672 pages | 6th April, 2010 | Non-fiction | Political Science; American History
A NATIONAL BESTSELLER
In this nuanced and complex portrait of Barack Obama, Pulitzer Prize-winner David Remnick offers a thorough, intricate, and riveting account of the unique experiences that shaped our nation’s first African American president.
Through extensive on-the-record interviews with friends and teachers, mentors and disparagers, family members and Obama himself, Remnick explores the elite institutions that first exposed Obama to social tensions, and the intellectual currents that contributed to his identity. Using America’s racial history as a backdrop for Obama’s own story, Remnick further reveals how an initially rootless and confused young man built on the experiences of an earlier generation of black leaders to become one of the central figures of our time.
Masterfully written and eminently readable, The Bridge is destined to be a lasting and illuminating work for years to come, by a writer with an unparalleled gift for revealing the historical significance of our present moment.
"Brilliantly constructed, flawlessly written. . . . A near-definitive study of Obama."
The Los Angeles Times
"If you care about American politics, you have to read The Bridge."
Salon
"Superb. . . . Remnick is a master blender of history, reporting and narrative."
The Seattle Times
"Insight[ful] and nuance[d]. . . . Writing with emotional precision and a sure knowledge of politics, Mr. Remnick situates Mr. Obama’s career firmly within a historical context."
The New York Times
"There are a few people of such skill that envy gives way to admiration, and one is left feeling not hostility but respect. Remnick is one of those exceptional practitioners."
Newsweek
"His work will serve as a building block for all future works on Obama. . . . Lovely and assured."
Entertainment Weekly
"Engaging. . . . Sparkling."
San Francisco Chronicle
"An expansive work. . . . Recounting a pivotal March 2007 speech in Selma, Remnick writes that Obama’s words were ‘at once personal, tribal, national and universal.’ The same can be said of The Bridge."
Time
"An insightful, nuanced look at the making of the 44th president, placing his career in the context of history."
The Chicago Tribune
David Remnick has been the editor of The New Yorker since 1998 and before that was a staff writer for the magazine for six years. He was previously The Washington Post’s correspondent in the Soviet Union. He is the author of several books, including King of the World, a biography of Muhammad Ali, named the top nonfiction book of the year by Time magazine in 1998, and Lenin’s Tomb, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
US: Knopf