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We Are the Change We Seek
We Are the Change We Seek: The Speeches of Barack Obama | Joy-Ann Reid, E.J. Dionne Jr.
12 posts | 5 read | 24 to read
A collection of Barack Obama's greatest speeches edited by columnist E.J. Dionne and MSNBC host Joy Reid. We Are the Change We Seek is a collection of Barack Obama's 26 greatest addresses: beginning with his 2002 speech opposing the Iraq War and closing with his final speech before the United Nations in September 2016. As president, Obama's words had the power to move the country, and often the world, as few presidents before him. Whether acting as Commander in Chief or Consoler in Chief, Obama adopted a unique rhetorical style that could simultaneously speak to the national mood and change the course of public events. Obama's eloquence, both written and spoken, propelled him to national prominence and ultimately made it possible for the son of a Kenyan man and a white woman from Kansas to become the first black president of the United States. These speeches span Obama's career--from his time in state government through to the end of his tenure as president--and the issues most important to our time: war, inequality, race relations, gun violence and human rights. The book opens with an essay placing Obama's oratorical contributions within the flow of American history by E.J. Dionne Jr., columnist and author of Why The Right Went Wrong, and Joy Reid, the host of AM Joy on MSNBC and author of Fracture.
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review
BarbaraTheBibliophage
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Pickpick

If you remember a day when your President appeared Presidential, then this is a book for you. Obama is a reader, a scholar, and an orator. He knows how to reach an audience, even through the written word. I admit, I can almost hear his voice in my head as I read. So, yeah, I‘m a fangirl.

I think the editors did an effective job of choosing speeches that illustrate his career and our world.

Full review www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2018

Valeka I miss him so much! ❤️ 6y
Amiable 🥰 6y
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LaraReads Such a fangirl! 💕🙌🏻 It's impossible to believe how far we've come. Or I guess I should say how far back we've gone. 💔 6y
Djspens I miss him and Michelle! And the bromance with Joe 💕 (edited) 6y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Amiable @LaraReads @Djspens You guys really would love this book. It‘s like he‘s in your living room. 👊🏻 6y
Amiable @BarbaraTheBibliophage I‘m going to look for the audiobook—then it will sound like he‘s in my room! 🙂 6y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Amiable Double check me, but I don‘t think he reads this. 😰 6y
Amiable @BarbaraTheBibliophage Really? They couldn‘t put together audio of Obama giving his own speeches — for a book about his speeches? That‘s ... odd. ☹️ 6y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Amiable I know, right? It may be a matter of copyrights or something related to the fact he gave many of the speeches while President. Don‘t really know ... 6y
123 likes14 stack adds10 comments
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BarbaraTheBibliophage
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Hell yeah, I‘m home sick one more day. Still spiking fevers but feeling SO much better. Here are my reading plans. The Obama speeches book (tagged) has been on my shelf for ages. So I‘m reading a speech every morning. Hoping to finish The Color of Law today. But jeez, that‘s one more book review to write! And on the top is a fun memoir I started yesterday, which is making me excited for our Paris trip. #feversgoaway #needtoworksoon #theflusux

throwmeabook The author, Lisa Anselmo, is in an episode of House Hunters International where her Paris apartment search is featured. 6y
Velvetfur I'm sorry to hear you're sick Barbara! I hope you start to feel better soon x I haven't heard of that part time Paris book but it looks good, I'll look it up 😊 6y
Redwritinghood Glad you‘re feeling better! 6y
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BarbaraTheBibliophage @Redwritinghood Thanks—headed back to work tomorrow! Looking forward to leaving my house! 6y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Velvetfur I‘m actually doing much better. Going to work some tomorrow and hopefully keep improving. I‘m enjoying this Paris book! 6y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @throwmeabook Oh fun! I‘ll have to see if I can find it online. Although the book talks about some leaks that become a big deal for her. And how the French handle that kind of thing SO differently. 6y
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BarbaraTheBibliophage
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#DearMrPresident:

In order to make it through the book on the left, I am planning to alternate chapters with the book on the right. Self preservation extends to my reading life.

#ThatisAll #FierceFeb @Cinfhen @batsy

goodbyefrancie Good strategy. It would still be tough. 7y
Gezemice I admire your resilience. I am quite sure I don‘t need mental experts to tell me what I already know. It would be hard to take. I did however buy “The Audacity of Hope” on audio just so I can remember what it is like to have an admirable president. And one who can speak. Standards have been lowered a lot... (edited) 7y
Suet624 Good idea. Great self care. 7y
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Pamwurtzler Good idea. 7y
BellaBookNook Love it! I could have used it while reading the Fury book! 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @goodbyefrancie Definitely will still be tough. Balance helps. I hope. 7y
Maria514626 Safe reading strategy, to be sure. 7y
134 likes5 stack adds7 comments
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melissajayne
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Need to read this particular speech to remind myself of better future presidents and that there is hope that this storm that is DT shall too pass.

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melissajayne
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From bottom to top
• We Are The Change We Seek
• It
• The Kitchen Counter School
• Alias Grace
• The Alice Network
• Fantastic Beasts
• Quidditch Through The Ages

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JWHeyman
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Some rainy day reading.

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keithmalek

James Baldwin once wrote, "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."

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keithmalek
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keithmalek

If you think nothing's changed in the past 50 years, ask someone who lived through Selma or Chicago or Los Angeles of the 1950s. Ask the female CEO who once might have been assigned to the secretarial pool if nothing's changed. Ask your gay friend if it's easier to be out and proud in America now than it was 30 years ago. To deny this hard-won progress would be to rob us of our responsibility to do what we can to make America better.

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keithmalek

For make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism --it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.
--from his Nobel Peace Prize lecture

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keithmalek

"I hope that our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be." --Thomas Jefferson

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keithmalek

These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain. But what I will not do is suggest that the senator takes his positions for political purposes, because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and each other's patriotism.