The Obama collection
The Nairobi winter did not stop thousands of Kenyans from trooping out to receive him and attend the many events he headlined in Nairobi. But the most beautiful part of the visit for me is the charming bond he has with his relations in Kenya, his half-sister Auma and his grandmother Sarah, among others. The […]
The Nairobi winter did not stop thousands of Kenyans from trooping out to receive him and attend the many events he headlined in Nairobi. But the most beautiful part of the visit for me is the charming bond he has with his relations in Kenya, his half-sister Auma and his grandmother Sarah, among others. The genuine smiles, the hugs, his break into the trending Kenyan dance Lipala. These were the moments that turned to compelling content in the media; the words, the awe-inspiring pictures that held us all spellbound and changed the can-do spirit of Kenyans forever. No matter ones’ opinion about President Obama from his gay rights position to the many wars America is involved in, it is difficult to take away the fact that he epitomizes history, that he became the first African-American President who happens to have Kenyan roots. It is difficult to ignore the spring in his step, his swag and his gift of the garb. He brought all this inspiration to Kenya encouraging them but ensuring that he was not shy to speak about corruption, sit-tight African leaders and hard work. At his inspiring best, Obama told young Kenyans to shun corruption, work hard and change the continent.
It was into this frenzied and energized Kenya that I walked into on Sunday the 26th of July 2015.The airport was on lock down as Obama prepared to take his leave. By the time we left the airport after his departure forty minutes later, Nairobi was agog with Obamania, the love of his father’s birthplace was palpable. All every Kenyan wanted to talk about was Obama’s visit, his humility, his inspiring presence and the fact that he was one of them. Feverish words, heightened discourse and the energy of one man. Every guest to Nairobi was part of this magic. People wanted to hug you, the smiles and genuine joy was infectious. To celebrate this historic visit and to get you to catch the Obama fever for what it is worth to Kenya and Africa, I bring you books that will give you a better insight into the man, the President of America and his resonance with the rest of us.
Enjoy.
1) The Audacity of Hope by Barrack Obama. The title of this book comes from his 2004 democratic convention keynote address which made him the party’s rising hope. Very much a political document, this book lays out much of President Obama’s policy position on a host of issues from education to healthcare and the war in Iraq. The voice is elastic and personable and authentic. In this book he grounds his policy thinking in simple common sense.
2) It is impossible to speak about Obama without his Kenyan links. Enter his half-sister Dr Auma Obama, intellectual and motivational speaker who got the opportunity to introduce her younger brother to the people of Kenya during this visit to Kenyan and also got to ride with the US president in his official car “the Beast.” Auma Obama’s autobiography, AND THEN LIFE HAPPENS is a must read. It is a moving account about her life in Africa and Europe and her relationship with her brother Barrack . In a review the Publishers Weekly describes it as a burnished book and an engrossing read with no airs in spite of the level of recognition Auma achieved during the 2008 presidential election.
3) In Dreams from My Father, Barrack Obama delivers a poignant tale of race and racism. This book talks about his absolutely brilliant Harvard trained father and the difficulty of his growing up as a child in a mixed marriage. A New York Times best seller re-issued in 2004, this is the story of Barrack Obama’s struggle to understand the forces that shaped him as the son of a black African father and a white American mother.
A beautiful story of his family on both sides of the racial divide told with such honesty and incredible candor including the stories of the rage and drinking that finally destroyed his father and his abandonment by his father when he was two years old. In this book are tales of his childhood growing up in Hawaii and his many visits to Africa to meet with members of his father’s family. He also talks about his father’s polygamy as do most of the books in this collection.
4) Nairobi to Schentzen: A novel of love in the East is the loosely autobiographical book about the abusive childhood of Obama’s half-brother, Mark Obama Ndesanjo whose autobiographical name is David. This is a book about the abuse himself and his mother Ruth suffered in the hands of Obama senior in his drinking days. Mark tells of the many beatings of himself and his mother. The pain of this abuse led him to take the name of his stepfather who married his mother after Obama and how he tried to erase his father’s memory and name. He says this was his situation until a man bearing the same name was sworn in as American President. The name Obama went from representing pain to representing Hope. He says” I am so proud of my brother Barrack”
5) The Obama’s, The Untold Story of an African Family by Peter Firstbook is a biography of the Obama family in Africa with a genealogical tree dating back to the 17th century.
BONUS BOOKS
The Bridge by Peter Firstbook
Fifth Columnist by Peter Ochieng