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
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Flows in Networks’
Authors: Lester Randolf Ford Jr. & D. R. Fulkerson
In this classic book, first published in 1962, L. R. Ford, Jr., and D. R. Fulkerson set the foundation for the study of network flow problems. The models and algorithms introduced in “Flows in Networks” are used widely today in the fields of transportation systems, manufacturing, inventory planning, image processing, and internet traffic.
The techniques presented by Ford and Fulkerson spurred the development of powerful computational tools for solving and analyzing network flow models, and also furthered the understanding of linear programming.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Planetary Climates’ by Andrew Ingersoll
This concise, sophisticated introduction to planetary climates explains the global physical and chemical processes that determine climate on any planet or major planetary satellite— from Mercury to Neptune and even large moons such as Saturn’s Titan.
Although the climates of other worlds are extremely diverse, the chemical and physical processes that shape their dynamics are the same.
As this book makes clear, the better we can understand how various planetary climates formed and evolved, the better we can understand Earth’s climate history and future.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Dragonflies of North America’
- “Dragonflies of North America” is the ultimate guide to these extraordinary insects
Author: ED LAM
Dragonflies are large and beautiful insects, diverse in color and pattern. This premier field guide provides all the information you need to identify every male and female dragonfly found in North America, whether in the field, in the hand, or under the microscope.
The extensive illustrations are the heart of the book. Close-up color portraits of each species, often several times life size, show the best possible specimens for close examination.
“Dragonflies of North America” is the ultimate guide to these extraordinary insects.
What We Are Reading Today: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
- Murakami’s prose, understated yet richly evocative, guides readers through a narrative that oscillates between the real and the surreal
Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami’s “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is an intricate, mesmerizing novel that weaves together the ordinary and the surreal, creating a tapestry of existential questions, hidden truths and unexpected journeys.
First published in 1994, the novel is often regarded as one of Murakami’s masterpieces, encapsulating his signature blend of magical realism, psychological depth, and cultural introspection.
At its heart is Toru Okada, an unassuming and somewhat disaffected man whose mundane life takes a sudden and dramatic turn when his wife, Kumiko, disappears. What begins as a straightforward search evolves into a labyrinthine journey, leading Toru to confront not only the mystery of Kumiko’s absence but also the darker forces of history, memory, and his own psyche.
Along the way, he encounters an eclectic cast of characters, each with their own enigmatic role to play in the unfolding story.
Murakami’s prose, understated yet richly evocative, guides readers through a narrative that oscillates between the real and the surreal. The novel’s structure mirrors this duality, as Toru navigates his increasingly strange reality while descending into dreamlike underworlds, mysterious wells, and symbolic landscapes.
These moments are imbued with Murakami’s distinctive sense of unease, where the boundaries of the tangible and intangible blur, leaving the reader questioning the nature of reality itself.
One of the novel’s great strengths is its ability to juxtapose the deeply personal with the historically and culturally significant.
While Toru’s story is intimate and introspective, it is interwoven with threads of Japanese history, particularly the atrocities of the Second World War. These historical narratives, told through the recollections of various characters, deepen the novel’s scope, turning it into a meditation on the lingering wounds of the past and their impact on the present.
“The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” also delves into themes of connection and alienation, power and vulnerability, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels inexplicable. Toru’s journey is not just a physical quest but a spiritual and emotional odyssey, forcing him to confront the unseen forces that shape his life and the lives of those around him.
Murakami’s use of symbolism and recurring motifs — cats, wells, and the titular wind-up bird — adds layers of mystery and interpretive richness to the novel. These elements, coupled with the novel’s nonlinear structure and surreal interludes, create a reading experience that is both immersive and disorienting, drawing readers into a world that is as unsettling as it is beautiful.
For longtime fans of Murakami, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is quintessential, showcasing the author’s ability to blend the banal with the extraordinary. For new readers, it offers an expansive introduction to his universe, though its complexity may require patience and reflection.
Ultimately, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is a profound exploration of the human condition — its mysteries, its contradictions, and its quiet beauty. It is a novel that refuses to offer easy answers, instead inviting readers to embrace its ambiguities and immerse themselves in its layered, dreamlike world. Murakami has crafted a story that is as haunting as it is enlightening, leaving an indelible mark on those who dare to journey into its depths.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Galápagos’
Authors: John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin
Galápagos is a comprehensive, up-to-date, and profusely illustrated natural history of this spectacular archipelago.
Offering much more information than identification guides, the book provides detailed accounts and more than 650 color photographs of the islands’ habitats, marine life, reptiles, birds, mammals, and plants, making the book a virtual nature tour of Galápagos.
Galápagos experts John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin have thoroughly revised the original text, bringing all the taxonomy up to date and adding a wealth of new information.
