In this lyrical; unsentimental; and compelling memoir; the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. It begins in New York; where Barack Obama learns that his father—a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man—has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey—first to a small town in Kansas; from which he retraces the migration of his mother’s family to Hawaii; and then to Kenya; where he meets the African side of his family; confronts the bitter truth of his father’s life; and at last reconciles his divided inheritance. Pictured in lefthand photograph on cover: Habiba Akumu Hussein and Barack Obama; Sr. (President Obama's paternal grandmother and his father as a young boy). Pictured in righthand photograph on cover: Stanley Dunham and Ann Dunham (President Obama's maternal grandfather and his mother as a young girl).
#2020166 in Books Vintage 2007-11-06 2007-11-06Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.95 x 1.22 x 5.21l; 1.20 #File Name: 1400031419608 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. it is the best. Crane's book is a biography of ScottBy Herman MelvilleThis is the 17th book I have read on the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration; and with the exception of Roland Huntford's The Last Place on Earth; it is the best. Crane's book is a biography of Scott; not an analysis of his expeditions; and is thus somewhat skimpy on the details; especially on the journey that resulted in Scott's death. (By contrast; Crane presents a thorough discussion of Scott's Western Journey on the earlier Discovery expedition; and I learned a great deal from it.) One bizarre comment jumped out at me early on: Armitage; the pilot on the Discovery journey; is the only source of a couple of the most famous anti-Scott/pro-Shackleton anecdotes; and Crane dismisses their truth in part by calling Armitage a "proto-Fascist" because Armitage enjoyed feeling the power of the ship as he rode high above it in the crow's nest. Just an odd remark.Thankfully; the rest of the book; though opinionated; is not marred by such ill-founded judgments. Quite the literary stylist himself; Crane argues that Scott's saving grace was his ability to give voice to the suffering he and his men endured. In a sense; then--as was said of one of the characters in Macbeth--"Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it." Thus Crane presents a much more balanced portrait of Scott than Huntford does; and though Huntford's book has the detail and coverage of Amundsen that this one lacks; Huntford's savage tone really becomes off-putting after a while. If I were new to this topic; I would read Huntford; watch the magnificent production of The Last Place on Earth on DVD; and then read Crane's book.Crane's maps could have been better done--my memory is that only one has a scale attached to it--but overall this is a beautifully-written; well-researched biography that is an indispensable read for those interested in the subject.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good Realistic BiographyBy Chris J. OwenA fair balanced rendition of Robert Scott. Anyone who is interested in polar exploration should read this and make it part of their library. It was well written and researched and held my attention from front to back. It's time to end the misconceptions and put this seminal polar explorer in a place he deserves to be - as one of the greats.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Redeems Scott as a man; if not as an explorerBy Thomas A. TurleyBy far the best recent biography of the explorer. Crane charts a discerning course between the “Heroic Legend†of Scott’s Last Expedition and its leader’s overzealous debunkers and defenders. While acknowledging the justice of most criticisms of Scott’s naval methods; Crane rescues him from the outright character assassination begun by Roland Huntford. In analyzing Scott’s leadership; Crane contrasts the inexperienced but confident young officer of the Discovery Expedition with the man who returned to Antarctica a decade latter; beset by family and financial worries; unsure of himself in his strange marriage; and embittered by his rivalry with Shackleton. That this man lost the Pole to Amundsen was almost predetermined; yet; Crane accepts the conclusion reached by Susan Solomon and Scott’s own Message to the Public: that extraordinary weather on the Barrier; not his expedition’s flaws; killed Scott and his companions. To this biographer; Robert Falcon Scott’s idealism—realized fully only in his death—redeemed him as a man; if not quite as an explorer. Whether or not the reader finds Crane’s arguments convincing; his book is meticulously researched and marvelously written. Only its relative paucity of illustrations; given the wealth of photographs available; was a minor disappointment
