If you want a nice overview of Obama's background with a lot of great photos, this is the book for you. It's a quick, easy read, not heavy on the nuance, but a nice combination of visuals and "up-close" breezy journalism. In short, if you like to indulge in reading "People" magazine now and then, this is a long profile of Obama in that style by a writer for that publication.

In short, it's a fun read that won't raise any angst, and will end up making you feel good about Obama -- and you'll enjoy just flipping through the photos.

This is the updated paperback edition.

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From the publisher:

No political figure in recent memory has generated the excitment that surrounds Barack Obama. This forty-six-year-old Senator's message of hope has galvanized a generation of new voters and breathed new life into American politics.

Hopes and Dreams follows Obama's fascinating story beginning with his difficult childhood and struggles coming to terms with his heritage to his remarkable success in school - he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review - and his current desire to become leader of the free world. Along the way, readers will meet his friends and family, discover moments that shaped his life, and learn more about the man and his motivations.

Written by a leading journalist and filled with more than 140 photographs, this up-to-the moment biography gives an inside look at one of the most fascinating figures in politicsm and quite possibly the next President of the United States.

About the author:

Steve Dougherty writes for People magazine and The New York Times Travel section. For many years he was on staff at People; he has also worked for Gannett, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, and the Atlanta Constitution, and is the coauthor, with Ralph Cooper, of Amateur Night at the Apollo (Harper; 1990). He lives in New York City.