Author Barack Obama
Country United States
Language English
Subject(s) Political convictions
Publisher Crown/Three Rivers Press
Publication date October 17, 2006
Media type Print (Hardcover)
Pages 288
ISBN 0-307-23769-9
The
Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream is the
second book written by US Senator Barack Obama.[1] It was the number
three bestseller on The New York Times nonfiction list as of October
2006.[2] The book represents Obama's personal manifesto for his 2008
campaign for the Presidency. The book advance from the publisher of
$1.9 million contracted for three booksINFO:
With his second book
The Audacity of Hope, Obama engages themes raised in his keynote speech
at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, shares personal views on
faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves
repairing a “political process that is broken” and restoring a
government that has fallen out of touch with the people. [edit] Origin
The title of The Audacity of Hope was derived from a sermon delivered
by Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. While a Senate candidate,
Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention,
entitled The Audacity of Hope that propelled him to national
prominence. In the less than 20 minutes it took to deliver the speech,
Obama was catapulted to sudden fame, with many analysts predicting that
he might be well-positioned to enter a future presidential race. In
2006, Obama released The Audacity of Hope, a book-length account that
expanded upon many of the same themes he originally addressed in the
convention speech.
In his speech addressing the Democratic National Convention in 2004, Obama said:
“ In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in
a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? John Kerry calls on us to
hope. John Edwards calls on us to hope. I'm not talking about blind
optimism here -- the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment
will go away if we just don't talk about it, or the health care crisis
will solve itself if we just ignore it. No, I'm talking about something
more substantial. It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing
freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores;
the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong
Delta; the hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds; the
hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a
place for him, too. Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of
uncertainty. The audacity of hope!