Where were you when you heard that America had elected its first Black president? Well, I was in my final year abroad doing my engineering degree and I was not paying attention at all. But now I think this book has something to learn for everyone. I found this book fascinating and extremely well written. Very informative, fun and entertaining. To enjoy president Obama’s sense of humuor I highly recommend you listen to him as he read this book for you in audiobook. But I have to warn you though, the audiobook is 29 hours 10 minutes long, that’s I guess equivalent to over 700 pages of a hardcover book.
This book is full of insights into landmark events from his first term in office, like how he handled the 2008 financial crisis (this one really sparked my interest), passing the Affordable Care Act, and finally in the last chapter, the raid on Osama bin Laden. It also gives insights into the events that got him to the office in the first place, like choosing terrific people to work with him and building a culture inside the organization that won the 2008 presidential election (this one also really sparked my interest). The president also does an excellent job describing that, politics like everything else, requires attention to detail and execution.
The way he handled the 2008 financial crisis is what intrigued me most because the idea of using stress test and fiscal stimulus to save the economy from collapsing was mind blowing. He explains, the 2008 financial crisis was not an ordinary recession therefore monetary policy like lowering interest rates didn’t help. To handle the crisis, the president and his team had to use fiscal stimulus in which the government had to pump money into the economy. Why? He explains furthermore, “From the perspective of the individual family or firm, it was prudent to tighten one’s belt during a severe recession. The problem was that thrift could be stifling; when everyone tightened their belts at the same time, economic conditions couldn’t improve”.
I’m looking forward for volume two of the book in which I’m expecting him to describe how HealthCare.gov turned into disaster and how he felt when he visited Tanzania.
