Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Obama (Barack Hussein Obama II) was born on August 4th, 1961 and is currently 63 years old. Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Obama attended Columbia University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and Harvard University where he received a Juris Doctor degree (magna cum laude).

Barack Obama is an American attorney and politician who served two terms as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He made history as the first African-American president in United States history. He served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004 and was a member of the Democratic Party.

In 1995, Barack Obama published Dreams from My Father, a memoir that details his life from Chicago and Honolulu to the years when he started law school in 1988. Barack was born in Honolulu to Ann Dunham from Wichita, Kansas, and Barack Obama Sr. from Kenya. His parents met at the University of Hawaii but separated when he was 2 years old. His father earned a PhD in economics at Harvard and returned to Kenya to work for his country.

Obama created an image of his father from the stories his mother and grandparents told him. He only got the chance to see his father in 1971 when Obama Sr. visited Hawaii for only a month. His father later remarried but perished in a car accident in 1982 while in Kenya. After the divorce, Obama’s mother married an Indonesian man named Lolo Soetoro and moved to Jakarta. Obama moved back to Hawaii to live with his grandparents and later rejoined his mother to get a better education.

Obama attended Punahou School, where he was one of the six Black students. He explains how his grandparents were proud of him for attending such a prestigious school. It was there that he met a multiracial student named Ray, who later introduced him to the African-American community.

After completing high school, Obama relocated to Los Angeles, where he attended Occidental College. In college, he lived a party lifestyle where he indulged in alcohol and other drugs.

After two years, he transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in Political Science. After his graduation, he worked in business for a year and later moved to Chicago, where he took a job as a community organizer. He describes how tough it was for him as the program faced resistance from local leaders and indifference from the government.

It was during this time that Obama started attending Trinity United Church of Christ, which became a core part of his spiritual life. Before joining Harvard Law School, Obama took time to visit his relatives back in Kenya. Part of this experience in Kenya is shared in the last emotional section of the book.

Obama uses this memoir to offer a reflection on his personal experiences with race and race relations in the U.S.

Barack Obama: Awards & Accolades

Obama's books have won multiple awards, A Promised Land won the Nielsen Awards, Silver Bestseller, in 2021 as well as the Audie Award - Best Narration by the Author in 2022.

Obama's book, A Promised Land was nominated for the Audie Award, Audiobook of the Year, in 2022.

Barack Obama: Lists & Other Mentions

• The Audacity of Hope was a New York Times: #1 Nonfiction Best Seller in 2006 and 2007.
• A Promised Land was a New York Times: #1 Nonfiction Best Seller in 2020 and 2021 and a New York Times: 100 Notable Books in 2020.

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5. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter Series.

Barack Obama: F.A.Q