4.5 stars.

I listened to this book on audio and it was likely the best choice I've ever made with regard to a book. This was particularly wonderful to listen to as President Obama's voice is incredibly soothing and his delivery is deliberate and smooth. I'm not sure I would have done as well with the narrative had I chosen to read this in a physical form.

This is an incredibly well-written and constructed memoir. I'm not usually highly politically minded (it's typically a turn off for me rather than an interest), but his writing made it more intriguing, less dry, and very informative. There is a lot of historical information presented and I learned a lot about events that I should have in all honesty been more versed on prior to my reading. But it was very nice to get a "backstage tour" as it was and get a little bit more insight as to the hows and whys of historical events. It was nice to have a realistic picture of the political landscape, the nature of political deals, and the large scope (incredibly overwhelming) of the presidential office.

Obama is incredibly candid in this narrative, but he is also very humble and presents things in quite a balanced way. There wasn't a lot of bipartisan posturing or prejudice. His introduction of the other individuals he interacted with and had relationships with during these years felt very honest. All of the individuals in this book (including Obama himself) are portrayed with both strengths and weaknesses. He demonstrates his ability to approach a subject with careful thought and consideration rather than simply demonizing someone because they sit on the other side of the aisle or glorifying someone simply because they may agree with him.

I very much enjoyed this book, even with the incredible length. It was comfortably paced and didn't feel like it needed to necessarily be shorter. It didn't feel like a speed read, but it certainly didn't have the heavy weight of a tome while I was in the midst of it. The only place that really hitched me up in my read was the ending. Though Obama's presidential career definitely needed to be broken up into multiple installations (the length!), the closing seemed to be in an odd location historically speaking. It didn't wrap up his first term fully, which felt a bit awkward. But it does leave some introduction of what's to come and wraps up his feelings on everything presented quite nicely.

I'm looking forward to the next installment.