An American classic, written with grace and precision * * Observer * * Thoughtful, moving and brilliantly written * * The Times * * A man with a phenomenal life story * * Spectator * * Extraordinary . . . It's unique. It's his. There are no other ones like that -- TONI MORRISON A bestseller because of its freshness and honesty -- CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS * * Sunday Times * * A well-written account of Obama's struggle to establish his own views on identity and race, and all the more entertaining for its honesty * * Financial Times * * The only politician's life I have read that made me cry . . . elegant and surprising prose as well as a solid personal statement -- IAN KELLY * * The Times * * With its honesty and cool language, and by virtue of having a story worth telling, the book impresses far more than the typical political memoir -- COLIN WATERS * * Sunday Herald * * Obama has written a memoir . . . that evokes the anguish of miscegenation yet culminates in a cry of faith in human community . . . Obama is a born narrator, with a mastery of colour, scene and personality, deftly stirring them into the melting pot of a shared American identity. Rarely has that identity found so vivid a portraitist -- SIMON JENKINS * * Sunday Times * * [Obama] writes with candour about racism, bigotry and hardship, but always there is a sense of wisdom - you feel you are in the presence of a very mature man . . . You will not fail to be moved by Obama's warmth and humility * * Good Book Guide * *