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Barack Obama, The Writer

I’ve heard discussion this week—at two social gatherings—about our President elect's eloquence and incisive intelligence. But there have also been some questions raised about the authenticity of his memoir, “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.” Did he write the book himself? Was it heavily edited? Was it ghosted? Recent egregious instances of false memoirs have made us skeptical about the word “memoir.” This is a shame because it makes every memoir suspect and there are many memoirs, including “Dreams from My Father,” that deserve our trust. It was written on commission by the first African-American President of the Harvard Law Review, published in 1994, and then re-issued ten years later with a new, eloquent and incisive preface. The warm, calm voice in this preface is the same voice we now hear every day, the one that will lead our country for the next four years, perhaps longer. Whether reading from a prepared speech or speaking extemporaneously, our President elect, two days away from inauguration as I write, is articulate, thoughtful and blessedly educated on the challenging issues of our time. He is rarely seen without a book in his hand--poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Read this article in the NY Times for further comment: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/books/19read.html?pagewanted=2&ref=todayspaper

It's a week of celebration for many of us.
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