Rising Star

The Making of Barack Obama

By: David Garrow

Narrated by: Charles Constant

Barack Obama's keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention instantly catapulted the little-known state senator from Illinois into the national spotlight. Three months later Obama would win election to the US Senate; four years later he would make history as America's first black president. Now, at the end of his second presidential term, David J. Garrow delivers the most compelling and comprehensive biography ever written of Obama in the years preceding his presidency.

Moving around the globe, from Hawaii to Indonesia to the American Northeast and Midwest, Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama meticulously unpacks Obama's life, from his tumultuous upbringing in Honolulu and Jakarta to his formative time as a community organizer on Chicago's South Side, working in some of the roughest neighborhoods, to Cambridge, where he excelled at Harvard Law School, and finally back to Chicago, where he pursued his political destiny. In voluminous detail, drawn from more than 1,000 interviews and encyclopedic documentary research, Garrow reveals as never before the ambition, the dreams, and the all-too-human struggles of an iconic president in a sure to be news-making biography that will stand as the most authoritative account of Obama's pre-presidential life for decades to come.

©2017 David J. Garrow (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Antidote to the Trump Presidency.

If you could sum up Rising Star in three words, what would they be?

Heart Warming, Bright.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Rising Star?

The writer is able make Harvard's Contract Law classes lively.

What does Charles Constant bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Excellent Reader. I wouldn't be able tackle this massive book on my own.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

So far... The Obamas' first date.

Rising Star The making of Barack Obama

Would you consider the audio edition of Rising Star to be better than the print version?

Yes I would it is great

What other book might you compare Rising Star to and why?

May be the book roots because both people are black.

Which character – as performed by Charles Constant – was your favorite?

This one because it is the only one that I have listen to.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It took me 1 mouth to listen to.

Any additional comments?

It is just great book to listen to because he is a great man and he comes from a great family

Very detailed look at Obama's formative years.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend the book to any one who wants a fair and exhaustively researched background of Barack Obama's birth, childhood, schooling, social organizing, state political career, and his rise to becoming President. If they wanted an equally thorough account of his time in office, I would tell them to look elsewhere. The last chapter and epilogue seemed like a rush job compared to the first several chapters. I actually wonder if Mr Garrow had gotten bored with his subject, or is he leaving room for an equally massive volume 2?

What other book might you compare Rising Star to and why?

No other books. Other books are biographies or even short summaries. This is an encyclopedia. Everything you would want to know about Mr Obama's formation with too much information that few people will actually care about.

What does Charles Constant bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A very human voice to a scholarly tome.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No. It did make me laugh, especially towards the end where Obama's failures as President received far more attention than his successes. His worst traits seem almost quaint and even lovable in hind sight. For example the closing epilogue talks about him being hostile to the press and quotes one supposedly savvy political observer who hoped that the next president would be a restrained and unifying person who understood the powers of the presidential office. Now that is funny!

Any additional comments?

I learned a lot that I hadn't previously known. David Garrow is a genius when it comes to research and documentation. His writing is fairly fluid and very professional. Needs WAY more editing. An abridged version would be far more ideal. The opening prologue is especially painful because it is SO LONG and has a lot to do with life in Chicago but very little to do with Obama. If you are really curious about how Obama came to his beliefs and what shapes him as a person, and have the fortitude to soldier through a lot of information that could have been edited out -like numerous poll results, out dated opinions, etc than I think you will enjoy this.

The chronicled detailed events keeps you engaged. Very interesting

Beautifully written. A lot of surprises- I thought I knew all there was to know!

Rising Star: A Psych Biography

This book is interesting, though it is not the best biography of the 44th POTUS. The most useful part of the book might be the first chapter describing the traumatic industrialization of Chicago. I read it because intellectual balance requires I read a critical perspective of a President I admire.

I thought it was unbiased; it is not

Through a good portion of the book I thought the author's purpose was to present all sides of the 44th president - his qualities, his values, his flaws. He did that, until the last several hours of the book. the whole (short) section on his presidency was nothing but a hatchet job. The only mention of the health care law was the breakdown of the web site. The only mention of Bin Laden was couched in one supposed quote from Obama: "I guess I'm good at killing people." The only discussion of his friends after his first term was how many of them (one is led to believe ALL of them) had come to despise him. According to Garrow, he was a worthless president.

And now look what we have.

The Encyclopedia of Barack Obama

As you may have assumed from the page count, there is a lot of information here. It sometimes reads more like an encyclopedia than a narrative. “Here is an event that happened, here are the 6 people that were involved, here is what each of them ate, here is what each of them commented on that event, etc.”
I give the author credit for the exhaustive research. Typically, the author only chimes in in his own voice with a subtle jab at Obama over a misstatement or something. The number of different accounts of Obama seem to (by law of averages) create an even handed representation of Barack. Only the last chapter (his presidency) gets a unanimously critical account.
This is the first Obama bio I have read. I assume there are better narratives and unique perspectives out there but it would be hard to beat the amount of information contained in this book. Overall I recommend it.

Best Read I have ever had.

I enjoyed reading the book. It was so long that I went back to read the beginning again. I think the writer was the best I have read. He seemed to have done very good research. The reader was excellent. The part I liked most was the relationship President Obama had with his students. C.S. Brown, Seattle

A Caro-esque biography and similarly fantastic

Very detailed, very well done. Almost too long to recommend to anyone who doesn’t love this stuff, but if you’re a fan of Caro l, try Garrow.

Refreshingly Objective Biography

What made the experience of listening to Rising Star the most enjoyable?

I was interested in a scholarly and objective treatment of Barak Obama and this book delivers in spades. It is probably the longest book I have ever listened to or read, and it would have been fine with somewhat less detail, but I knew the length before I began listening. Had I stopped reading prior to the epilogue, I would not have rated it so highly, but the last 90 minutes really pulled everything together. The author clearly demonstrates not only how, but why the Obama presidency was such a disappointment----more so to those closest to him than to his foes. If anyone purchases this audiobook and, due to its length, is tempted to stop listening, I strongly encourage him/her to invest an additional 90 minutes and listen to the epilogue.
The narrator did an admirable job and gets a solid five star for no glaring mispronunciations, despite the plethora of obscure surnames.