The Promise: President Obama, Year One Audiobook

" A fast-paced, well-written narrative of Obama's first year as President. "

" Insightful, I think it will help his supporters better understand why things like healthcare and the stimulus played out the way they did. "

" The highlights of this book are the humanizing, behind-the-scenes anecdotes about Obama and his team. Alter does not shed light on anything new (presuming his reader and target audience are relatively well-informed) and his opinions are not revelatory. Still, it's fun to learn that Obama's oath of choice is used so frequently that his chief security advisor refers to "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moments." "

" Almost laughably biased and generous toward Obama but still an entertaining insider account of the White House. That said, it spends too much time on the "soft" elements of Obama's administration and not enough on the real policy wonk stuff that I was hoping for. For people who've followed the news carefully over the past year, there won't be many stunning revelations. There will be better histories of the Obama White House, for sure. "

" A good read. I am sorry that I read it right after reading the Carter Whitehouse Diaries. "

" This is a remarkably interesting, insightful, and informative book that focuses on the first 16 months of the Obama presidency. I learned so much about current issues and policy. It was written by a Newsweek columnist with unique access to the Obama administration and it's important policymakers. My biggest issue with this book was that there was not enough background information and explanation; it assumed a prior knowledge of politics, policy, issues, and people, which I didn't have, and goes into a tremendous amount of detail. As a result, the book for me, was slow going. But it was definately a worthwhile and important read which I highly recommend. Also, the book was clearly biased in favor of Obama and his progressive policies, but you gain a deeper appreciation for the accomplishments and progress that Obama has made, and the struggles and hurdles he had to jump through with Congress to get his bills passed. "

" I learned a lot about the background of decisions made in the first year. A real eye opener. Lots on information on Obama's personality. "

" Amazing what I did not know that makes me admire President Obama even more- could that even be possible???? Very well researched and written. As Lbball27 noted, I may be addicted to nonfiction! "

" One of the better books regarding Obama's still young presidency. Alter is exceedingly fair, critical when appropriate. "

" This was an amazing and revealing look into the first year of President Obama's life as a president-elect and then as president. I was blown away by the details and information I gleaned from reading this book. "

" This book provides real insight on the minutia and maneuvering of the political process. "

" this was an interesting read, but slow in places. "

" Almost finished with my campaign 2008/obama reading tour and this was an excellent addition to the trip. Jonathan Alter explores the first year of the Obama presidency form the inside. Because the economy still is sluggish, its easy to overlook how much he accomplished in one year. Excellent read. "

" Check out what this great president did in Year one. Not enough on what he did in the media. "

" A (mostly) objective and considered history, as good as journalism-as-history can be. "

" Very interesting. This is kind of a behind the scenes look at many of the big news stories that happened in Obama's first year that fills in the details we didn't get from the media. This book makes it seem like he's really done a lot more in his time in office than people realize. "

" A fine look into the first year of this historic presidency-not a "rah-rah" nor a "he's an alien terrorist manchurian" read, but an honest attempt to look at his first year in office. "

" Honest assessment of the presidents first year. The access to the legislative process behind closed doors is fascinating. "

" I didn't finish this because it's an epic book and it was due back at the library. I liked that such recent history could still seem to be drama on a grand scale. Perhaps too detailed for me, but all the swearing was fun. Also, why don't Democrats campaign better? Why? "

" Really helpful in breaking down the situations over Obama's first year to an understandbale level. Good because it didn't spend four hundred pages pumping his ego, either. It gave an honest, run down of the facts. "

" The problem with this book was that it turned out I had paid enough attention during the election of Obama that nothing was really surprising. Some of the discussions about Afghanistan are interesting, but otherwise, there isn't anything interesting or compelling about this book. "

" Very interesting listen of how President Obama runs his presidency, including his style, energy and frustrations. "

" This is the book I would have written about President Obama if I could, so naturally, I'm captivated! Where was Mr. Alter when I was an island, needing a like-minded individual to chew on the issues during primary season? Excellent reporting and analysis. "

" The problem with this book was that it turned out I had paid enough attention during the election of Obama that nothing was really surprising. Some of the discussions about Afghanistan are interesting, but otherwise, there isn't anything interesting or compelling about this book. "

" Reading this book made me realize that I watch a lot of political analysis on television. There was very little new information in this book as most of what is written was reported real-time on cable TV in the first year of President Obama's term.The book is a decent read. "

" This was a great inside story of the Obama campaign and Whitehouse. What an amazing President! "

" So far Jonathan Alter does not disappoint. "

" Check out what this great president did in Year one. Not enough on what he did in the media. "

" Repetitive but satiated my weekly Obama studies "

" A fine look into the first year of this historic presidency-not a "rah-rah" nor a "he's an alien terrorist manchurian" read, but an honest attempt to look at his first year in office. "

" A good read. I enjoyed Jonathan Alter's FDR book and enjoyed this one as well. Probably as fair as anyone can expect. "