Since leaving the White House, the Obamas have taken holidays in Palm Springs, the Caribbean and Hawaii. They are still decompressing after an intense period that dates back to Barack Obama’s 2004 convention speech. According to his former senior adviser, Valerie Jarrett, “he is enjoying a lower profile where he can relax, reflect and enjoy his family and friends.”
Obama is still young and he left office held in high esteem. He has expressed his desire to remain active in civic life, but he is still keeping a low profile. However, his whereabouts have been obsessively scrutinized and, for many, it is not too soon to judge the former US president.
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Michael D’Antonio tackles Obama’s legacy in “A Consequential President: The Legacy of Barack Obama.” This book is a step toward developing a fuller appreciation of President Obama’s legacy.
Obama took the oath of office before a crowd of more than 1.8 million people, which was, by some estimates, the largest ever such crowd gathered in Washington. During his inaugural address, he underlined the three major challenges facing the country, namely the deepest economic recession since 1929, terrorism and climate change.
The recession remained the most important problem Obama faced during his presidency and he could not wait to put an end to it. Millions of people had lost their jobs. The value of real estate was going down and, during the course of 2008, some 860,000 homeowners received foreclosure notices. Bill Clinton famously remarked during the 1992 presidential election that the primary concern is “the economy, stupid” and the economy remained the highest priority for Obama throughout his presidency.
When Obama signed the Recovery Act, he said that it was “the beginning of the end” of the recession. This bill was the most expensive and most radical economic program ever implemented by Washington. Beside tax breaks for businesses and individuals, about $500 billion would be allocated for food stamps, unemployment benefits, lunches for poor schoolchildren and for an exhaustive list of projects that would revive the economy and invest in lasting public works.
Obama also rescued America’s three biggest auto companies — Chrysler, General Motors and Ford — from the brink of disaster. Their CEOs had, according to the book, traveled to Washington by private jet to ask for a $25 billion taxpayer bailout. “The carmakers were in deep trouble caused, in part, by their own blunders,” D’Antonio wrote. “They had failed to offer models that would sustain market share and profit over the long term,” he added. In short, these companies had created, engineered and produced failed models.
On March 30, when president Obama addressed the car industry’s crisis, he said: “We cannot, and must not and we will not let our auto industry simply vanish. This industry is like no other, it’s an emblem of the American spirit (and) a once and future symbol of America’s success. It’s a pillar of our economy that has held up the dreams of millions of our people.” He added: “We cannot continue to excuse poor decisions. We cannot make the survival of our auto industry dependent on an unending flow of taxpayer dollars. These companies and this industry must ultimately stand on their own and not as wards of the state.”
The Economist had initially criticized Obama’s rescue plan and argued that “General Motors deserved extinction.” One year later, in August 2010, the editors admitted they had been wrong: “An apology is due to Barack Obama — his takeover of General Motors could have gone horribly wrong, but it has not.”
Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian and author of bestselling biographies, wrote that “in the near-term, Obama brought stability to the economy, to the job market, to the housing market, to the auto industry and to the banks. That’s what he’s handing over, an economy that is in far better form than it was when he took over.”
Obama’s health care reforms, another great achievement, put an end to the soaring cost of medical care and to the inadequate treatment that threatened the health and well-being of millions of Americans.
Before the Affordable Care Act, people diagnosed with cancer who had no health insurance were treated with the help of charities and by incurring crushing debts. But this act, which has been nicknamed “Obamacare,” ensured Americans had access to cutting-edge treatment at a reasonable cost.
On the day Obama signed the bill, he announced that it was not a “radical reform,” rather a “major reform” that would show that “we are still a people capable of doing big things.”
Obama was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples” and because the committee recognized that “only very rarely has a person, to the same extent as Obama, captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future.”
Despite this, his inability to act in Syria created a political, human and moral disaster. During an interview, Obama acknowledged that Syria was the issue that haunted him the most. Syria represents Obama’s biggest foreign policy failure.
However, Obama’s legacy rests on many other aspects of his time as president and his rise to the post.
“The single undeniable aspect of Obama’s legacy is that he demonstrated that a black man can become president of the United States. This accomplishment will inform the first line in his obituary and will earn him assured mention in every American history textbook written from now to eternity,” said H.W. Brands, a professor of history at the University of Texas.
Obama will also be remembered for his grace and the lack of any personal scandals, according to the book. In the long term, historians will take over from journalists and analyze his time in office. However, there is still a lot we cannot know until time passes.
