Inside Obama's Brain Lib/E

by Sasha Abramsky

From the moment he burst onto the national political scene, Barack Obama has fascinated and inspired people more than any politician in decades. Millions have wondered how his mind works, what passions drive him, and what makes him such an effective leader.

The fifth book, and third audio book in this series, explores the ideas, inspirations, and experiences that have shaped how President Obama thinks about tough issues, how he makes decisions, and how he motivates others.

Award winning journalist, Sasha Abramsky, interviewed close to one hundred of his friends, classmates, colleagues, teachers, staffers, mentors, book editors, media consultants, fellow politicians, and even his next-door neighbors from Hyde Park, Illinois, who offer candid and surprising observations.

Inside Obama's Brain isn't a biography; rather, it's a psychological profile, perfect for anyone who hopes to model his astonishing success or simply to understand him better.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Biography

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Sasha Abramsky studied politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford University. He is now a freelance journalist and senior fellow at Demos who reports on political personalities and cultural trends.

His work has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The Huffington Post, Rolling Stone, The Nation, The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Guardian, and Mother Jones, among other publications.

He lives in Sacramento, California.

Reviews

[Rebekka Istrail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading (actually listening to) Dreams from My Father first helped me to put Abramsky's work in context. Abramsky appears to do an impressive job piecing together the influences on Obama's thinking. Also, I found the references that Abramsky uses, particularly those on strategies for social and political organizing, to be thought-provoking. I am currently interested in workplace structure and the transmission of ideas and development of a culture within the workplace. I plan to look further into some of this book's references to help me in this new area of interest.

[Kristal Stidham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what the title promises: an exploration of how/why Obama does what he does and is who he is. I was fascinated.

Sadly, this book was published at the beginning of his first Presidential term and it was constantly disturbing to contrast his high level of intelligence, competence and foresight to that our (gag) 45th President.

[Milton]

This book is not a biography of the President. Journalist Sasha Abramsky even without having gotten an interview with Obama, is able to build a perfil of the person who went from community organizer in Chicago to the main entrance in the White House.

How he did manage to handle all racial disadvantages? How without have been living among powerful people and without strong politician roots he still managed to get into the Oval Office? Those questions are responded in this book.

He had Peter Drucker and Jerry Kellman as his tutors. 'They taught him how to enpower people., how to motivate ordinary citizen to change their environments."

[kyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had lots of interesting examples from Obama's rise to power of how he learned to be the man he is, but it also tends to be a bit repetitive and the author clearly thinks Obama is the definition of perfect, which can be a bit annoying at times.

[SeaShore]

The blurb:
This concise profile explores the ideas, inspirations, and experiences that have shaped the president. It quotes a wide network of sources, including many who broke long-standing vows of silence to offer their candid and surprising observations.

Award-winning journalist Sasha Abramsky interviewed close to one hundred of Obama's current and former friends, colleagues, classmates, teachers, staff, mentors, basketball buddies, fellow Chicago activists, media consultants, editors, and even his next-door neighbors from Hyde Park. These people each know a part of Obama's life and career, which the author blends the pieces into a uniquely detailed analysis.

Abramsky explains the origins of Obama's extraordinary poise, focus, and self-confidence; his powerful storytelling and speaking skills; and his empathetic listening style. He shows why Obama's experiences as a community organizer are widely misunderstood and more influential than many people realize. And he explores how Obama found a unique way to bridge America's racial divides.

His 2017 book is "Jumping at shadows..."