Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage

by Christopher Andersen

In Barack and Michelle, America’s First Couple is scrutinized in stirring detail by Christopher Andersen, author of thirteen New York Times bestsellers including Jack and Jackie, Somewhere in Heaven, and the phenomenal #1 New York Times bestsellers The Day Diana Died and The Day John Died. Subtitled Portrait of an American Marriage, here is the first in-depth look at the popular U.S. President and his beautiful, brilliant, and stylish First Lady. Andersen, already internationally acclaimed for his intimate portraits of the Kennedys, Bushs, and Clintons now celebrates the unique union of President and Mrs. Obama with Barack and Michelle , shedding fascinating light on a romantic relationship and a political destiny like no other.  

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Ebooks, Politics, Presidents, Autobiography

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Christopher Peter Andersen is an American journalist and the author of 32 books, including many bestsellers. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Andersen joined the staff of Time Magazine as a contributing editor in 1969. From 1974 to 1986 Andersen was senior editor of Time Incorporated's People Magazine. He has also written for a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Life, and Vanity Fair.

While his early nonfiction books veered from psychology (The Name Game) to true crime (The Serpent's Tooth) to art collecting ('The Best of Everything', with former Sotheby's chairman John Marion), he is best known for his controversial biographies. Between 1991 and 2011, he published 14 New York Times bestselling biographies. Andersen wrote Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Jagger to mark the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones in July 2012. The book quickly became Andersen's 15th New York Times bestseller.

Reviews

[Diane Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read! well written and great insight.... (paperback!)

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the fact that I read this book might indicate that I am more of a Fan than a thoughtful, responsible American voter. But I've resisted celebby books about just Barack, who is, after all, the Man in Charge (though not his own books about himself... SWOON). I think I'm fascinated by people who live their marriages, along with the rest of their lives, in an intense spotlight, and still appear to be functional AND functionally together. I get tricked into thinking that anyone, let alone an unauthorized hound like Andersen, can get into any marriage and explicate it to me. But, Mr. Andersen, if you want to do Tim and Faith... fool me twice, shame on me.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat breezy account of each person, then their life together. Interesting as background info.

[Karen Berthelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

No matter who you voted for - I believe it is important to know who is the President. I learned some interesting things about the President and his wife that I didn't know. I didn't know that Michelle's dad had MS and that she had an older brother who was a basketball coach. I didn't know that they had a huge amount of debt not too long ago. I didn't realize how many books he had written. I didn't know he was the President of the Harvard Law Review.

I found it interesting and a quick read.

[Michelle Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

if I wasn`t a groupie before, I certainly am now. Lots of behinf the scenes info on the plans leading to the white House. Some things repeatative if you read Obama`s first book when it describes his childhood and college yrs, but all of the stuff about Michell was new to me. WAHT and AMAzING WOMAN!!!!!! And what a creat couple. Tells about their good times and bad, difficulties, struggle of strong personalities, a story of REAL people who just happen to be the President and First Lady too.

[Lorrea - WhatChaReadin'? · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about the Obama's from this book. I think the book is an inspiration to anyone who has big dreams...if you set your mind to it, you can do it. The author could have left out some things to focus more on the relationship. The story of their wedding was a page...I would have liked to know more about those days and the birth not their children as opposed to so much involving just the political aspect. Overall I enjoyed the book...although more informative than enjoyable.

[Roxana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Behind every great man there is an even greater woman.
Really liked the book and how it portraits the First Black African American Couple. It revealed me that showing your vulnerabilities can make you more pleasant than being always strong.

[Cicely · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I never get enough of the Obama's.

[Sandy Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting

Probably one of the few books I've read that seems very down to earth. Would recommend highly to anyone interested in getting to know these two people

