This may be the best-written memoir ever produced by an American politician. -- Joe Klein * * Time * * A remarkable story, beautifully told. -- Robert McCrum * * Observer * * Whatever else people expect from a politician, it's not usually a beautifully written personal memoir steeped in honesty. Barack Obama has produced one. -- Oona King * * The Times * * Obama's writing is characterised throughout by a graceful eloquence, a generosity of perception and spirit rare in young men of many gifts and charisma...here is a testimony for the ages. -- Candace Allen * * Independent * * It is an almost illicit pleasure to be reading the unspun memories of a man who may yet become president of the US. * * Guardian * * This book is simply justified, whatever its long-term political significance may or may not be, as a rich and rewarding read * * Herald * * ...it is 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. -- Elaine Moore * * Financial 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 * * 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 * * Because he held to the good and transcended the bad, in Obama's genesis millions of us will find hope . . . his search to know and forgive his absent Kenyan father holds lessons for us all. Especially in relative terms, his clear prose is refreshing. -- Ross Leckie * * The Times * * Worthy of attention in its own right . . . his prose is both vivid and engrossing. * * New Nation * * 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 * * It's touching, revealing, brave and generous . . . unprecedentedly well written for any politician. * * Evening Standard * * Obama is a subtle writer, with an extraordinary breadth of vision. -- Margaret Elphinstone * * Sunday Herald * * This memoir displays great intelligence and humility . . . and proves a rewarding read. * * Beyond * * The book that revealed Barack Obama as not just an ambitious politician but also as an eloquent writer and deep thinker. -- Erica Wagner * * The Times * * A touchstone for future politicians. -- Philip Womack * * Daily Telegraph * * A memoir recounting Barack Obama's humble political beginnings and search for racial identity that relies on eloquence, rhapsodic prose and powerful, soul-stirring emotion as a crutch. Easily one of the top three Barack Obama memoirs of all time! * * The Onion * *