This is a very good primer on the life of Joe Biden and reminds the reader just how wide ranging and eventful a life it has been. It might lack the element of surprise, because so many of the details of Biden's life are already in the public sphere but it's a well told summary to be read as the world watches the final and probably most important chapter.

Not sure how to rate this. Was looking to get some more information on a prominent world leader, whilst acknowledging that my familiarity (and interest), with American politics (or any politics) is very much on the low side.

Sure, I did get a lot more insight into Biden (some of which was definitely interesting), but a lot of the book was not very engaging, and the flow (particularly in the 1st chapter, but elsewhere as well) just wasn’t the greatest. For a chronologically based book, there was a lot of jumping around unnecessarily.

Thanks NetGalley and Bloombury for a review copy.

Very heavy read and the narrator made it hard to listen to as very monotonous voice. Interesting in parts but long winded in others.

This book is a brief biography of Biden's life and political career up to the close of the 2020 presidential election. Having know his name due to being VP during the Obama administration I knew little of him. This book gives a balanced view of the man, There is an emphasis on his positive attributes and does try to show him as a very human politician. I found the anecdotes and stories interesting. I found his views on war and the military interesting and his disagreements with former Defense Secretary Bob Gates was fascinating. Overall I found this book an interesting introduction to the man behind the Title. Many Thanks to #Netgalley for an advance copy of #JoeBidenAmericanDreamer by #EvanOsnos in exchange for an honest review.

I found this an insightful yet monotone.
It’s not a time I would pick up again having also just read Obama’s -they can not be compared

This was a quick read. It came across as a detailed conversation; listening to a guy you know, filling you in on a contact you are about to meet at lunch. Full of anecdotes, facts and tidbits gleaned from others.

It became apparent that this was actually written as a series of pieces written for the New Yorker podcast, with an extra interview with Evan Osnos included at the end.

I enjoyed learning the details about Joe’s life as I knew nothing about him outside of him being vice president for 8 years. I have pledged to read 2 or 3 other biographies about his life story this year based on this writing.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Bloomsbury UK Audio for the opportunity of reading this advanced copy in exchange for my own honest review. This book is due for release on October 27, 2020.

#NetGalley #JoeBiden #bloomsburypublishing

I listened to this as an audio book and enjoyed the author’s narration. This isn’t a long book (four hours twenty five minutes) but it is fascinating and gives the reader a good sense of the background to Joe Biden and his path to President. It definitely hasn’t been a smooth journey, but it gives a good indication of his determination to succeed. I would have enjoyed a bit more detail in parts but found it very engaging. Thank you to Evan Osnos, Net Galley and Bloomsbury UK Audio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Informative and engaging this audiobook biography about the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden provides background for those interested in world politics and the events that formed that persons morals and outlook. I am truly hopeful that the person depicted in this audiobook is as he sounds, a true gentleman. The information given is at once appropriate and showing the man's humanity. With a sensitive touch on the tragedy that has surrounded Joe Biden's life so far, this is a good listen for all those with an interest in this area,

This was an excellent biography drawing on various interviews with political figures and drawing on events from Biden's life. This showed, the good, the bad and the ugly. This is a must read.

The narrator was very engaging.

This was a really quick read/listen and gives you a brief overview of all things Joe Biden. It humanises him and isn't a completely positive view point of him based on the authors interviews with him and first hand experience etc which I actually really liked. It seems well researched and it went into detail with a lot of topics that are known but not the full backstory. Would recommend to anyone interested in American politics.

This was an interesting "listen" but should have probably been titled "Joe Biden for Beginners". It's a good introduction, I think, but doesn't give enough to satisfy my curiosity. It feels like there are holes. The blurb says: "A concise, brilliant, and trenchant examination", and it is... I was just hoping for a lot more. Most of this book contains information already known. I still enjoyed it though.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

Fascinating and detailed account of Joe Biden's life. Often faced by enormous tragedy he has overcome this to become the 46th president of the USA.

I've just finished the audio book version of American Dreamer and it's a light and enjoyable listen, but doesn't really add anything new. It starts with Biden's aneurysm, before going on to describe the other tragedies and highs of his life. He's portrayed as a good man, a relationship builder, and someone who was so sure that another term with Trump as president so permanently damage America's standing in the world, that he stood purely to prevent that outcome.

