Description
Book Synopsis‘One of the most compelling stories I’ve seen about what it’s actually like to serve the American people’ BARACK OBAMA
A revelatory, behind-the-scenes account of the Obama presidency and a political memoir about the power of words to change our world
This is a book about two people making the most important decisions in the world. One is Barack Obama. The other is Ben Rhodes.
A young writer and Washington outsider, Rhodes was plucked from obscurity aged 29. For nearly ten years, he was at the centre of the Obama Administration – first as a speech-writer, then a policy maker, and finally a close collaborator.
Here, Rhodes tells the full story of his partnership – and, ultimately, friendship – with a historic president. From the early days of the Obama campaign to the final hours in the Oval Office, he puts us in the room at the most tense and poignant moments in recent history.
‘Vivid, lucid, enjoyable… A compelling account of life in the Obama White House’
Justin Webb, The Times
‘A stylish, beautifully written political memoir’
Colum McCann
Trade ReviewBen’s one of the few who’ve been with me since that first presidential campaign. His memoir is one of the most compelling stories I’ve seen about what it’s actually like to serve the American people for eight years in the White House -- BARACK OBAMA
Ben Rhodes … has written a book that reflects the president he served —
intelligent, amiable, compelling and principled … a
classic coming-of-age story, about the journey from idealism to realism,
told with candor and immediacy … There are anecdotes galore, but they illuminate rather than scandalize … Ben Rhodes is a charming and humble guide through an unprecedented presidency … As a result,
his achievement is rare for a political memoir: He has written a humane and honorable book * New York Times *
Vivid, lucid, enjoyable ... A
compelling account of life in the Obama White House -- Justin Webb * The Times *
Taut, compelling. -- Peter Conrad * Observer *
A page-turning, unfiltered, altogether human look at Barack Obama’s presidency. Ben Rhodes — one of Obama’s closest and most important advisers — opens up the defining issues of the presidency: from the role of race and the rise of conspiracy theories to the hunt for bin Laden, the Syria “red line” debate, and the secret negotiations Ben himself led to normalize ties with Cuba. Insightful, funny, and moving,
this is a beautifully observed, essential record of what it was like to be there. -- Samantha Power, Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations
