A top-notch political memoir and serious exercise in practical politics for every reader.
106
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In the first volume of his presidential memoir, Obama recounts the hard path to the White House.
In this long, often surprisingly candid narrative, Obama depicts a callow youth spent playing basketball and “getting loaded,” his early reading of difficult authors serving as a way to impress coed classmates. (“As a strategy for picking up girls, my pseudo-intellectualism proved mostly worthless,” he admits.) Yet seriousness did come to him in time and, with it, the conviction that America could live up to its stated aspirations. His early political role as an Illinois state senator, itself an unlikely victory, was not big enough to contain Obama’s early ambition, nor was his term as U.S. Senator. Only the presidency would do, a path he painstakingly carved out, vote by vote and speech by careful speech. As he writes, “By nature I’m a deliberate speaker, which, by the standards of presidential candidates, helped keep my gaffe quotient relatively low.” The author speaks freely about the many obstacles of the race—not just the question of race and racism itself, but also the rise, with “potent disruptor” Sarah Palin, of a know-nothingism that would manifest itself in an obdurate, ideologically driven Republican legislature. Not to mention the meddlings of Donald Trump, who turns up in this volume for his idiotic “birther” campaign while simultaneously fishing for a contract to build “a beautiful ballroom” on the White House lawn. A born moderate, Obama allows that he might not have been ideological enough in the face of Mitch McConnell, whose primary concern was then “clawing [his] way back to power.” Indeed, one of the most compelling aspects of the book, as smoothly written as his previous books, is Obama’s cleareyed scene-setting for how the political landscape would become so fractured—surely a topic he’ll expand on in the next volume.
A top-notch political memoir and serious exercise in practical politics for every reader.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6316-9
Page Count: 768
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
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BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
IN THE NEWS
IN THE NEWS
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.
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The veteran newscaster reflects on her triumphs and hardships, both professional and private.
In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Couric (b. 1957) transforms the events of her long, illustrious career into an immensely readable story—a legacy-preserving exercise, for sure, yet judiciously polished and insightful, several notches above the fray of typical celebrity memoirs. The narrative unfolds through a series of lean chapters as she recounts the many career ascendency steps that led to her massively successful run on the Today Showand comparably disappointing stints as CBS Evening Newsanchor, talk show host, and Yahoo’s Global News Anchor. On the personal front, the author is candid in her recollections about her midlife adventures in the dating scene and deeply sorrowful and affecting regarding the experience of losing her husband to colon cancer as well as the deaths of other beloved family members, including her sister and parents. Throughout, Couric maintains a sharp yet cool-headed perspective on the broadcast news industry and its many outsized personalities and even how her celebrated role has diminished in recent years. “It’s AN ADJUSTMENT when the white-hot spotlight moves on,” she writes. “The ego gratification of being the It girl is intoxicating (toxicbeing the root of the word). When that starts to fade, it takes some getting used to—at least it did for me.” Readers who can recall when network news coverage and morning shows were not only relevant, but powerfully influential forces will be particularly drawn to Couric’s insights as she tracks how the media has evolved over recent decades and reflects on the negative effects of the increasing shift away from reliable sources of informed news coverage. The author also discusses recent important cultural and social revolutions, casting light on issues of race and sexual orientation, sexism, and the predatory behavior that led to the #MeToo movement. In that vein, she expresses her disillusionment with former co-host and friend Matt Lauer.
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-53586-1
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
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BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The pop-culture writer returns with “a celebration of rap, one of the three or four things I love the most in this world.”
Hip-hop culture is so ingrained in the pop mainstream that it’s easy to forget that today’s stars are only fragments of the broader culture and products of a rich history. Serrano, best known for his work at the Ringerand Grantland, tries to rectify that with his latest collection of essays and artwork (by Dallas-based artist Torres), using the same creative style he popularized in his bestsellers Basketball (And Other Things)and Movies (And Other Things). Serrano asks thought-provoking—some might say argument-inducing—questions and then answers them with a compelling mix of history, memoir, criticism, and creative writing. The chapter titled “How Do You Talk About Missy Elliott’s Supa Dupa Fly?” shows Serrano at his best, approaching the classic album from a variety of perspectives. “It gets in your ears and then in your brain, and then, instantly and fully, all the parts inside your skull are soaked,” he writes, explaining how the album makes you feel. The author also writes knowledgeably about the best rappers with the best verses in various eras of hip-hop; sure to inspire heated debate among hip-hop fans is his in-depth comparison of Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, m.A.A.d City and Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which he considers “the two best albums of the 2010-2019 decade.” All of the material is entertaining, even when Serrano’s fanboy perspective leaves out a problematic swath of Lauryn Hill’s career in a chapter about her being nearly perfect. Even when a particular chapter doesn’t quite grab you, the warm, creative illustrations—e.g., 50 Cent and Eminem playing Skee-Ball or Nas styled as Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator—sure will.
This quirky, wide-ranging collection of essays, paired with gorgeous art, is a well-informed love letter to hip-hop.Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5387-3022-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Twelve
Review Posted Online: Sept. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
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