To Obama

Based around letters written by ordinary Americans during Obama's presidency, this is both a portrait of America over those 8 years - and an insight into an Obama we might never have seen. For while some of the letters are overtly political, others are outbursts of anger, of rage, of cries for help written to a man as much as to an administration or figurehead of the Establishment. And Obama responds to them as a man - alive with an empathy that belies everything we know about politicians and (in)sincerity.

In the interview which provides an epilogue, Obama - cool, relaxed, thoughtful - talks of the importance to him of this dialogue with the people he pledged to serve, regardless of whether they agreed and supported him or not. His openness in accepting the challenges to his presidency are illuminating: sometimes he explained the factors that led him to do what he did, sometimes he changed his own mind or at least caused an issue to be investigated. One of the things that affected me most was the fact that after writing to people Obama might meet them for lunch or tea, a genuine interest and continuation of a dialogue which is exceptional.

A memoir of grace, true empathy and also covert attack on the Trump administration which tramples quite openly and proudly on the idea of ever showing empathy, compassion, or seeing the world through someone else's eyes.

This moved me deeply. Heart-warming, stirring letters to a President open to listening.

Whatever side of the political spectrum you happen to subscribe to, this account of Barack Obama's Office for Presidential Correspondence (OPC) is both worthy of acknowledgment and played a material role in an eight year presidency.

The author details her conversations with OPC staff as well as the letter writers themselves who wrote to Obama about his policies, world events, their lives. Even Obama is interviewed about the role the OPC played in his terms of office, his speeches and his policy decisions. From the youngest to the oldest, immigrants, prisoners, teachers, students, mothers, grieving partners, veterans, the sick, homosexual couples - every demographic is represented in this slice of Americana.

Each day, the OPC team read hundreds of letters, cutting them down to 10LADs, the 'ten letters a day' that represented the nation's mood, concerns and questions for the President, both positive and negative. Each evening they would be read and responded so, either by Obama himself or by his team, with notes from the Commander-in-Chief to guide them.

Letters from the American people to their President are included here and hit you hard, I'll warn you. I cried multiple times, both at the letters themselves and their responses. I found the technique of writing the chapters about certain letter writers in more detail were emotive, written in their words, clearly from interviews.

The story of the OPC from its inception as Obama's team take the reins through to the election of his successor is interspersed among the letters from his countrymen. I would never have guessed at the emotions that would run through me during a book of letters, and letters from citizens of another country to a leader not my own.

When I finished the book earlier today, I felt a deep respect for the team who read and categorised these missives, and to the man who couldn't "walk down a street and see what it normally looks like" so requested and stuck to his decision to read ten letters every day of his Presidency.

I had hoped to listen to an audio version of this. I did have issues a few times with the letters that weren't typed (including a few of Obama's handwritten notes) - the handwriting made some illegible at times and a second copy typed would have helped greatly. It was rare, but did happen that I couldn't read a letter due to indecipherable handwriting (others may not find this a problem).

"This whole thing was just supposed to be about the president getting ten letters a day, but it grew into something else; letters informed policy proposals and speeches , and they affected people personally." At the end of the book we are given short briefings on the lives of letter writers after they wrote to Obama. By this point, I couldn't recall individual names, but the Kindle version links back to their letters.

An important, uplifting read. I'm so glad this initiative is now documented and the public know the role their own lives and words played by a man who read more letters from his country than any other. I for one am inspired.

With thanks to Netgalley for the sample reading copy.

This book is a series of letters that President Obama received from members of the American public during his time in office. He actively encouraged the public to write to him,
The contents of the letters are varied. I feel that the fact Obama encouraged the public to write to him just shows the kind of human being he actually is. He would on occasions meet these people. Showing empathy and having a genuine interest in them.
Thank you to both Netgalley and Bloomsbury Uk for giving me the opportunity to read ’To Obama with love joy, hate and despair ’ in exchange for my honest unbiased review.

To my horror, this turned to be a PDF file rather than for Kindle. Unfortunately, I can only read books on my kindle. I was so much looking forward to reading this, so I am deeply disappointed that I am unable to do. Many thanks for the book, just such a shame I am not in a position to be able to read it!!

I felt this should have been a rather fascinating look at little known function of Obama's White House with a scattering of moving moments, as well as heart-wrenching real life stories. Instead, I couldn't help come away from this title with anything expect a profound sense of loss.

I do genuinely think others will take the book in the spirit that it was intended, and get far more out of it than I did. Perhaps it was poor timing on my part, either way To Obama is an excellent read.

This was an ARC in exchange for an honest review. With thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury.

This is a memorable book about a memorable man made all the more important by recent events. Barack Obama wasn't my president,  I don't live in America nor have I, unfortunately, ever visited there. In our global world, that makes little difference as far as this book, and many other things, are concerned.
Dear Obama is about the little people, the ones who make a nation, keep it safe, keep it working, and ready for the next generation and beyond. Some of them, whatever their age, race, gender, sexual persuasion, political affiliation, or vocation have two things in common; they needed to tell their story and they chose their president as the recipient.
It isn't, however, just about the letters or replies, even though that would have been a powerful enough read given the content; it is also about the authors of the letters, the staff who work in the department at the White House who received the letters or emails and the President himself.
The author worked in the Office of Presidential Correspondence or OPC as a volunteer to get a better understanding of what happens and it is clear on every page, other than those containing only the letters, or 'samples' themselves, that she was both surprised and deeply affected by what she found. It is also very apparent just how much importance President Obama treats these letters with as he is interviewed both whilst still in office  and after he has, regrettably, had to step aside.
The only thing I wondered, and without this book it would have never occurred to me, is whether Mrs Obama also received letters in this way. Nothing is said about this understandably given the private nature of the subject which only adds to the impact of those who graciously allowed their letters to be included in the first place.
I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and found it far more moving, engaging and compulsive than I thought I would. This isn't a book about politics or policies but those who are on the receiving end of the machinations on the new and old laws of the land. In my opinion it should be required reading for any current or prospective politician who wishes to sucessfully and efficiently serve their country.

I really enjoyed this, although I had to read it in smaller chunks because it made me quite emotional at times. This tells the story of the letter office in the Obama White House and gives you a window into the correspondence they received and how they dealt with it.

There are some incredibly sad stories in here - but there are optimistic ones too - and a little bit of the magic of the responses may be dulled by reading the book, but ultimately it’s a very good window into what made the 44th president tick and how he kept in touch with the people that he was serving.

I'm a huge fan of Obama and his family so jumped at the chance to get a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The book collects some of the many thousands of letters written to Obama between 2008 and 2017 with added narrative around specific letters and the processes behind the mailroom itself. It focuses on the 10LADS (letters a day) selected by mailroom staff to be sent to Obama for review and a response. The team working behind the scenes to read, categorise and prioritise thousands of letters were clearly so dedicated to the task. And it's impressive that Obama always made time to read these ten selected letters (which where by no means always positive ones).

I really enjoyed this book and found it better suited to be dipped in and out of as it was slow going at times. My favourite part was reading the emails and letters sent in the aftermath of Trump's election victory and how the mailroom staff dealt with it. I do wish there had been more topical chapters similar to this - dealing with a specific important or controversial time during Obama's presidency and the reaction from the public. This would have added a bit more excitement and pacing to the book.