Hey! I wrote a little book. Barack Obama for Beginners will go on sale tomorrow, published by Steerforth Press and For Beginners books and distributed nationwide by Random House. Hat tip: FrankSkeffington. It was mentioned yesterday in the Globe.
I owe all of you a huge debt, especially our Obama partisans, those who supported Senators Clinton, Edwards, Dodd, Biden and Gravel, Governor Richardson, and Rep. Kucinich in the primaries, and our differently-winged contributors, for helping me to understand the politics of the primary season just past from a variety of points of view. You educated me in a way that would have been hard to obtain, I think, anywhere else.
The book is a summary introduction to Obama intended for people who want a quick overview of the candidate:
Barack Obama For Beginners: An Essential Guide provides a concise introduction to the Democratic nominee for President: family background in Kansas and Kenya; childhood in Indonesia and Hawaii; education in Los Angeles and New York; work as a community organizer in Chicago; law school and election as President of the Harvard Law Review; political activism and work as an attorney and constitutional law lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School; and political career in the Illinois and United States Senates and campaign for President. Entertaining illustrations enliven the reading experience and highlight important details. Barack Obama For Beginners keeps the focus on the candidate and his record – accomplishments and missteps, praise and criticism – to allow readers to draw their own conclusions.
Short enough to read in an afternoon or on commutes, For Beginners® Essential Guides provide reliable and impartial information about public figures and current events so that readers can arrive at informed opinions on topics that affect their daily lives.
The book’s website, which includes a page by page list of source citations, is available here. You can become a Facebook fan here to stay up to date on book-related activities. You can buy the book here at Amazon.
I am grateful for your comments and suggestions, reviews you choose to post at Facebook and-or Amazon, and any mistakes you see, or improvements you think should be made. No doubt there are plenty.
Pre-order it here now, or buy it at your bookstore tomorrow.
I’m curious about the back story of how all this came together. Would you mind sharing how you found yourself writing a book on Obama and how you got it from just an idea to a published book? How long did it take from start to finish?
The For Beginners series has been around for a long time and has sold more than a million books. Their titles include things like “Philosophy for Beginners” and “Astronomy For Beginners.” They decided to launch a new series called “For Beginners Essential Guides” that cover contemporary events. The publisher and I have been friends for a long time. He sent me an email and asked if I could help with the project. I had a few weeks to produce it. Joe Lee did the excellent illustrations based on a list I prepared for him. I’ll be interested to see what you and others think of it if you get a chance to look at it. The goal is to provide a concise complete introduction to the candidate.
I guess our toddler will just have to critique it on taste.
Came with their mother’s milk and their father’s voice đŸ˜‰
Good for you! I’ll order up a copy. How can we get it signed?
I hope it meets with your approval.
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p>I will be delighted to sign them at the National Anthem concert, or at the next get together we all have. If I have any speaking events scheduled, I will let everyone know. đŸ™‚
Or visa versa. An alternative title to consider?