The Promise
President Obama, Year One
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Narrated by:
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Jonathan Alter
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By:
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Jonathan Alter
About this listen
Barack Obama’s inauguration as president on January 20, 2009, inspired the world. But the great promise of “Change We Can Believe In” was immediately tested by the threat of another Great Depression, a worsening war in Afghanistan, and an entrenched and deeply partisan system of business as usual in Washington. Despite all the coverage, the backstory of Obama’s historic first year in office has until now remained a mystery.
In The Promise, Jonathan Alter, one of the country’s most respected journalists and historians, uses his unique access to the White House to produce the first inside look at Obama’s difficult debut.
What happened in 2009 inside the Oval Office? What worked and what failed? What is the president really like on the job and in off-hours, using what his best friend called “a Rubik’s Cube in his brain"? These questions are answered here for the first time. We see how a surprisingly cunning Obama took effective charge in Washington several weeks before his election, made trillion-dollar decisions on the stimulus and budget before he was inaugurated, engineered colossally unpopular bailouts of the banking and auto sectors, and escalated a treacherous war not long after settling into office.
The Promise is a fast-paced and incisive narrative of a young risk-taking president carving his own path amid sky-high expectations and surging joblessness. Alter reveals that it was Obama alone—“feeling lucky”—who insisted on pushing major health care reform over the objections of his vice president and top advisors.
Alter takes the listener inside the room as Obama prevents a fistfight involving a congressman, coldly reprimands the military brass for insubordination, crashes the key meeting at the Copenhagen Climate Change conference, and bounces back after a disastrous Massachusetts election to redeem a promise that had eluded presidents since FDR.
©2010 Jonathan Alter (P)2010 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
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In this unique insider account, John H. Sununu pays tribute to his former boss - an intelligent, thoughtful, modest leader - and his overlooked accomplishments. Though George H. W. Bush is remembered for orchestrating one of the largest and most successful military campaigns in history - the Gulf War - Sununu argues that conventional wisdom misses many of Bush's other great achievements.
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Outstanding Biograpy
- By Warren Brookes on 07-25-15
By: John H. Sununu
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The Price of Politics
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Boyd Gaines
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on 18 months of reporting, Woodward's 17th book The Price of Politics is an intimate, documented examination of how President Obama and the highest profile Republican and Democratic leaders in the United States Congress attempted to restore the American economy and improve the federal government's fiscal condition over three and one half years. The Price of Politics addresses the key issue of the presidential and congressional campaigns: the condition of the American economy.
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Making the Sausage
- By Graham on 10-18-12
By: Bob Woodward
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All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain's Political Class
- By: Tim Shipman
- Narrated by: Rupert Farley
- Length: 32 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on unrivalled access to all the key politicians and their advisors - including Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, George Osborne, Nigel Farage and Dominic Cummings, the mastermind of Vote Leave - Shipman has written a political history that reads like a thriller and offers a gripping day-by-day account of what really happened behind the scenes in Downing Street, both Leave campaigns, the Labour Party, Ukip and Britain Stronger in Europe.
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blow by blow, word by word
- By Christian R. Unger on 11-22-18
By: Tim Shipman
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Days of Fire
- Bush and Cheney in the White House
- By: Peter Baker
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 29 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Theirs was the most captivating American political partnership since Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger: a bold and untested president and his seasoned, relentless vice president. Confronted by one crisis after another, they struggled to protect the country, remake the world, and define their own relationship along the way. In Days of Fire, Peter Baker chronicles the history of the most consequential presidency in modern times through the prism of its two most compelling characters, capturing the elusive and shifting alliance of George Walker Bush and Richard Bruce Cheney as no historian has done before.
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A balanced account of the W and Cheney White House
- By Scott on 11-15-13
By: Peter Baker
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Reagan
- The Life
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 31 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Ronald Reagan today is a conservative icon, celebrated for transforming the American domestic agenda and playing a crucial part in ending communism in the Soviet Union. In his masterful new biography, H. W. Brands argues that Reagan, along with FDR, was the most consequential president of the 20th century. Reagan took office at a time when the public sector, after a half century of New Deal liberalism, was widely perceived as bloated and inefficient, an impediment to personal liberty.
