Real Book

The relief felt across the world when Barack Obama was elected the next President of the United States was palpable. Not only do we finally get rid of George W. Bush and his negative influence on world affairs but we also get a progressive and intelligent politician with a black African father and a white American mother coming in. The expectation level is huge and Obama looks potentially well placed to bridge the racial divide in the US and repair the national reputation which has been so badly tarnished by Bush.

Like many people I knew very little about Barack Obama, as the democratic choice and opposition to McCain and Palin it wasn’t necessary to know much about him in order to decide he was the better option. Since he won the election I was given his autobiographical book Dreams from my Father as a present and have been pleasantly surprised at what a great read it is.

The book was first published back in 1995 and recounts Obama’s life up to his admission into Harvard Law School. Although he had spent some years in Chicago working as an organizer amongst an impoverished community he clearly had no idea what shape his political future would take. This is an honest look at his family life growing up in Hawai and Indonesia and then living and working in Chicago before visiting Kenya in search of his roots.

His father was absent for most of his life and he talks openly about the various characters that helped to shape him and his own difficulties in finding the right path. He has an eloquent and humble writing style which paints a descriptive picture of the landscape and the people who filled it. He admits his weaknesses and discusses his understanding of racial issues at great length as well as his struggle to find purpose, spending some time listless and directionless before finding rewarding work.

It is surprising to find a politician who is able to articulate his experiences and weave them into a compelling narrative so skilfully. The honesty on display here defies criticism and it is deeply refreshing to see such an approach from a member of the political class we have come to distrust so fervently. Of course he wrote this before he knew he would be President and that may in part account for the open and frank nature of it.

The book was republished in 2004 after Obama gave a rousing speech to the Democratic National Convention in Boston and while it had struggled to sell first time around his profile had now grown large enough to make it a well deserved success.

Whether he stills feels the same way he did when he wrote this book remains to be seen, does he still feel the racial divide so keenly or detest the struggle of poverty and political corruption as much as he did in his youth? When he finally gets into a position to change things will he be able to? We will have to wait and see. What I can say with certainty is that this is an interesting and well written autobiography and it is well worth a read whatever your personal politics.

President George W. wants to write a memoir, but according to this article from the Huffington Post, no one is really interested in publishing it.  And why would they, with approval ratings in the 20s he’s not exactly good for business.  Especially with the economy being what it is, buying books is a luxury.  Besides, there are already so many books written about him by others that one written by him seems unnecessary.  Here’s a few titles worth checking out:

Bushworld: Enter At Your Own Risk by Maureen Dowd
The Bush Betrayal by James Bovard
The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception by David Corn
Warrior King: The Case for Impeaching George Bush by John Bonifaz
Cruel and Unusual: Bush/ Cheney’s New World Order by Mark Crispin Miller
Bush On The Couch: Inside the Mind of a President by Dr. Justin A. Frank

Being sexy and beautiful can be a burden to a famous Hollywood starlet. What better way to counter-balance that than by showing your brainy side by writing a book? Unfortunately, not all books penned by stars are as deliciously salacious, humorous and shocking as Jenna Jameson’s How to Make Love Like a Porn Star. Or as wildly successful. We’ve compiled a list of celebrity authors who have tried their hand at writing, from children’s books to the fictional memoir, to the super-brainy math book.

The Truth About Diamonds by Nicole Richie

This “novel” written by the former ex-best friend of Paris Hilton follows the story of rich socialite Chloe Parker, the adopted daughter of a rock musician, through her ill-fated friendship with a rich heiress, love affair with drugs, brief stint in re-hab, a reality show, and once fat DJ boyfriend. But don’t be fooled, this isn’t an autobiography. To further make that point, Nicole Richie wrote herself in as the narrator and best friend of Chloe Parker. It’s no surprise this book was trashed by the critics. It’s a miracle she found a publisher at all - Nicole Richie isn’t exactly known for her intellectual insights.

The Showgirl Princess by Kylie Minogue

Celebrities sure love the children’s books. Kylie Minogue has authored a semi-autobiographical picture book about her rise to stardom. It’s self-centered, self-indulgent fluff aimed at girls six and over, with a positive message about believing in yourself and the importance of friendship and teamwork. The illustrations are really weird, and I seriously doubt this book would’ve found a publisher had it not been written by Minogue, but I guess it does help to have friends in high places.

Swan by Naomi Campbell

Even with the help of a ghost-writer this novel about a super-famous super-model cannot be redeemed. One critic had this to say about Swan:

“Readers are immersed in the internal world of modeling: the fashion designers, bookers, agencies, hair stylists, and photographers. Despite the insider perspective provided by Campbell-herself a supermodel-the narrative is somewhat disjointed, making the various stories difficult to follow. Not an essential purchase.”

Starstruck by Pamela Anderson

After dabbling in film-making the voluptuous Baywatch babe decided to try her hand at book writing. Starstruck follows Star Wood Leigh, a drop-dead gorgeous woman and her jealous rocker husband, whom she married after a bender in which he wakes up tied to the bed of a hotel room. Here we see yet another example of the narcissistic, self-obsessive celebrity dishing about their private lives in the guise of fiction. Pam Anderson has done nothing to disguise this story about her tumultuous relationship with Tommy Lee except for changing the names. Subtle? Not.

A Model Summer by Paulina Porizkova

This is the only well-reviewed book on the list, and surprisingly it was written by another super-model, sans the aide of a ghost-writer. My only gripe with this book is that it is also semi-autobiographical, to Porizkovas’s credit though it is well-written, and insightful. This novel takes the reader backstage of the catwalk, and gives us a glimpse of life as human mannequin from the perspective of a fifteen year-old accidental super-model.

Math Doesn’t Suck by Danica McKellar

They say write what you know, as has been clearly illustrated by the afore mentioned “authors”, but who would’ve known that little Winnie Cooper of the Wonder Years was a certified Math whiz? Danica is a summa cum laude graduate of UCLA with a degree in mathematics. She also co-authored a mathematical proof known as the Chayes-McKellar-Winn Theorom, which I’m sure is a fascinating read. She wrote Math Doesn’t Suck as a way to inspire girls to stop feeling intimidated by the subject and the book has received very good reviews.

Digg Me!

Say that five times fast and then imagine my surprise when my little Sarah Palin article got such an immediate response, and in the form of an advertisement no less! (see comment #1 in Sarah Palin’s Big Book Deal ).

Unbeknownst to me, there will soon be a ‘tell-all’ book entitled “Sarah Takes on Big Oil” hitting the stands. Boy, gosh, do I ever know about it now. The advertising wing of the publisher was kind enough to correct my oversight and plug the book in a comment.

What I found interesting is that this book is being published by none other than a group called 108 Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, a division of PNA publishing (Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska).

My question to the blogoshpere: is this as bad as it sounds? Is this the Petroleum Industry rewriting history to give a Green tint to a vice presidential candidate? All comments and/or information welcome!

Digg Me!

It could hardly escape our notice here at Realbook.com that where Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin goes, the printed page follows. Other than the enormous amount of ink spilled on Palin every day in the media, there have already been the obligatory instant biographies soon to hit the shelves.

Today we learn that infamous Palin satirist Tina Fey has landed a book deal at a healthy $5-6 million. Naturally the buzz about this is that Fey’s excellent Palin impression had much to do with this deal (never mind that she has been a well respected rising star for years now).

All of this just makes us wonder how soon we can expect to hear of a book deal for Palin herself. Obviouly, a McCain/Palin loss would be much more likely to produce such a deal much much sooner. But we wonder what would Palin the author sound like - we can only hope that the widely spread Palin-doodles are no preview.