A Promised Land

In the first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable journey — from a searching young man trying to understand his place in the world to the forty-fourth President of the United States. He traces his early political awakening, his rise from the Illinois state senate to the U.S. Senate, and the audacious campaign that culminated in his historic 2008 election.

From there, Obama takes readers inside the White House during the turbulent first years of his presidency: the financial crisis and the fight to pass the Affordable Care Act, the tensions of governing, and the weight of decisions carrying life-and-death stakes — up to the operation against Osama bin Laden. He writes candidly about the compromises, frustrations, and small victories of the office, and about the toll of leadership on himself and his family.

Reflective, detailed, and personal, A Promised Land is a portrait of democracy under strain and of one man's belief that it can still be made to work — a thoughtful account of power from the inside.