Warning! This is a summary for two books and intended to harmonize with, not replace, Barack Obama’s compelling story, A Promised Land, and Michelle Obama’s epic story and the best selling book in 2018, Becoming. A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making, A Promised Land relates the story of Obama’s unlikely journey starting as a young boy in Indonesia and Hawaii. His time in prep school showed more passion for his jump-shot and partying than studying. We experience his college years under the admitted influence of Marxism, and into Harvard Law and as the President of the Law Review-- which would launch his political career from substantial hype in The New York Times. Obama offers insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics, and international diplomacy, up until the time he allegedly captures Osama bin Laden. In a life filled with racial tension, and a haunting self-doubt of her abilities, Michelle Obama emerged as one of the most iconic women in the last decade. Establishing herself as a powerful advocate for the female sex, improved nutrition, and exercise became priorities. We experience her childhood on the South Side of Chicago, a shy girl self-confined to her room after school to play with dolls until age 10, to her years as an executive balancing the demands of work and being a mother, to her time spent in the 132-room White House where she broke security protocol to sneak out to see the rainbow White House colors to celebrate gay marriage in all 50 states. She describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both private and public--like inappropriately placing her hand on the Queen of England. or saying that she was proud of America--for the first time. Becoming is the personal story of an unlikely rise to the White House by a woman of color that also sends up a few puzzling red flags and glosses over a few key facts.
