A Slew of Obama Books to Hit the Shelves in January

Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 11:58 pm

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There are at least 11 books coming out about Barack Obama in January. Most of these books are scheduled for release in time to take advantage of the next wave of Obamamania expected to strike around the time of his inauguration. Here are five titles that interested me.

1). Barack, Inc.: Winning Business Lessons of the Obama Campaign by Barry Libert and Rick Faulk (Avail: 1/19)

Why this book is interesting:

Unlike the usual political or current events books, which all too often are either dry academic works, or tabloid style sheets focused on scandal, Barack Inc. focuses on the Obama campaign’s use of social Internet technology, and networks to raise support and money.

The book claims that the lessons of the Obama campaign can be applied to the corporate world. Since political campaigns are a huge business based on the selling of a candidate to voters, this is a logical connection to make.

2). How Barack Obama Won: A State-by-State Guide to the Historic 2008 Presidential Election by Chuck Todd and Sheldon Gawiser (Avail. 1/6)

Why this book is interesting:

NBC News political director Chuck Todd, and NBC director of elections Sheldon Gawiser statistically walk readers through why the 2008 presidential turned out to be a landslide for Barack Obama.

The book points out little nuggets such as this, “With the exception of Missouri (which barely went to McCain), Obama won every state where Bush’s approval rating was below 35% in the exit polls; he lost every state where Bush’s approval rating was above 35%. Bush’s approval rating was highest in Utah (47%), which supported McCain by a 29 point margin, and lowest in Washington, D.C. (8%), where McCain received only 7% of the vote.”

For the serious political junkie, this looks like the ultimate read. Knowing the work of the two authors on NBC, this book is going to be straightforward, and probably a total bore for people who don’t love politics, but it could be a real treat for those who are already looking ahead to 2012. The best part is that you can pick up this book for around ten bucks.

3). What Obama Means: …for Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Future by Jabari Asim (Avail. 1/15)

Why this book is interesting:

Asim’s book will look at the cultural significance of an Obama presidency for Americans of all colors and backgrounds. It was this line from the product description that caught my curiosity, “Asim moves easily from the contemporary to the historical, showing how performers and athletes, such as Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan, laid the groundwork for Obama as much as did leaders such as Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. DuBois, and Martin Luther King Jr.”

I can see the Michael Jordon comparison especially when it comes to mainstream appeal, but Michael Jackson? I want to read how he makes that connection. (I trust that he is going to talk about Thriller Michael Jackson not the crazy man that he has become).

4). The Inaugural Address, 2009: Together with Abraham Lincoln’s First and Second Inaugural Addresses and The Gettysburg Address and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self-Reliance by Barack Obama (Avail. 2/4)

Why This Book is Interesting:

If anyone ever needed an example of the high expectations placed on Obama, this book would be it. The man is not even president yet, a book is being readied that will include his inaugural address along with those of Lincoln and a work of Emerson.

No pressure, there Barack. Has anybody stopped to think of what this book might look like if Obama delivers a sub par inaugural address? For the record, I think Obama’s address will be fine, but that is some historic company, he is being placed in.

5).A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (And Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media by Bernard Goldberg (Avail. 1/26)

Why this book is interesting:

Just to demonstrate that not everything about Obama isn’t puppies and kittens nice, we have this forthcoming book from conservative mainstream media basher Bernard Goldberg, who seems to claim in his new book that the mainstream media got Obama elected.

Goldberg claims that the media downplayed sanitized or ignored the Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers stories, and that Obama is going to use the Fairness Doctrine to crack down on conservative talk radio. Goldberg comes out with these books on liberal media bias fairly regularly, so his new twist for this one is that the media was even more biased in 2008 for Obama than it was before.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association