Want to know about Barack Obama?

Right now, all politicos are considering the plausible candidates in the Republican field (ranging from the very plausible, Romney, to the incomprehensible Paul). However, American re-elections are generally viewed by voters as a referendum on the incumbent. So we ought not forgot the guy in the White House who will be fighting for four more years in November.

What are the requirements of standing for the Presidency of the United States? Chief amongst them... write a book. This was Barack Obama's bestselling contribution to this Presidential rite of passage. The frankest tale you will ever read? I suspect not. The most analytical approach to his doctrine for government? Questionable also. But it will tell you how he views himself, what he wants you to think of him and most importantly, given its selling figures, how its millions of readers have come to know the man. Purchase here.



Described by Barack Obama as "a remarkable study in leadership," many have come to view this as the basis for Barack Obama's Presidential style. Goodwin focuses on Lincoln in this book in a way that some have deemed uncritical, but knowledge of the the no. 1 U.S. President (according to most surveys of citizens and former Presidents), who most current inhabitants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue would give their left leg to be compared to, is essential in understanding the self-perceived benchmark in iconography and leadership. Purchase here.



If you want to understand the values behind Obama, and their application to contemporary political philosophy, this is the book for you. At its core, it is an attempt to put Obama in the most fascinating of contexts by relating him to traditional bodies of political theory. If you know, or want to know, something about political philosophy, this is an absolute must-read. One of the few books you can finish and feel genuinely more intelligent at the final page than you did on the first! Purchase here.



Renshon, a political psychologist, analyses the psychology of Obama, primarily in reference to the concept of redemption, to assess in a unique light the benefits and limitations of his time in the White House. A fascinating, if not a weighty, read. Purchase here.