I live in the UK, and broadly follow politics, but even I knew the major events in this book - I suspect Americans would be even more aware. I was hoping for more depth and opinion, but this was sadly missing. It had the feel of something quickly cobbled together to capitalise on his election victory.

Those negatives aside, it was well written and well narrated, so 4*s.

Unfortunately, I received an email timed at 4.11 pm GMT on 27/1/21 and by the time I read the email and attempted to download the book, at 6.45 pm on the same day, it had already been archived. A real pity as I was looking forward to listening to this one. If you are able to make it available to me I will look to listen to the book and provide a review.

As I've been unable to review the book at this point, I 'm currently unable to provide a review.

This was great, the perfect length for an audiobook (4.5 hrs or so) really interesting and perfect to listen to over the few weeks before inauguration. I loved the balance between personal and professional biography, the resistance to focus on the "glamour" of deaths and the Vice Presidency to drill into his core values. I was surprised to find it was based on a collection of journalism as it felt so cohesive. I've already recommended it as a sign of something reassuring, competent, and lacking in drama. The world is happy Trump is gone, but this book reassures us that the future is bright. Osnos' voice is even, engaging and deeply American.

Every four years, suddenly I become interested in foreign politics, mostly because you really can't miss the US presidential elections, no matter where you are from. And even though I've been aware of the existence of Joe Biden since he served as the VP I didn't know anything about him. Evan Osmos's book came to me at a perfect time.

The biography is fairly short, which makes it perfect for people who are interested in the man of the hour but don't want to read a hefty book about his life. Osmos goes through Biden's life and political carrier focusing on events and decisions that shaped him and made him the person he is now. The narrative is clear and easy to follow. The only thing that might throw off potential readers is the author's presupposition that his audience already has some knowledge about the US political scene and the workings of the system.

Osmos's book is a well researched and concise picture of Joe Biden as a politician and as a person. I would definitely recommend it for everyone interested in the new president of the US and want to know a little bit more about him.

<b> I received an audiobook of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. This fact has not impacted my thoughts of the book. </b>

Joe Biden, the president-elect of the United States, is a man I've always been aware of within the political sphere, but as a Brit, knew very little about as a person nor his political track record. As the world turned to watch his teeth grinding win in the 2020 election, it dawned on me I should maybe educate myself more on Biden, his thoughts, life and record. Evan Osnos provides a very clear and enjoyable account of Biden in this short book, a pleasure to listen too and it balances criticism with praise very well. I was worried this was going to be a glowing review but it definitely didn't hide from the fact that Biden has made mistakes in his career but overall, I liked this book. It didn't tell the reader what to think or how to view Biden, it is simply an account of his life and his career.

I decided to listen to this on a whim as I wanted to find out what my American friends were talking about. I have learnt a lot about Biden but also about American politics. This is a great easy listen and full of facts but you dont feel that you are being preached to, that is a very unique skill.

The narration was brilliant.

I would firmly recommend this listen.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

My thanks to Bloomsbury U.K. Audio for the audiobook edition via NetGalley of ‘Joe Biden: American Dreamer’ by Evan Osnos in exchange for an honest review. It was read by Evan Osnos and has a running time of 4 hours, 26 minutes at 1x speed.

This was released at the end of October so just before the USA election. It is a short, concise biography of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., now the President-Elect of the United States.

I didn’t know much about Biden’s background so this proved very informative and cemented my respect for him.

Journalist Evan Osnos examines Biden’s life with special focus on the run up to the 2020 presidential election. He draws on lengthy interviews with Biden and conversations with many others, including Biden family members, President Barack Obama, and other colleagues and opponents.

Biden comes across in the biography as he does in the interviews I have seen of him, as a decent, down-to-earth, hardworking man, who is by no means perfect but is highly principled and very importantly willing to admit when he’s wrong.

My admiration for Joe Biden increased after listening to Osnos’ biography. Osnos writing is very precise and economical and yet flows well. It’s clear that he has extensive experience reporting on USA politics.

There was a bonus interview at the end by The New Yorker editor David Remnick with Evan Oznos about his process of writing the biography including a recent meeting with Joe Biden.

Perfect as an audiobook

I have so much respect for Joe Biden as a human, politics aside he has been through so much personally and then to devote close to 5 decades to public service in my book makes him an incredible man. As this book shows he’s not perfect, show me a human who is but he had consistently picked himself up, dusted himself down and put his best foot forward- what more can you ask for from a man and a leader