Will Barack Obama’s next book be the best-ever presidential memoir?

It has been reported this week that Barack and Michelle Obama have signed a joint book deal with Penguin Random House, said to be worth $60M (£49M).

Now presidential memoirs are very rarely exciting reads. Three of the most eloquent writers and orators ever to have occupied the White House – Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D Roosevelt and John F Kennedy – all died in office and never had an opportunity to reflect on their record.

It is often held that the first presidential memoir – “An Autobiography” (1913) by Thodore Rooisevelt – is the best so far, although it admitted few errors.

The high hopes expected of Obama’s memoirs rest, not just on the uniqueness of his service as the first black president at an immensely challenging time both at home and abroad, but on the quality of his previously published writing. “Dreams From My Father” [my review here] and “The Audacity Of Hope” [my review here] were both eloquent and inspiring works that auger well for the forthcoming presidential memoir.


 




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