Dreams From My Father

'A man with a phenomenal life story.' Spectator

Before Barack Obama became a politician he was, among other things, a writer. Dreams from My Father is his masterpeice: a refreshing, revealing portrait of a young man asking the big questions about identity and belonging.

The son of a black African father and a white American mother, Obama recounts an emotional odyssey. He retraces the migration of his mother's family from Kansas to Hawaii, then to his childhood home in Indonesia. Finally he travels to Kenya, where he confronts the bitter truth of his father's life and at last reconciles his divided inheritance.

'Whatever else people expect from a politician, it's not usually a beautifully written personal memoir steeped in honesty. Barack Obama has produced one.' Oona King, The Times

'This may be the best-written memoir ever produced by an American politician.' Joe Klein, Time

'A best-seller because of its freshness and honesty.' Christopher Hitchens, Sunday Times

'A remarkable story, beautifully told.' Robert McCrum, Observer