Book Review: The legacy of a president
Book Review: The legacy of a president
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘California Amphibians and Reptiles’
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Authors: Robert Hansen & Jackson D. Shedd
California is home to more than 200 species of reptiles and amphibians that can be found in an extraordinary array of habitats, from coastal temperate rainforests with giant redwoods to southeastern deserts offering dazzling wildflower displays each spring.
“California Amphibians and Reptiles” covers every species and subspecies in this biodiverse region of the United States, with outstanding color photography and in-depth species accounts that draw on the latest findings on taxonomy and distribution.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘There Are Rivers in the Sky’
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- Narin is a Yazidi girl surviving genocide in 2014 Iraq, her spirit as unyielding as the ancient lands she is forced to flee
Author: Elif Shafak
This historical novel by Elif Shafak, “There Are Rivers in the Sky,” was published in 2024 and is a meditation on life, loss and love.
Anchored by the Tigris and Thames rivers serving as motifs, the story drifts across centuries, stitching together fractured lives bound by intimacy, trauma, and the quiet power of water.
There are three characters at the heart of this story.
Arthur is a 19th-century linguist whose passion for Mesopotamia’s ruins eclipses his ability to connect with the living.
Narin is a Yazidi girl surviving genocide in 2014 Iraq, her spirit as unyielding as the ancient lands she is forced to flee.
And then there is Zaleekhah, a hydrologist in modern London, drowning in family secrets until she learns to swim toward redemption.
Their stories collide, ripple and reshape one another. Water is not just a metaphor here, it is a character. The rivers breathe life into memories, erode pain, and carry the weight of history.
Arthur’s obsession with the “Epic of Gilgamesh” mirrors his own loneliness as a man chasing immortality through dusty texts while real love slips through his fingers.
Narin’s resilience, rooted in Yazidi traditions, becomes a lifeline in a world determined to erase her people.
As for Zaleekhah, her journey from guilt to grace feels like watching a storm clear — messy, cathartic, and utterly human.
Shafak’s writing is lush, almost tactile. You can taste the silt of the Tigris, feel London’s rain, and ache with the characters.
But here is the catch: this book demands your attention. The timelines —switching between Victorian letters, wartime horror, and modern angst —are a high-wire act.
While the layers add depth, some readers might stumble over dense historical nods or Yazidi cultural nuances. (A glossary would have been a welcome raft.)
Yet, even its flaws pulse with intention. The same complexity that overwhelms also rewards.
This is not a book you breeze through. It is one you wade into, letting the currents tug you into deep, uncomfortable places.
The pacing does drag at times, and Shafak’s ambition occasionally outruns clarity.
In the end, Shafak asks: Can we ever truly outrun history? Or do we, like rivers, carve new paths while carrying the scars of where we have been?
This novel does not answer so much as invite you to sit with the question, long after the last page turns.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘The African Revolution’ by Richard Reid
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Africa’s long 19th century was a time of revolutionary ferment and cultural innovation for the continent’s states, societies, and economies. Yet the period preceding what became known as “the Scramble for Africa” by European powers in the decades leading up to World War I has long been neglected in favor of a Western narrative of colonial rule.
The African Revolution demonstrates that “the Scramble” and the resulting imperial order were as much the culmination of African revolutionary dynamics as they were of European expansionism.
What We Are Reading Today: The Power to Destroy
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Author: Michael J. Graetz
The postwar US enjoyed large, widely distributed economic rewards — and most Americans accepted that taxes were a reasonable price to pay for living in a society of shared prosperity.
In 1978 California enacted Proposition 13, a property tax cap that Ronald Reagan hailed as a “second American Revolution,” setting off an antitax, antigovernment wave that has transformed American politics and economic policy.
In The Power to Destroy, Michael Graetz tells the story of the antitax movement and how it holds America hostage — undermining the nation’s ability to meet basic needs and fix critical problems.
What We Are Reading Today: Habitats of Africa
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Authors: Ken Behrens, Keith Barnes & Iain Campbell
With breathtaking wildlife and stunningly beautiful locales, Africa is a premier destination for birders, conservationists, ecotourists, and ecologists.
This compact, easy-to-use guide provides an unparalleled treatment of the continent’s wonderfully diverse habitats.
Incisive and up-to-date descriptions cover the unique features of each habitat, from geology and climate to soil and hydrology, and require no scientific background. Knowing the surrounding environment is essential to getting the most out of your travel experiences.