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Very little about Reagan
- By Jack Merritt on 07-30-15
By: H. W. Brands
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Bush
- By: Jean Edward Smith
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In Bush, Jean Edward Smith demonstrates that it was not Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or Condoleezza Rice, but President Bush himself who took personal control of foreign policy. Bush drew on his deep religious conviction that important foreign-policy decisions were simply a matter of good versus evil. Domestically, he overreacted to 9/11 and endangered Americans' civil liberties.
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Delusions of Competence
- By Rick on 11-18-16
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The Briefing
- Politics, the Press, and the President
- By: Sean Spicer
- Narrated by: Sean Spicer
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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For more than two decades, Sean Spicer had been a respected political insider, working as a campaign and communications strategist. But in December 2016, he got the call of a lifetime. President-elect Donald J. Trump had chosen him to be the White House press secretary. And life hasn’t been the same since. When he accepted the job, Spicer was far from a household name. But then he walked into the bright lights of the briefing room, and the cameras started rolling. His every word was scrutinized. Every movement was parodied. Every detail became a meme. And that’s just the public side.
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I did not expect to like this non-fiction book!
- By Wayne on 07-30-18
By: Sean Spicer
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The Presidents Club
- Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity
- By: Nancy Gibbs, Michael Duffy
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 22 hrs
- Unabridged
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The Presidents Club was born at Eisenhower’s inauguration when Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover first conceived the idea. Over the years that followed - and to this day - the presidents relied on, misunderstood, sabotaged, and formed alliances with one another that changed history. The world’s most exclusive fraternity is a complicated place: its members are bound forever because they sat in the Oval Office and know its secrets, yet they are immortal rivals for history’s favor.
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Engaging subject, but fact-checking needed
- By loix on 04-25-12
By: Nancy Gibbs, and others
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The Real Romney
- By: Michael Kranish, Scott Helman
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Mitt Romney has masterfully positioned himself as the front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Even though he's become a household name, the former Massachusetts governor remains an enigma to many in America, his character and core convictions elusive, his record little known. Who is the man behind that high-wattage smile? In this definitive, unflinching biography by Boston Globe investigative reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, listeners will finally discover the real Romney.
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Hard to conceal resentment and feign objectvity...
- By I F Leger on 02-10-12
By: Michael Kranish, and others
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A Promised Land
- By: Barack Obama
- Narrated by: Barack Obama
- Length: 29 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency - a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil.
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Color me grateful.
- By Angela on 11-19-20
By: Barack Obama
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A Woman in Charge
- The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton
- By: Carl Bernstein
- Narrated by: Dick Rodstein
- Length: 24 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Carl Bernstein's stunning portrait of Hillary Rodham Clinton shows us, as nothing else has, the true trajectory of her life and career, with its zigzag bursts of risks taken and safety sought. Marshaling all the skills and energy that propelled his history-making Pulitzer Prize reporting on Watergate, Bernstein gives us the most detailed, sophisticated, comprehensive, and revealing account of Hilary Rodham Clinton yet.
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in depth and well-written
- By Katherine on 07-20-07
By: Carl Bernstein
What listeners say about The Promise
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Jim Cornelius
- 07-02-10
the only way to read a book like this
I loved the book. I never would have gone through it if I had to read it. but listening to it suited my life style very well. It was interesting to the end and J. Alter's voice was perfect for the book
Even though it had many details it kept my attention to the end.
I look forward to the second year.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Christopher Vogt
- 06-15-10
Best Book on Obama's Presidency
If your a tea bagger or love listening to Glenn Beck than this is not the book for you. But if you want to learn how the Obama Administration functions and what Obama's leadership style is like you will find this book endlessly fascinating. By far the best book out there on the Obama Presidency.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Andy
- 05-30-10
goes way beyond the headlines and soundbites
Jonathan Alter's latest book provides an interesting and detailed "behind the scenes" view. His terrific narration, coupled with great research, makes you feel you were actually in the room. This book delivers colorful detail into the machinations from the run-up to the election through Obama's first year in office. Best of all, it is going to help me better understand how Obama will lead us going forward.
