The Dream Begins: How Hawai‘i Shaped Barack Obama: Book Delves into Obama’s Years in Hawai‘i
The Dream Begins: How Hawaii Shaped Barack Obama by Stu Glauberman and Jerry Burris
Born and raised in the most multicultural state in the union, Barack Obama bears the indelible stamp of his native Hawai‘i. The Dream Begins: How Hawai‘i Shaped Barack Obama is a coming-of-age story set in Hawai‘i’s storied “melting pot”—a revealing look at what makes Obama tick.
Authored by veteran political writers Stu Glauberman and Jerry Burris, the 160-page book examines Obama’s early years in Hawai‘i. 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 Hawai‘i.”
Glauberman and Burris offer concise lessons in Hawai‘i history to help the reader understand its racial and social climate, and how such an environment could impact a young man like “Barry” Obama. For, as his wife, Michelle Obama, has said, “You can’t really understand Barack until you understand Hawai‘i.” 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. The President-elect’s paternal and maternal family history and his years in Indonesia are also thoroughly covered.
The revised, second edition of this book contains eight pages of childhood and contemporary photos of the President-elect and his family, as well as updated material covering the historic election of the 44th president of the United States.
During his career as a journalist with The Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Stu Glauberman covered many beats including education, politics, business and Hawaiian affairs. He has traveled widely and also reported from Asia. Jerry Burris is Hawai‘i’s foremost political analyst, having reported and commented on politics for readers of The Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu television viewers for more than 30 years.
The Dream Begins has been reviewed by The Midwest Book Review, Honolulu Weekly, HONOLULU Magazine and Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The authors have been interviewed by KGMB9, KITV4 and The Mercury News.
The Dream Begins is available for purchase at your local bookstore and at online booksellers, including direct from the publisher at www.bookshawaii.net.
Authors: Stu Glauberman & Jerry Burris
Softcover, 160 pp
Release Date: January 2009 (revised edition)
ISBN: 978-0-9821698-2-7
$17.95 retail price
Tags: Barack Obama, Jerry Burris, Obama in Hawaii, Stu Glauberman, The Dream Begins
