An American Story: The Speeches of Barack Obama: A Primer

by David Olive

Barack Obama, junior senator from Illinois, first captured America’s attention with his keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Now, as presumptive Democratic candidate for President, Obama’s superb and captivating oratory style has earned him comparisons to John F. Kennedy and even Martin Luther King – and on the campaign trail Obama has achieved near rock-star status. Obama speaks on themes of race, identity, community, and above all, his hoped-for vision of a New America. His legions of supporters gravitate towards his unblemished idealism. Still, as David Olive writes, “even the most ardent supporters of Barack Obama ... might wonder at times if the mesmerizing orator is more style than substance.” Here, interspersed with the entire text of Obama’s key speeches, Olive explores the controversies: Obama shedding his American flag lapel pin, Reverend Wright, his anti-war stance, his strong Christian faith, and his often racially charged remarks – and the victories: passage for more than 280 bills in his last two years in the Illinois state senate, his actions towards social justice, and his remarkable rise from underdog to potential future president of the United States. Bookended with Obama’s ’04 keynote at the Democratic National Convention and “A More Perfect Union” – called the only historic speech of this 2008 campaign – An American Story exposes politicos, voters, and fans of Obama to the speeches that gave rise to the current phenomenon.

Genres: Politics

230 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

"...I am not going to tell you what your role should be, that is for you to discover. But I am going to ask you to play your part - ask you to stand up, ask you to put your foot firmly into the current of history. I am asking you to change history's course. And if I have the fortune to be your President, decades from now - when the memory of this or that policy has faded, and when the words that we will speak in the next few years are long forgotten - I hope you remember this as a moment when your own story and the American story came together, and history bent once more in the direction of justice." ( from Barack Obama's campaign speech on Cornell College)

[joana leite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adoro ler livros políticos e biografias, e tenho a dizer que esta obra está muito bem conseguida. Lê-se rápido e, ao contrário do que se possa pensar pelo título, é muito mais do que simples discursos. Este livro oferece-nos todo o percurso de Obama, desde a nascença até à altura em que se candidatou a presidente (2008, data em que foi publicado), para além de diversas análises aos seus discursos mais famosos e capítulos inteiramente dedicados à sua opinião em assuntos importantes (saúde, aborto, segurança social,etc.).
Após esta leitura, posso dizer que fiquei a admirar ainda mais Obama por todo o seu percurso de vida, o seu percurso enquanto político, e as ideias que defende no geral. É uma pessoas bastante moderada, que não procurou dividir os EUA em estados azuis e estados vermelhos, agravando as divisões já existentes entre o povo americano, mas tentou unir o país numa só voz, captando eleitores de todo o espectro político, devido ao facto de não ser extremista em nenhuma das suas ações.
A única coisa que mudaria neste livro é o facto de ter sido escrito antes da sua vitórias nas eleições presidenciais, pois gostaria muito de ter lido também sobre o seu percurso enquanto presidente, contrastando o que disse que iria fazer e o que realmente foi feito. De qualquer forma, é um ótimo livro que recomendo a qualquer pessoa que tenha o mínimo interesse em política, e que esteja a procura de alguns discursos inspiradores e alguma informação credível :)

[Kane Faucher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps it would be less an exaggeration and more a due honour to include within the illustrious canon of gifted orators such as Cicero, Lincoln, Churchill, Kennedy, and Martin Luther King another name: that of Barack Obama. In offering his message of hope and change, Obama was able to secure victory to become the 44th US president. However, what granted his meteoric rise to acclaim were his ideas and how he expressed them. Since rhetoric has the capacity to mesmerize if not even trick an audience, David Olive's book endeavours to balance a trove of Obama's speeches against the issues Obama stands for. Olive begins with an examination of Obama's political platform and background, exploring the man behind the captivating words. Marketing itself as a "primer", Olive's book gives a solid introduction to Obama's political ideals as a future presidential policy-maker, and furnishes the reader with 21 of Obama's key speeches on issues such as foreign policy, stem cell research, religion, environment, patriotism, and education. The old adage of "what works on the stage does not do so on the page" can fairly be debunked when we consider Obama's contagious passion and eloquent discourse that translates smoothly and evocatively upon reading. Obama's speeches as portrayed in this book bear all the hallmarks of his rhetoric predecessors, demonstrating a mastery in public speaking that is direct, poignant, and poetic. Olive himself does a masterful job of placing Obama's speeches in a readily accessible context, even if at times it seems his favourable opinion may occult his objectivity.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A biased and flattering pretrayal of Barack Obama in his years prior to becoming president. Of the twenty-one speeches included only his initial inaugural address is given thus there is nothing presented that demonstrates his changed political agenda. The rest are from his campaigns. The author spends time attacking president Bush instead of looking at both men objectively.

[Adam Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soaring rhetoric, inaccurate claims, and almost entirely devoid of meaning.