Coming This November: “A Promised Land” by Barack Obama

NEW YORK, KOMPAS.com - Two weeks after the November election, you can purchase a memoir from former US President Barack Obama titled “A Promised Land”.

The first volume of his memoir will be released on November 17 although a publication date for the second volume has not yet been determined.

The book will cover his swift and monumental rise to the White House and his first term in office.

“I’ve spent the last few years reflecting on my presidency, and in ‘A Promised Land’ I’ve tried to provide an honest accounting of my presidential campaign and my time in office: the key events and people who shaped it; my take on what I got right and the mistakes I made; and the political, economic, and cultural forces that my team and I had to confront then — and that as a nation we are grappling with still," Obama said in a statement Thursday.

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“In the book, I’ve also tried to give readers a sense of the personal journey that Michelle and I went through during those years, with all the incredible highs and lows. And finally, at a time when America is going through such enormous upheaval, the book offers some of my broader thoughts on how we can heal the divisions in our country going forward and make our democracy work for everybody — a task that won’t depend on any single president, but on all of us as engaged citizens.”

Obama's book, like his previous ones, will be released by Crown, a division of Penguin Random House.

The 768-page book is the most anticipated presidential memoir in memory, as much or more because of the quality of the writing than for any possible revelations.

He has been called the most literary president since Abraham Lincoln and has already written two highly praised, million-selling books: “Dreams from My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope”.

Both books have been cited as aiding his campaign in 2008 and making him the country's first Black president.

Even with a substantial list price of $45, “A Promised Land” is virtually guaranteed to sell millions of copies and has an announced first printing of 3 million.

Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt likened the enthusiasm for Obama's book, which seems well positioned to become the best-selling presidential memoir in history, to the final volume of J.K. Rowling's “Harry Potter” series.

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“This will be a book of rare consequence,” Daunt said in a statement. "That it will sell as no other book has done since July 21, 2007 is immensely cheering to booksellers.”

“'Dreams from My Father' introduced us to a little known US Senator and to a writer of poetic grace.