The Audacity of Hope-Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama

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Book Review: The Audacity of Hope-Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

This book authored by Barack Obama directly grows out the author’s campaign trail relating back into the larger context of politics, civic life, and fundamental decency of the American people. The text reflects the author’s beliefs such as the free market, competition and entrepreneurship. It also reflects his phenomenal leadership traits such as humility, vision, intellectual power and many more. An analysis of the leadership style of the author is made with respect to the Kouzes and Posner model towards the end of the report along with what I personally take back from this book and apply it in the context of my own life.

The first part of the book takes us through understanding of the two parties, Democrats and Republicans. Barack Obama says that he is a person who understood politics, as a full contract sport subject to the sharp elbows and an occasional blind side hit. During his first Senate race in 2004, Obama won the Democratic primary with a sizeable margin that it appeared as a ‘spooky good fortune’ and to political insiders his victory did not stand out. As he is inducted into the Senate house and begins his train into mainstream politics, Obama points out that the biggest issue exists in what he calls a gap between the magnitude of our challenges and the smallness of our politics. This is reflected through the views of the ordinary citizens of the country. They might be differently principled, live in different geographical parts of the country, however they are waiting for a politics with the maturity to balance idealism and realism. He points out that people may not always understand arguments of different political wings, however they ...

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...bama mentions that, over the years his title, his interactions, his schedule and many more everyday life events may have changed, however he still maintains and ensures a strong family support system. In my family all of us live in different time zones in the world and at times let our schedules get the best of us and do not interact as much as we should. I am a very family bound person and for me it is extremely important to have that interaction. This is a great read in terms of understanding the author’s political convictions and inspires us to trust his strong sense of optimism in moving forward. He is a prolific writer and I really enjoyed the read, however to be very honest the only thing I think I can take back from this book and apply to my own life is the author’s predominant respect for family structure and his understanding of its importance in life.

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