This is a gorgeous coffee-table book presented in the quintessential LIFE style: highly readable, personable narrative accompanied by a multitude of high-quality, seldom-seen photos. This relatively slender biography is highly engaging: I learned lots about Barack Obama as a person and a political phenomenon.

THE AMERICAN JOURNEY OF BARACK OBAMA is not intended to be a critique, nor an all-inclusive biography. The historical value comes from the beautiful photos and clear explanation of Obama's complex family heritage. I also appreciated the thematic context of the USA's "melting pot".

The book ends with Obama accepting the Presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention -- the book was published prior to the November elections. I hope to see successive volumes: this one was fascinating, and I was sorry when it ended. ( )

The book is a beautiful coffee-table book which makes a good keepsake of this historical presidency. Due to the bias of the editors, it is not a good historical source of information, nor is it very comprehensive or substantive (what did he do as a Senator? You won't find out here). It is very pretty. ( )

The editors of LIFE Magazine provide a full scope of Barack Obama's life. The book contains the following contents: Moments in a Journey, Introduction, Foreword (by Senator Ed Kennedy), The Family Tree, Roots, Boyhood, A Young Man on the Rise, Chicago, Washington, Aspects of Obama (12 essays) and The Journey Continues.

Whether you voted for Barack Obama or not, he is the elected 44th President of the United States and it can't hurt to learn more about him. That's why I read this book - no political announcements here. Not only that, how can you go wrong with LIFE Magazine editors? :)

This is a beautiful, hardcover book. Its size is approximately 9 x 11 and holds true to life (and LIFE) photographs, and it was an absolute pleasure to read. While, I enjoyed most of the essays at the end of the book, some of them I could have done without. So, for me, it's not a masterpiece, but it comes close. No matter - it's a treasured book on my shelves! (4.5/5)

Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..." ( )

As one would expect with a LIFE publication, this coffee table book contains many excellent photographs of its subject. It was published after Obama won the Democratic nomination, but before the election results were known. We see Barack Obama in his youth; in Hawaii; at Harvard; with his family, immediate and extended, in the U.S. and in Kenya; at work and at play. The text gives us background biographical details about his life and complicated family history. It is certainly not an in-depth look at the politician or the man, but was a comfortable, pleasing read for the eve of his inauguration as the 44th President of the United States. It has the feel of a souvenir. The best part of the text are several essays on specific topics---race, faith, the world's view of Obama---by well-known writers including Gay Talese, Bob Greene, Nancy Gibbs, and my personal favorite, Andrei Codrescu who discusses immigration from his own unique perspective . Some of the photos are spoiled, in my opinion, by being spread over two pages. I would rather have had them reproduced on a single page to avoid that spinal crease through the center. ( )

The American Journey of Barack Obama by the Editors of Life is a beautiful coffee table book. It tells the story of Barack Obama from birth through the Presidential race, but it was printed before Election Day. This book doesn’t really introduce any new material but it does a nice job of presenting Barack’s history in a easily read, conversational tone. As would be expected from Life, the book is filled with beautiful, full-color photographs, some of which were not previously published.

My favorite part of the book is the essays in the back from “12 fine thinkers and writers,” including Gay Talese and Andrei Codresu. These essays and the photographs make this book unique among the Barack Obama books. ( )