Barack Obama - Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

The thing I find most daunting about this book is just how beautifully Senator Obama can write.

I first purchased 'Dreams from My Father,' at a local bookstore, just perusing. I had seen his name and face displayed everywhere: on prestigious magazine covers, the evening news, the radio, and even on poster boards at my school 'The Man who should be President,' is what it read.

I was not convinced.

Despite how much I had heard and seen about him, I still knew very little. Who was he really? So, looking indifferently along the spines of the books that day, his name caught my eye. Here was my change to see what all this hype was about.

I'll be honest; I was prepared for the regular big-headed autobiography that so many politicians write.

That wasn't the case here. Written in 1995, long before nationwide fame, he doesn't shy away from the hard topics. With magnificent control of the English language he tells of his lamented acts as an adolescent, his struggle with his own identity and race, and how the void of a translucent parent has affected his life.

I found myself eager to finish this book, so full of power and wisdom. His tale, not unlike so many others, was one that was not afraid—not afraid to say the things, that everyone thinks or feels concerning race, but keeps to themselves.

However, what truly kept me turning the pages was the journey, the journey to fill that void in his life, the void of a heritage that had not been embraced, and to come to develop some type of connection with a missing father.