeat his mis More...
David Remnick, the editor The New Yorker, starts the book with a look at Obama's parents, in particular his father, a man who had several families and ended up embittered and impotent with anger. Obama was determined not to repeat his mis More...
Apr 30, 2010
Christine
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I very much enjoyed this book. It's the only book I've read about Obama, and it was extremely informative and interesting, particularly the first 3 parts (of 5). Because Remnick went through a great deal of trouble to interview everyone he could from Obama's past, all the way back to his childhood, he provides a pretty comprehensive picture of the young Obama.
The last 2 sections of the book, however, were dedicated to the Presidential campaign and the earliest days of the 44th presi More...
The last 2 sections of the book, however, were dedicated to the Presidential campaign and the earliest days of the 44th presi More...
Sep 28, 2011
Breanne
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This book took me longer to read than any I have picked up in a long time. Usually I could not put a book down, but this one I almost had to, just to digest the information. There is an excellent backdrop of American history in this book, especially with the civil rights movement. There were quite a few things I learned about reading this book. I think that anyone could enjoy this, regardless of your personal opinion of Barack Obama, or your political beliefs. It was an amazing book for laying o
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Jan 02, 2011
Katina
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When I selected this book off the "new" shelf at the library, I wondered if I could possibly get through it. It is not short. I also wondered how much I cared to read more about Obama, since I've read both of his books. To my surprise, this was utterly captivating, very well-written, and quite nuanced. That's not to say that Remnick isn't an Obama fan, but this book captures very admirable parts of Obama's life and work and other crap that we all expect from all people, especially
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Dec 31, 2011
Amr
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I've read quite a number of books about Obama, from the ones that were available during the 2008 campaign like David Mendell's "Obama: from Promise to Power" to the ones covering his first year in office like Richard Wolffe's "Revival", Bob Woodward's "Obama's Wars" and Jonathon Alter's "The Promise", not to mention Obama's two books. I list these books to brag but rather to show how David Remnick's book "The Bridge" is different.
Even thoug More...
Even thoug More...
Mar 07, 2011
Patricia
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This was an excellent biography that revealed many different facets of the man who is our president. David Remnick's research is comprehensive. He did not shy away from reporting what some of Obama's detractors have to say, but clearly Obama has made more friends than enemies among the people he has met directly and/or befriended. I was particularly interested in his early life as a black child raised by white people-- his grandparents. Because I have two adopted African grandsons, I enjoyed the
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May 13, 2010
Katharine
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This is an absolutely must-read, for anyone interested in the people, cultures, and life events that shaped Barack Obama and led him to become the compelling candidae that won the U.S. presidency in 2008. David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, has done a masterful job of researching exhaustively and weaving together the strands of Obama's like to provide a fascinating and evenhanded picture that is the first character study (more than a bio) of this relatively young man. Before, we heard from
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Jun 18, 2010
Allen
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A rich and deeply sophisticated portrait of the man who became 44th President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama. The text ranges both chronologically and thematically along a narrative bridging the beginnings of the moral accomplishments made in Selma and Montgomery on behalf of civil rights through the very nitty gritty political detail which led to the election of a man of mixed race, a self-identified Black African-American to the office of the President of the United States.
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May 24, 2010
Robert
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Feb 14, 2011
Anne
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I hadn't planned to read this book.....thinking it was such familiar territory, but I'm glad I did. What the book brings together, based on many, many interviews of the participants and key players is the real sense of the story unfolding. Unlike following the story in newspapers or magazines, this book created a sense of actually being there, an inside look not only at Obama and his team, but so many others. Plus, nice historical overviews placing what's happening within it's own context. A
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Aug 19, 2011
Tonya
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I am enjoying taking my time in this book. I am about half-way through. Here is my favorite sentiment so far:
"Narrative is the most powerful thing we have. From a spiritual point of view, much of what is important about us can't be seen. If we don't know people's stories, we don't know who they are. If you want to understand them or try to help them, you have to find out their story." (Jerry Kellman, community organizer in South Side Chicago).
"He (Obama) had More...
"Narrative is the most powerful thing we have. From a spiritual point of view, much of what is important about us can't be seen. If we don't know people's stories, we don't know who they are. If you want to understand them or try to help them, you have to find out their story." (Jerry Kellman, community organizer in South Side Chicago).
"He (Obama) had More...
Jul 25, 2011
Dee
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Well obviously, I put this book on hold for several months. The first chapter or two, didn't tell the story quite like I'd expected. It seemed too political. However, when I decided to go back to it, the historical piece was there. The story of the young Obama, the story of his father and stepfather and most importantly the story of his mother is truly interesting. I'm only about 25% into the book, but would recommend it to anyone who wants to know how 'Barry' (Barack) Obama became presiden
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May 31, 2010
Trish
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This dense and detailed look at a moment in history when Obama began his run for the White House in the end gives the reader the sense of a blind man running his hands over an elephant, or Galileo gazing at the stars. The detail just makes one jealous to know those things we are not reading about--what was he thinking, not just what he was saying. One wants the man himself, not just the story of him.
In the end, every book about this period is bound to be a disappointment in itself. I More...
In the end, every book about this period is bound to be a disappointment in itself. I More...
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Jun 03, 2011
Richard
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I think if you are interested in the political process; if you long to understand our current president; if you wish to understand the Obama policies; if you want to know how it was possible to win the presidency when most people had never heard of him, then you should read David Remnick's book about the man. David clearly lays out how Pres. Obama came to the notice of the American public: through strength of intellect, persistence, calmness under attack, determination to offer a new form of le
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May 17, 2010
Made it to page 122. Too slow, too dry, and at least in the first 122 pages too full of information I already knew or had read elsewhere. The new information that was presented I'm not that interested in. The details of Obama's mother's doctoral dissertation? The record of the basketball team that Obama played on when he was in high school and his "odd, but effective, double-pump jump shot that he took in the lane off the dribble"? No thanks.
The other reviewers here sugges More...
The other reviewers here sugges More...
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May 17, 2011
Christine
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Overall superbly written, explains Obama's intellectual development in depth, states the importance of race in his election and paradoxically the absence of race in most of his campaigning, which was mainly a decision made by his campaign managers. In a way this book fills in this gap and introduces race relations into the publics' understanding of Obama. I highly recommend this book and am looking forward to reading many of the books mentioned by Remnick and formative of the President's thinkin
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May 29, 2010
Mary Gail
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Excellent and engaging look at Obama. It is not at all dry because it includes short bios on many major figures in his life. It also looks in depth at the Hawaiian and Indonesian cultures in which he was formed and at the many facets of Chicago socio-political realities and personalities in which he grew as a politician. Really explains the bases of his global views, his pragmatism, and his determined search for middle ground.
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