Young Mr. Obama
Chicago and the Making of a Black President
By Edward McClelland
October 2010
$24.00
288 pp
5.5 x 8.25 in
Hardcover
By Edward McClelland
How the rough-and-tumble reality of Chicago taught a brilliant but callow young African American politician the lessons that launched him on the road to history.
Barack Obama's inspirational politics and personal mythology have overshadowed his fascinating history. Young Mr. Obama gives us the missing chapter: the portrait of the politician as a young leader, often too ambitious for his own good, but still equipped with a rare ability to inspire change. The route to the White House began on the streets of Chicago's South Side.
Edward McClelland, a veteran Chicago journalist, tells the real story of the first black president's political education in the capital of the African American political community. Obama's touch wasn't always golden, and the unflappable and charismatic campaigner we know today nearly derailed his political career with a disastrous run for Congress in 2000.
Obama learned from his mistakes, and rebuilt his public persona. Young Mr. Obama is a masterpiece of political reporting, peeling away the audacity, the T-shirts, and the inspiring speeches to craft acompelling and surpassingly readable account of how local politics shaped a national leader.
Quotes for Young Mr. Obama :
“Where did Barack Obama come from? No answer to that question can be complete without the stories that unfold in this book. Many of them date from the time when Edward McClelland was just about the only reporter covering the young and unknown Obama. Understanding how this extraordinary leader rose from Chicago politics to the pinnacle of world power is not possible without the insights in "Young Mr.Obama.”— Stephen Kinzer, author of Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq
"Edward McClelland's Young Mr. Obama argues convincingly that our first black president couldn't have come from any place other than Chicago. If you want to understand the 'Chicago-style' politics that shaped our president--the real thing, not the right-wing cartoon--you have to read Young Mr. Obama."—Joan Walsh, editor in chief of Salon.com
Reviews for Young Mr. Obama :
Edward McClelland’s YOUNG MR. OBAMA was the subject of a blog post on U.S. News & World Report’s “Washington Whispers” recently!!
“[McClelland] makes a convincing case that President Obama’s experiences in his adopted city shaped him profoundly and helped make him the seasoned and formidable politician he is today. An engaging overview of the president’s early political education.”—Kirkus Reviews
“As Barack Obama’s presidency is beset by falling ratings, a weak economy, and an antideficit mood, McClelland’s examination of Obama’s ascendency should encourage supporters and instill caution in opponents.”—Publishers Weekly
