The Promise

Description

Barack Obamas inauguration as president on January 20, 2009, inspired the world. But the great promise of "Change We Can Believe In" was immediately tested by the threat of another Great Depression, a worsening war in Afghanistan, and an entrenched and deeply partisan system of business as usual in Washington. Despite all the coverage, the backstory of Obamas historic first year in office has until now remained a mystery. In The Promise: President Obama, Year One, Jonathan Alter, one of the countrys most respected journalists and historians, uses his unique access to the White House to produce the first inside look at Obamas difficult debut. What happened in 2009 inside the Oval Office? What worked and what failed? What is the president really like on the job and off-hours, using what his best friend called "a Rubiks Cube in his brain"? These questions are answered here for the first time. We see how a surprisingly cunning Obama took effective...