Dreams from My Father
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (1995) is a memoir by Barack Obama, who was elected as U.S. President in 2008. The memoir explores the events of Obama's early years in Honolulu and Chicago up until his entry into law school in 1988. Obama published the memoir in July 1995, when he was starting his political campaign for Illinois Senate. He had been elected as the first African-American president of the "Harvard Law Review" in 1990. According to "The New York Times", Obama modeled "Dreams from My Father" on Ralph Ellison's novel "Invisible Man".
Barack and Michelle
Andersen previously wrote 28 popular biographies about Princess Diana, Barbra Streisand, the Kennedys, and the Bush family, among others. "Barack and Michelle" describes the Obamas' marriage as being difficult for several years, as Barack left his accomplished wife, Michelle, to care for children and household, himself turning away from a lucrative legal career to pursue his political ambitions with little success or income. The couple grew closer, according to the book, beginning in 2001 after the sickness of their daughter, Sasha, and Obama's growing political success.
The book draws in part on previously published accounts and Obama's own memoirs. It has been described as a "glowing" portrait of the Obamas, and characterizing their marriage as "solid". Andersen interviewed 200 friends and relatives of the Obamas in Chicago, Hawaii, and Indonesia, many of whom are identified in the book's chapter and source notes, but not the Obamas themselves.