[Thomas Rush · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who sees the class of the First Couple is struck by the question, "How did these 2 come together?" This book tries to explain the History of how this happened. Michelle was a young working attorney, going through the grind, when she heard of this "hotshot" attorney who would be coming to work for the Summer. She thought, like many others, that he had a "funny" name. However, when she met him, there was more substance to him than she had envisioned. She was also a little surprised to tell herself that she found him attractive. As they began to have informal conversations, one co-worker noted that she felt there was gravitas to the budding relationship, when late one afternoon, Obama was seen sitting comfortably on the edge of her desk, just casually talking. Another co-worker felt there was "something going on" when he found himself at the movie theater, standing in line close to where Obama and Michelle were also standing. Michelle thought that actually making their relationship public early on would have been "tacky," since they were only one of a few Black folks at the firm. Michelle had once tried to set Obama up with a friend, but Obama was having no part of that. Michelle's mother also had doubts about Obama being bi-racial. The book details the couple's first kiss, with Obama talking about taking her out in his Hyde Park neighborhood to an ice cream shop, laughing as he tells the tale of the kiss tasting of chocolate. Michelle found humor in the rusted out spot in the passenger's side of Obama's Datsun. It seems Obama had long held dreams of becoming President, but only shared that fact with Michelle's older brother, Craig. Craig had to tell Michelle not to be so rough on Barack, because she had a reputation for "eating guys up" that she had dated. Craig thought that Michelle's high standards would make it so that no guy would ever "qualify" to be in a long-term relationship with her. Apparently there had been some friendly jostling about the merits of marriage, with Obama seemingly cool to the concept. When he finally did propose, he teased her endlessly about her speechlessness that he had actually done it. At some point, the couple had dinner with a Chicago politico at a downtown Chicago restaurant, to seriously weigh options about a Presidential run, adding to the legend that Obama rarely does anything spontaneously. Most of what he does has been thoroughly calculated and thought out, including his eventual proposal to Michelle. This book is great in showing the evolution of a great "power couple," who both came out of differing close families to make a family together. It's a good book for anyone who wants to see how it happened. As a perfect segue, there is another book that complements this one, catching Obama in a reflective mood, articulating what he envisions in his romantic life, long before he met Michelle. In Thomas D. Rush's "Reality's Pen: Reflections On Family, History & Culture," Rush talks of two long, private conversations he held with Barack in 1989, when they both worked as Community Organizers. As Rush reflects, the thing he finds special about the conversations is that he was the only person, other than Obama, to have heard what was said. He was struck by the unique and special substance of what was shared. It was shared long before Obama became famous, so it was just two everyday men having a conversation. The interaction is detailed in the piece "You Never Know Who God Wants You To Meet" on page 95 of the book. That story, along with a number of rich anecdotes, makes it worth its purchase. When you put Rush's story together with what is shared in Andersen's book, you get a very rich story indeed.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently I went to the library after play practice. I rode the street car all the way there with my boat load of stuff, and went in to find that... THE ROOF COLLAPSED! That's right, part of the roof on the top of the library had collapsed. Now the library that I frequent is in an old house, that has been undergoing construction for years. In fact I wanted to have my Bat Mitzvah party there but that is irrelevant.


Anyway, when I got to the library and heard that we could not go upstairs, I looked around and quickly found the only adult books in the floor that was open were the books that had just been returned. So not willing to go home empty handed, I briefly perused the books for any gems. And gems I did find.


One of them being Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage by Christopher Anderson. This book showed the readers the lives of Barack and Michelle Obama, before each other, and before they burst onto the political scene. When Barack was a boy living in Hawaii and Michelle was still a young girl in Chicago. We see Barack's troubled childhood and Michelle's hard working perseverance. Over all, we see their lives apart and together. One thing that really bothered me, just like in the Will and Kate book is the focus on Barack. I guess the author figures that the reader is going to be more interested in him, however I would have liked a little more on Michelle.


After I read it I loaned Barack and Michelle to my mom, who also greatly enjoyed it. Over all, its a pretty good read, informational but light and very very easy to get into. I'd definitely recommend it.

www.liveittothefullest.com

[Cathryn Conroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I don't want anybody to think that it's easy...We have a strong marriage, but it's not perfect," Michelle Obama once said of her marriage to Barack. Veteran biographer Christopher Andersen has written an interesting book about the Obamas, ostensibly about their marriage but more a biography of their individual lives up to the time they entered the White House in 2009. Andersen, who is famous for his research, liberally quotes from friends and relatives about the first couple--some good, some bad, some exactly what you would expect. As with his other books, it's a cross between a serious study of their lives and an article in PEOPLE magazine.

There are no real surprises in the book, as the story of Barack and Michelle is so well known. Barack was a druggie when he was in high school; Michelle was a goodie-goodie who first felt racial discrimination as an undergraduate at Princeton. (Although it may surprise you to learn that when Michelle was a high-powered attorney with the equally high-powered Chicago law firm Sidney Austin, she was in charge of the accounts for Barney, the purple dinosaur children's TV show character, and Coors Beer. For some reason, this amused me!)

Even more than the biographical information, Andersen really shows through the portrayal of the Obamas' lives the personal toll running for and serving in public office takes on a family--even when everyone in the family supports the effort. We should salute all who choose this form of public service.

