Product Description

During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama himself told veteran political reporter Richard Wolffe, 'You'll get more access than anyone else', and "Renegade" is his unique story of how a political newcomer with no money and an outsider's name grew into the world's most powerful leader. But it is also a uniquely intimate portrait of the person behind the iconic posters and the man codenamed 'Renegade' by his Secret Service protectors. Wolffe portrays an historic candidate and his - until now - inscrutable character and campaign in untold, stunning detail, from his university lecturer's office in Iowa to the Oval Office in Washington. With unprecedented access, gained over a dozen exclusive interviews with Obama, Wolffe shares with us his front row seat. We fly on the candidate's plane and ride in his bus on an odyssey across a country in crisis; we stand next to him at a bar on the night he secures the nomination; and feel the tension backstage as he delivers his convention speech to a stadium crowd and a transfixed TV audience. "Renegade" is not just an election epic but is also an insightful biography of the new President of the United States.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26304 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-27
• Released on: 2009-08-24
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

Review
The first of the President Obama books--and a good one--insightful, thorough and straight. --Ben Bradlee, vice president at large of The Washington Post

'Insightful ... a thoughtful meditation on Mr Obama's life and character'
--Michiko Kakutani -- New York Times

'The first worthwhile blow-by-blow narrative of a testing two years for Obama, his family, his supporters and his rivals within the party, written with wit and authority' --The Times

'Wolffe's technique is to combine biography and reportage, to take milestones along the campaign trail and use them as portals into the character and make-up of the man behind the candidate ... An insider's tour of the travelling circus/endurance test that is the 21st-century American presidential race' --Observer

'Obama gave [Wolffe] exclusive interviews and invited him into his inner circle to play basketball. The result, Renegade - Obama's secret service codename - is peppered with interviews with Obama's best friends and political accomplices, who were equally eager to help' --The Sunday Times

'A fly's-eye view of one of the most thrilling political insurgencies in modern American history'
--The Economist

Review
Renegade offers a deft mix of biography, personal reflection, British wit and old-style journalism. Destined to be a classic in its genre

Review
A superb achievement. With an almost painterly eye, compelling insights and extraordinary access to Barack Obama and his inner circle, Richard Wolffe's Renegade tells the hidden, dramatic story of the 2008 campaign and also reveals much we did not know about the 44th President's life before politics.

Customer Reviews

A great read
Renegade: The Making of Barack Obama

I have never read a book about a politician before but I am finding this a very interesting read. It is informing me about the process of presidential elections as well as the thoughts and actions of Barack Obama.

I cannot read from cover to cover in one go like I would normally do for a fiction book. It is intense but thoroughly enjoyable