A revelatory, behind-the-scenes account of the Obama presidency
from perhaps his closest collaborator, and a political memoir about
the power of words to change our world.
From 2009 to 2017, Ben Rhodes served as Deputy National Security
Advisor to President Obama overseeing the Administration's national
security communications, speechwriting, public diplomacy and global
engagement programming.
Prior to joining the Obama Administration, from 2007-2008 Rhodes
was a senior speech-writer and foreign policy advisor to the Obama
campaign. Before joining then Senator Obama's campaign, he worked
for former Congressman Lee Hamilton from 2002-2007. He was the
co-author, with Tom Keen and Lee Hamilton, of Without Precedent-
The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission.
A native New Yorker, Rhodes has a B.A. from Rice University and an
M.F.A. from New York University.
Ben’s one of the few who’ve been with me since that first
presidential campaign. His memoir is one of the most compelling
stories I’ve seen about what it’s actually like to serve the
American people for eight years in the White House
*BARACK OBAMA*
Ben Rhodes … has written a book that reflects the president he
served — intelligent, amiable, compelling and principled … a
classic coming-of-age story, about the journey from idealism to
realism, told with candor and immediacy … There are anecdotes
galore, but they illuminate rather than scandalize … Ben Rhodes is
a charming and humble guide through an unprecedented presidency …
As a result, his achievement is rare for a political memoir: He has
written a humane and honorable book
*New York Times*
Vivid, lucid, enjoyable ... A compelling account of life in the
Obama White House
*The Times*
Taut, compelling.
*Observer*
A page-turning, unfiltered, altogether human look at Barack Obama’s
presidency. Ben Rhodes — one of Obama’s closest and most important
advisers — opens up the defining issues of the presidency: from the
role of race and the rise of conspiracy theories to the hunt for
bin Laden, the Syria “red line” debate, and the secret negotiations
Ben himself led to normalize ties with Cuba. Insightful, funny, and
moving, this is a beautifully observed, essential record of what it
was like to be there.
*Samantha Power, Former United States Ambassador to the United
Nations*
This stylish, beautifully writtenpolitical memoir reminds us that
the local and the universal are intimately braided. Ben Rhodes
steps into the river of history and charts a course through some of
the most significant and alarming landscapes of our times. In this
meditation on story-telling and power, Rhodes helps make sense of
the bewildering times we currently inhabit. Alongside President
Obama, he shakes us out of the ruts of ordinary perception and
manages to find hope in the face of most available evidence.
*Colum McCann, author of Let The Great World Spin*
Ben Rhodes is one of the most brilliant minds and powerful
storytellers I’ve ever known. In The World As It Is, he doesn’t
just bring you inside the room for the key moments of Obama’s
presidency, he captivates you with the journey of an idealistic
young staffer who becomes the President’s close friend and advisor
– a journey that both cynics and believers will find riveting and
hopeful.
*Jon Favreau, former Director of Speechwriting for President
Obama*
More than any other White House memoirist, Rhodes is a creature of
the man he served
*New Yorker*
This is that rare beast, an engaging and wonderfully written book
on foreign policy
*Prospect*
[Ben Rhodes’s] achievement is rare for a political memoir: he has
written a humane and honourable book
*Scotland on Sunday*
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