Obama CD: From Promise to Power

The biography of America's hottest political superstar—Barack Obama—from a journalist who has been covering his career since his successful run for U.S. Senate.

Barack Obama's meteoric rise is the stuff of legend. Since his headline-grabbing speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, Obama has come to represent the promise of unity among groups of all types—blacks and whites; Democrats, Republicans, and moderates; the upper, middle, and lower classes. In this groundbreaking biography, veteran journalist and Obama chronicler David Mendell gives an in-depth, comprehensive portrait of a man whose last name has become a catchphrase for hope in a politically jaded society desperate for a new star.

Mendell has covered Obama since the beginning of Obama's campaign for the Senate and as a result enjoys far-reaching access to the new Senator. His research includes exclusive interviews with Obama's closest aides, mentors, political adversaries, and family. Mendell reveals the surprising, cutthroat campaign tactics sanctioned by Obama—who has steeped his image and reputation on the ideals of clean politics and good government—to win his Senate seat by employing some of the most ruthless operatives in the business.

Eye-opening, well-researched, and compulsively readable, Obama: From Promise to Power is a necessary look at the evolution of a politician from public servant to candidate-savior.

Barack Obama is arguably the most dynamic political figure to grace the American stage since John F. Kennedy. His meteoric ascent from promise to power stunned even the cynics and inspired a legion of devout followers.

For anyone who wants to know more about the man, David Mendell’s Obama is essential reading. Mendell, who covered Obama for the Chicago Tribune, had far-reaching access to the Chicago politician as Obama climbed the ladder to the White House, the details of which he shares in this compelling biography. Positioning Obama as the savior of a fumbling Democratic party, Mendell reveals how Obama conquered Illinois politics and paved the way brick by brick for a galvanizing, historic presidential run.

With a new afterword by the author, which includes a fresh perspective on Barack Obama following his two historic terms as the first African-American president, and with exclusive interviews with family members and top advisers, as well as details on Obama’s voting record, Mendell offers a complete, complex, and revealing portrait. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in American politics in general and President Barack Obama in particular.