PRESS RELEASE
EMBARGOED UNTIL 12:30pm SAST,
September 17th
A PROMISED LAND, First Volume of Barack Obama’s Presidential Memoirs, to
be Published Globally on November 17, 2020, by Penguin Random House —
Book Cover Also Revealed
Simultaneous Publication in 25 Languages Worldwide
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The presidential memoirs of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the
United States, will be published in two volumes. The first volume, titled A
PROMISED LAND, is scheduled for global release on Tuesday, 17
November 2020, and will be issued simultaneously in 25 languages. The news
was announced today by Markus Dohle, CEO of Penguin Random House, which
acquired world rights to the highly anticipated work. Dohle also announced
the book cover image, available
here. A PROMISED LAND will be published
in hardcover and digital formats by Penguin Random House. An unabridged audio
edition of the book, read by the author, will be simultaneously released in
digital and physical formats by Penguin Random House Audio. A publication date for the second, and concluding, volume of the
memoirs has not yet been set and will be announced at a later date. Details
about President Obama’s book tour will be announced later this fall. |
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In his own words, Barack Obama tells in A PROMISED LAND the
story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to
leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his
political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his
historic presidency—a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil. Providing a stirring, deeply personal account of history in the
making, Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest
political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated
the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008,
when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first
African American to hold the nation’s highest office. |
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Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and
thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential
power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics
and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and
the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points
beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with
a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes
seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act,
clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street
reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and
authorizes Operation Neptune’s Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin
Laden.
A PROMISED LAND is extraordinarily
intimate and introspective—the story of one man’s bet with history, the faith
of a community organizer tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the
balancing act of running for office as a Black American, bearing the
expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of “hope and change,” and
meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about
the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the
White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal self-doubt
and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the great,
ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible.
Said President Obama, “There’s no feeling like
finishing a book, and I’m proud of this one. I’ve spent the last few years
reflecting on my presidency, and in A PROMISED LAND I’ve tried to
provide an honest accounting of my presidential campaign and my time in office:
the key events and people who shaped it; my take on what I got right and the
mistakes I made; and the political, economic, and cultural forces that my team
and I had to confront then—and that as a nation we are grappling with still. In
the book, I’ve also tried to give readers a sense of the personal journey that
Michelle and I went through during those years, with all the incredible highs
and lows. And finally, at a time when America is going through such enormous
upheaval, the book offers some of my broader thoughts on how we can heal the
divisions in our country going forward and make our democracy work for
everybody—a task that won’t depend on any single president, but on all of us as
engaged citizens. Along with being a fun and informative read, I hope more than
anything that the book inspires young people across the country—and around the
globe—to take up the baton, lift up their voices, and play their part in
remaking the world for the better.”
Said Markus Dohle, “Through his words and actions, President Obama has
had an indelible impact on the world and the course of history, serving as a
beacon of hope and progress that has inspired so many. He is also a supremely
gifted and accomplished writer, and it is a great honor for Penguin Random House
to publish A PROMISED LAND for readers everywhere. I know they
will find it to be a book that vividly brings history to life, reminding us of
the power of democracy even during times of global crisis.”
An English-language edition of A PROMISED LAND will be
published in the US and Canada by Crown/Penguin Random House and in the UK and
British Commonwealth territories by Viking, an imprint of Penguin General at
Penguin Random House UK. The book will also be published in translation in 24
additional languages, including: SPANISH Debate/Penguin Random House Grupo
Editorial, GERMAN Penguin Verlag/Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe,
PORTUGUESE BRAZIL Companhia das Letras, PORTUGUESE PORTUGAL Objectiva/Penguin
Random House Grupo Editorial, FRENCH Editions Fayard,
ALBANIAN Dudaj Publishing, ARABIC Hachette Antoine/Naufal, COMPLEX
CHINESE Business Weekly Group, CZECH Argo, DANISH Lindhardt
og Ringhof, DUTCH Hollands Diep, FINNISH Otava Publishing Company,
GREEK Athens Bookstore Publications, HEBREW Yedioth Books,
HUNGARIAN HVG Publishing Co., ITALIAN Garzanti,
JAPANESE Shueisha, KOREAN Woongjin Think Big Co., Ltd.,
LITHUANIAN Alma Littera, NORWEGIAN Cappelen Damm, POLISH Agora
Publishing House, ROMANIAN Editura Litera, SWEDISH Albert
Bonniers Förlag, and VIETNAMESE First News–Tri Viet Publishing
Co., Ltd.
Barack Obama was the 44th
president of the United States, elected in November 2008 and holding
office for two terms. He is the author of two previous New York
Times bestselling books, Dreams from My Father and The
Audacity of Hope, and the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Peace
Prize. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife,
Michelle. They have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.
Penguin Random House employs more than
10,000 people globally, and was formed on July 1, 2013, by Bertelsmann and
Pearson. As of April 1, 2020, Bertelsmann is full owner of the company. With
more than 300 imprints and brands on six continents, Penguin Random House
comprises adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction print and digital
English- and Spanish-language trade book publishing businesses in more than 20
countries worldwide. With more than 15,000 new titles, and over 600 million
print, audio, and ebooks sold annually, Penguin Random House’s publishing lists
include more than 80 Nobel Prize laureates and hundreds of the world’s most
widely read authors.
ISBN: 9780241491515 | CLASSIFICATION: Memoir
For
more information, contact Neilwe Mashigo at NMashigo@penguinrandomhouse.co.za
Visit www.penguinbooks.co.za
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Prudence Mphahlele |
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TEL +27 (011) 327 3550 o FAX +27 (011) 484 6180
o EMAIL PMphahlele@penguinrandomhouse.co.za |
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