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14 people found this helpful
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Overall
- swatch1776
- 08-23-10
good
Personally, I think this is a fairly good narrative of the President's first year. It brings you through the journey of first year. His highs and his lows. While It does feel the author is a little partial to Obama, the author does show both good and bad. But ultimately this is chronicle of his first year. And I feel that most of the negative reviews are angry this isnt another Laura Ingram berate against Obama. If you want that, there are books you can buy, This is not it. Otherwise this is a good book to buy.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Beth Alois
- 06-30-10
Good book
Good summary of the Obama's first year in office. There is an excellent chapter on Obama's character.
The narration is amateurish. His voice often sounds tired. If Alter is going to do a book per year, his publisher should hire a professional reader.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Amr
- 09-18-11
A bit Biased
The fairly liberal author really likes Obama and his accomplishments in the first year, which is not surprising but it becomes very obvious sometimes (even for me, someone who favors Obama) which is not good for a book that is supposed to be a very early draft of history of the first year of the Obama presidency.
However, the book is full of details about what happened in the first year (even though they mostly favor Obama) and more importantly it offers details on Obama's management style and his attitude towards the commander-in-cheif and top executive job.
Enjoy the details of the book (especially, if you're interested in politics like I'm) but remember that it's a first somehow biased draft of history.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Marty Siegel
- 06-24-10
Amazing journalism and writing
I always knew Jonathan Alter was brilliant, listening to him frequently on MSNBC, but this book is insightful work. Every story was exciting, and I'll tell you why: for many of us political junkies, we know the public stories; what we don't know are the "behind the scenes" stories of President Obama's first year. Alter gives us this, with clarity and compelling prose.
The recent events with General McChrystal's resignation is made more clear after you've learned how the President developed his Afgan policy and the way he affirmed buy-in.
Of course the bottom line is that, again and again, I am pleased that Barack Obama is our president, and Alter's book helps me feel assured how the President and his staff are likely handling current crises (like BP).
I highly recommend this book. If I had my way, it would be required reading for every American who voted for the President; it would reaffirm their choice (despite some acknowledged screw-ups and a realization that "real change," almost by definition is "slow change.").
Good listening!
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9 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-21-20
an incredibly honest and engaging narrative
this is one of the most honest and engaging accounts of one or the toughest first years in present has ever had in our history. Jonathan Alter holds nothing back, details the intense drama and clash of personalities that is rare a political history. this is what separates The Promise from other political histories
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- Peter Cowen
- 10-25-10
Gives Great Insight
The Promise really captured the essence of Obama, his personality, his decision making ability, his managerial style. Surprisingly, the book did a superb job of analyzing the key people around him notably Rahm Emanuel, Larry Summers, and Timothy Geithner and the rationale behind his policy decisions and priorities. The discussion about his "battle" with the military complex is fascinating.
It was a riveting read, from balancing the Republican strategy of saying no, the dynamics versus each of the Clintons and the remarkable campaign he mounted to win the Democratic nomination and then the presidency. How McCain and Palin were viewed was amusing.
The best book I have read by far on Obama from his campaign through is first year in office.
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4 people found this helpful
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- ivan
- 06-25-12
a decent book
The Promise provides a good summary of the firs months of the Obama presidency.
Its a decent book that succeeds in what it sets out to do.
Jonathan Alter is clearly sympathetic to Obama and his brand of pragmatic liberalism. So if you're looking for a neutral or a negative view of the president, this book will probably be an irritating disappointment.
By noting that this volume is decent I also want to highlight that it's not great.
Yes, by reading The Promise you would get a little more insider information about the young presidency than you would if you were following Obama in the pages of the New York Times. But you won't get that much more.
Most of the book consists of rehashing what any political junkie already knows (but may have forgotten).
Tidbits of novel insights are intermixed with the authors prolonged analysis and interpretations that can get redundant. They are by no means intolerable, its just that instead of having a feeling of reading a detailed history one often has a sense of consuming a vague, supportive editorial.
I don't have a problem with a liberal bias. I am a liberal and will enthusiastically support Obama in the upcoming elections. But this books lengthy and supportive psychoanalysis of Obama's character and vague support of his policies gets a little old.
Atler's transparent admiration of Obama shrouds the narrative with a blurry softness.
Basically, my problem is that instead of concrete information, after a brief and adequate summary of some event in 2009 you then get pro-Obama analysis of the event and the book moves on to something new.
Its not bad, and is pretty informative but leaves you without a sense of any great insight.
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