Cited as one of the most influential public figures of the 21st century, Barack Obama is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. The first black president of the United States, Obama’s personal story, popularized mainly through his three bestselling memoirs, Dreams from My Father (1995), The Audacity of Hope (2006), and A Promised Land (2020), represents a major source of inspiration for millions of Americans and non-Americans alike. In these books, he details the arc of his personal and professional journeys, taking him from his origins as the son of a Kenyan immigrant and a single mother, to a Harvard Law School standout, to a U.S. Senator, to ultimately the occupant of the nation’s highest elected office. Despite each addressing different eras of his life, all explore common themes of race, masculinity, and familial relations, making his writing particularly resonant with a 21st century audience, around whom such issues are especially salient.
Along with his books, Obama has given several well known speeches, both during his political career and after it, many of which have reflected similar themes and values. Obama’s writing style is highly literary and focussed on carefully exploring psychological interiority, likely a remnant of his academic interest in literary fiction during his college years. The depth achieved by this style positions readers to view his works’ themes through a unique lens, often lending them new perspectives on issues that have grown to be platitudinous in the public discourse. After completing his two terms as President, Obama moved to the Kalorama neighborhood in Washington, D.C., where he still lives today with his wife and two daughters.