[Margot · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, I take umbrance with the title... Barack and Michelle do not have a typical American marriage or, President Obama would never had made it to the office of Commander and Chief. Also, I've read the idea that President Obama's father was just a determined man, from Kenya, who found a good place to live and didn't care whether or not he impregnated Barack Obama's mother or not. He just wanted to pursue his education and moved on when he realized he could get somewhere important. I had not understood that Barack Obama helped his grandfather settle into the family life which the man had trouble handling while he was supposed to help his brilliant daughter grow up. American fathers love their daughters, they don't disparage them as a normal practice. Lastly, if Michelle Obama hated being a mother so much and just became resentful of the work she saddled herself with, again, we would never have had the President Obama we had. She might have struggled with the idea that his being a politician kept him away from home, but she would not have forced him to give up what he was creating for her need to have a solid family. From all the information I have, he did what he could to insure that his daughters knew their father. This concept followed him into the White House and beyond if the media is to be trusted. So, I would put this book in the fiction section rather than factual history.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about the Obamas from this book. Talk about a whirlwind political career...

I have to say, I felt a bit let down. The subtitle of the book is Portrait of an American Marriage. Based on the title and the book jacket, I thought this book would concentrate on the Obama's marriage. Instead, I felt like I was reading a summary biography of President Obama's childhood and career. The book didn't really concentrate on their marriage until the last quarter. I feel like I know quite a bit more about our President but not much about their marriage.

[Alissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this biography/look at the marriage of the first couple. It provided enough of their earlier life separately to make it biographical and then their early courtship and marriage to make it interesting. It was a unique read and more interesting than just reading a bio of the president or a bio of the first lady.
It was definitely well researched and at times you felt like a fly on the wall.

[Bea Elwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of an introduction to the Obama's and an overview of their lives and rise to become the first African American Family in the White House. I did enjoy this fast and humorous read and will probably check out Andersen's book on W and Laura Bush. I was inspired.

I also feel the same need for a cigarette after reading this book as when I watch old black and white movies. Obama may not smoke in the White House but he never really quit smoking either ;)

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It gives us a nice background of both Barack and Michelle's upbringing, how they developed their sense of values, and the hard work and determination each of them had to get to where they are. It was nice to know that they are both real people trying to make the world a better place. Kinda humbling to know that the former President doesn't like to pick up after himself and that Michelle enjoys fast food once in a while.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

No surprise that I loved this book....I love the Obamas! The book revealed both Obamas as real people....down-to-earth....human. Much of it just covered what I already knew, but it was well written and easy to read (took me only two days. It does provide some interesting insight into their personalities. If you like Barack and Michelle, you'll like this book.

[Tamara Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned that good marriages take a lot of work and I enjoyed this book because it provided in depth information on not only Barack & Michelle's parents but also discussed their grandparents and the events which made them the strong people they are today. It's a great book that I may buy in the future.

[Noora · Rating 3 out of 5]

No joo, kuvittelin kiinnostavammaksi kuin mitä tämä olikaan oikeasti. Mielenkiintoinen joo, mutta antaa itse asiassa Barack Obamasta suhteellisen kummallisen kuvan. Myös pariskunnan välistä rakkautta korostetaan ihan valtavasti. Jotakin tästä kirjasta vaan puuttuu, mutta en osaa tarkemmin eritellä mitä se jokin on.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading a down to earth book that made me feel like I was friends with the family. Learned so many songs and details about their early life and what made them to
Be the persons they are. It shows where all marriages and relationships must communicate to work through situations. Very interesting book.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I became tired of politics, as the book went on but that was my 3 book some how related to that subject. One did learn a lot about their marriage and their families. It became a bit dry after the first 3rd of the book. I listened to it on my Ipod.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Obamas seem to me to be a perfectly unified, compatible couple and I was interested to see that they went through a few rocky patches, including one when Barack was in Springfield and Michelle was functionally a single parent. This book humanized them for me.

[Nimira · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful insight into the past and current lives of Michelle and Barack. Their backgrounds and upbringing are quite inspiring and motivating to the underprivileged who can make a difference in the world.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Such a strange read - it seems like the author was writing with some kind of agenda, but I couldn't quite make out what it was. The ending was also extremely abrupt, with a couple summary paragraphs that seemed tacked on at the end almost as an afterthought.

[Jazmine · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I enjoyed learning about and seeing a side of The Obamas we don't get to see, this book left much to be desired. The writing was bland and boring, and the author seemingly rambled on and on about unimportant people and happenings. DNF.

[Marva Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

real life fairytale

It proves the journey to committed love is worth it. It unpack the "baggage" that both people had to accept and take the risk to love. They are now experiencing some blessings of that risk.

[Stan Bader · Rating 5 out of 5]

It made me smile and shed a tear

An honest look at the time before his election..warts and all. I was surprised at the interaction of her to him and his response. it mirrored what we saw of his response to others..always a class act.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barack and Michelle - A wonderful life story

While reading this book, I felt like I truly got to know each of them as an individual. There was plenty of detail and real life dilemmas to their story. Loved it!

[Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This read more like a biography of both Barack and Michelle, rather than a book on their marraige. Nonethless, it was still very interesting.