Book Review: The First: President Barack Obama’s Road To The White House As Originally Reported By Roland S. Martin
by Roland S. Martin
Publication Date: Jan 31, 2010
List Price: $19.95
Format: Paperback, 372 pages
Classification: Nonfiction
ISBN13: 9780883783160
Imprint: Third World Press
Publisher: Third World Press
Parent Company: Third World Press
Read a Description of The First: President Barack Obama’s Road To The White House As Originally Reported By Roland S. Martin
Book Reviewed by Kam Williams
"On February 10, 2007, Barack Hussein Obama stood before thousands waiting in the cold in front of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois and made his intentions known: he was running for president. This book traces tracks this journey through my eyes as I covered the improbable road to the presidency of Obama…
My aim in publishing this book is to offer an historical
account of covering this stunning and exciting race, but to also offer in
real-time the ups and downs of the campaign, and even take a look back at
various moments from my perspective , as well as those of some of the
entertainers and others I crossed paths with along the way."
-Excerpted from the Introduction (pgs. xxii-xxiii)
If you’re interested in revisiting the 2008 Presidential campaign from
the perspective of an African-American journalist afforded access to
candidate Barack Obama, then this coffee table keepsake was undoubtedly
designed with you in mind. For, between December of 2006 and Election Day a
couple years later, Roland Martin filed hundreds of reports, in his capacity
as a political correspondent for the CNN and TV-One Networks, as a radio
talk show host, and as a nationally-syndicated columnist.
The First: President Barack Obama’s Road to the White House is essentially a
chronological rehash of Martin’s interviews, articles and news stories which
collectively paint a complete picture of the evolution of Obama from long
shot to contender to favorite to the first black President of the United
States.
What is likely to make this opus fairly absorbing for the average history
buff is the fact that these real-time entries accurately reflect the pulse
of the country at each moment of the campaign, as the political sands
shifted back and forth beneath the feet of the pivotal players.
It’s all recounted here, mostly in the author’s own words, from the Iowa
caucuses ("All of a sudden, there is a sense that Obama actually could win
this thing.") to the Michelle Obama patriotism question ("Was it a big deal.
Nope?") to the Reverend Wright controversy ("I fundamentally believe that
whites and blacks reacted differently [to] the snippets of Wright’s
preaching."). Overall, the astute observations of a partisan who never hid
his allegiances yet still proved pretty prescient in terms of forecasting
the outcome of the landmark presidential election.
Related Links
Read an Interview with the author about this book
http://aalbc.com/reviews/roland_martin.html
All of Roland Martin's Book and another Interview
http://aalbc.com/authors/roland_s_martin.htm