Want to read about our next President? Here are some links

Feel like reading about our next President?  Here are links to books by or about President-Elect Barack Obama (it feels so good to type that):

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance was Obama’s first book, written in 1995 at the dawn of his political career.  It’s not about his father’s life, but rather about Obama’s journey through life.  He traveled to Kenya after learning about the death of his father to find out more about the African side of his family.  He discusses race from the perspective of someone who has been part of many cultures.

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream was given to my by my mother as a Christmas present in 2006.  This is the book that convinced me to support Obama rather than Hillary Clinton in the primary, and it has led me to believe that he will use the presidency as a bully pulpit to improve Americans’ lives as no president since Theodore Roosevelt has.  If you want to see where President-Elect Obama plans to take America over the next four (or hopefully, eight) years, this book is a good place to start, as he talks about uniting all races, uniting the rich and the poor, and making America a respected world citizen again.  I highly recommend this one regardless of your political orientation.

Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama’s Plan to Renew America’s Promise is President-elect Obama’s latest book.  It continues his vision outlined in The Audacity of Hope, explaining how to fix the economy, keep America safe, and deal with issues like health care.  It also stresses the message that you are part of the solution.

The Essential Barack Obama: The Grammy Award-Winning Recordings is Dreams from my Father and The Audacity of Hope in audio-book format.  “A front-row seat to a sincere and admirable agenda,” writes one person who bought this product.

The American Journey of Barack Obama is a biography of the President-Elect by the editors of LIFE Magazine.  This is a good look at Obama’s journey from his early days all the way to the White House.  “A realistic and well-rounded view of Senator Barack Obama’s life as a man, husband, and father,” wrote one person who has read this book.

The Rise of Barack Obama is photojournalist Pete Souza’s account of Barack Obama’s rise to the presidency in pictures.  The photos cover the period from Obama’s first day in the U.S. Senate up to the Pennsylvania primary.  80% of the pictures have never before been published.  If you’re an admirer of Mr. Obama, this would make a great coffee table book.

Great Speeches by African Americans: Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, and Others contains contemporary speeches by Barack Obama, as well as some of the most famous speeches in history.  Others in the book include Fredrick Douglass’ “What, to the Slave, Is the Fourth of July?” speech, Soujourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?”, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a Dream.”

I forgot to do one thing in my post earlier this morning – I forgot to congratulate Rep. Steve Cohen on winning a well-deserved second term last night.  In the interest of the kind of unity President-Elect Obama promotes, congratulations and best wishes to Sen. Lamar Alexander on his victory last night as well.