Author Description

Born and raised in the most multicultural state in the union, United States presidential candidate Barack Obama bears the indelible stamp of his native Hawaii. Here is a coming-of-age story set in Hawaii's storied "melting pot"—a revealing look at what makes Obama tick. This revised edition contains an 8-page photo section not published in the previous edition, and an updated epilogue. Authored by veteran political writers Stu Glauberman and Jerry Burris, this 152-page book examines Obama's early years in Hawaii. The self-described "skinny kid with the funny name" flourished in the Islands, where local values foster tolerance, compromise and mutual respect—and where diversity defines people rather than divides them. The social mores of the Aloha State and the experience of growing up in an island culture have had a deep and lasting influence on the candidate. Obama himself has noted, "What's best in me, and what's best in my message, is consistent with the tradition of Hawaii." Glauberman and Burris offer concise lessons in Hawaii history to help the reader understand its racial and social climate, and how such an environment could impact a young man like Obama. For, as his wife, Michelle Obama, has said, "You can't really understand Barack until you understand Hawaii." Interviews with Obama's Punahou School classmates and teachers, as well as others who knew the Senator in his youth, add a personal dimension to the narrative. Obama's paternal and maternal family history and his years in Indonesia are also thoroughly covered.