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Apr 20, 2011floy rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Undoubtedly, our President arrived at the White House standing on the shoulders of the venerable civil rights pioneers. Obama has clearly acknowledged that. But the author of this book takes this concept further out – in the first chapter, he maintains that Michael Jackson and Prince conditioned white Americans to accept African Americans. The idea rather irritated me – Michael Jackson and Prince??- but I got used to the concept as the book progressed. After discussing singers & jazz men, the author proceeded to detail the famous African American actors, athletes, preachers & speakers, and politicians who paved the way for Obama’s present place of employment in the Oval Office. He also spends a lot of time talking about how attractive and cool Barack is. (How can anyone deny it?) Personally, I think the author’s idea would’ve made a great magazine article. As a book, I found it somewhat tedious. The title, “What Obama Means”, seems incorrect; maybe it should’ve been “Those Who Were Before Obama”.