Review: “Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots”
Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots: How Barack Obama, Two Bookstore Owners, and 300 Volunteers Did It
By John Presta
The Elevator Group, 2009 ($15.95/$24.95)
Appearing exactly one year into Barack Obama’s presidency, Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots: How Barack Obama, Two Bookstore Owners, and 300 Volunteers Did It takes us back to the early days of Obama’s political career and reminds us not of bumper sticker slogans and punditry blood sport, but of the hard work of campaigning – one handshake, one yard sign, one petition signature at a time.
Author John Presta is the co-owner of an independent Chicago bookstore who, along with his wife Michelle, became supporters of Obama’s vision shortly after his memoir, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, appeared on their shelves. Indeed, the book is the driving force behind the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots. Obama’s memoir encouraged the Prestas to learn more about the local community organizer who aspired to political office. But before becoming a best seller, Dreams From My Father sold poorly and was collecting dust around the time of Obama’s first failed run for Congress. Presta writes:
We kept his book on our shelves. In spite of the fact that the book was out-of-print. In spite of the fact that it was not our “modus operandi.” Books stay for so long and then move on. Sometime sixty, ninety days, at the most, unless they show saleability. It is that simple. We could not and would not give up on this book for emotional reasons. No one ever advised us not to get emotionally involved with our books. We would not and could not give up on the book or on Barack Obama. (66)
Presta uses other well-known books and their plot points to convey the challenges and sucesses of Obama’s work with titles such as The Road Less Traveled, The Pied Piper, and stories by Dr. Suess. Popular publications such as The Da Vinci Code and Oprah’s Book Club selections help mark the ups and downs of the campaigns in particularly creative ways. Yet as the nation moves from one literary moment to the next, Presta describes how the 300 volunteers tirelessly spread Obama’s message by organizing debates, phone calls, and fundraisers. He even writes movingly about how his own Italian heritage and family motivated him to seek out “ringside seats to American history.” (242)
Again and again, Presta tells us, “Change comes slowly, gradually, incrementally, and suddenly.” Although his book closes as Obama’s campaign moves from Illinois to the national stage, it is clear that without the energy and enthusiasm of volunteers like him, Barack Obama would not be President today. Filled with photographs, letters, newspaper clippings, and a heartfelt personal account, Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots is a loving archive of the power of change in our social and political moment.
Happy New Year!
As President Obama begins his second year in office, Literary Obama has returned from hiatus. Happy new year, everyone!
In the past several weeks, I’ve asked myself a few hard questions about this blog’s original mission. I wondered, for instance, in whose best interest is it to keep track of every single book in which an Obama face appears? Should I really be taking note whenever the First Family mentions a favorite children’s book or visits a local elementary school for reading time?
I’ve concluded that Literary Obama is at its best when it favors quality over quantity. And so this blog has now become a “selective chronicle of creative works about our 44th President” – a small modification that means I’ll only post when I come across news and ideas that are particularly distinctive, unusually innovative, and inspire deeper reflection.
The good thing is that there is still quite interesting news being made. Later this month, a dramatic adaptation of the epistolary collection, Go Tell Michelle: African-American Women Write to the New First Lady, will debut on stage at the University of Buffalo. And here’s a bit of comic book news worth sharing: according to Newsarama, the Barack Obama commemorative issue of Amazing Spider-Man was the best selling comic of the last decade. Not last year, decade.
I was also pleased to find in Chinua Achebe’s new book of essays, The Education of a British-Protected Child, this account of a celebration at the Library of Congress (in honor of the 50th anniversary of Things Fall Apart) that took place the day before Barack Obama was elected president. Achebe writes:
I remember a most extraordinary comment made to me earlier that day by an African-American lady. She had thanked me once again for my visit and added, with an element of both bargain and folklore: “And tomorrow we shall elect an African president for you.“
It is likely that in years to come folks will be asking their fellows what they were doing when Barack Obama was elected president. I hope we shall not be asking where we were or what we were doing but what the news did to us. (xii)
I’d like to follow Achebe’s lead not only in my everyday life, but also on this blog.
Coming soon: a review of the new book, Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots: How Barack Obama, Two Bookstore Owners, and 300 Volunteers Did It.
Obama Documentary, “By the People” to Premiere on HBO
Barack Obama with Edith Childs
A little off topic, but a few weeks ago I had the honor of meeting Mrs. Edith Childs, City Councilwoman from Greenwood, South Carolina. Childs is better known to the rest of the country as the “little woman” in the church hat whose spontaneous call, “FIRED UP? READY TO GO!” became an Obama campaign slogan and one of his funniest anecdotes on the stump. She recounted her version of the sto
ry with so much pride and appreciation, sharing humorous tidbits about the time Obama called her cell phone (while she was out shopping) to ask for permission to use “Fired Up” in the campaign, or how much she enjoyed her trip to New York when CBS News flew her in for an interview.
What a relief it is to be reminded that South Carolina is known for much more than ill-mannered politicians, clandestine trips to Argentina, and other Daily Show fare.
Memorable moments such as the Greenwood story are featured in the new HBO Documentary, “By the People: The Election of Barack Obama,” which will premiere on Tuesday, November 3 – one year after President Obama’s historic election victory. The trailer is below. Enjoy!
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“I’ll Eat You Up!” Food & Gardening Children’s Books on Obama’s Reading List
Head over to Obama Foodorama for a terrific post on the fun food and gardening-themed books that have been approved by the Obama Administration (including, of course, Max from Where the Wild Things Are). The essay also provides information about Secretary of Education’s Read to the Top! series from this past summer.
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Obama Celebrates Readers at Maryland School
Credit: Gerald Herbert (AP)
Today’s Washington Post features an article on President Obama’s surprise visit to an elementary school in Silver Spring, Maryland. Because Viers Mill Elementary was “the first Montgomery school with a large population of low-income students to be designated a National Blue Ribbon School for significantly reducing the achievement gap,” the President’s brief remarks praised their hard work and focused on the children’s reading habits.
He asked the students to share what books they have been reading as he shook hands around the lunch tables. One notable passage:
Jerry D. Weast, the Montgomery County school superintendent, was almost as excited as the students. “There was an authentic connection, because [Obama] has children and he knew their books,” Weast said. “He was able to relate to their books and, without any kind of hesitation, respond to their questions.”
The unexpected visit followed Obama’s own parent-teacher conferences at his daughters’ schools. In the article, the President also comments about seeing the film version of his favorite children’s book.
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“One Who Helps Liberals & Moderates Throughout the Land”
Sherman Alexie, the award-winning author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, recently gave a funny and insightful interview with Mother Jones magazine that includes this exchange:
Mother Jones: On the campaign trail, Barack Obama was adopted into the Crow Nation and given the name One Who Helps People Throughout the Land. After that show of pandering, has he lived up to his name?
Sherman Alexie: [Laughs.] Well, first of all, these tribes that have given so many names and honorary memberships to people, they’re kinda trampy. I think some tribe adopted Norman Schwarzkopf, too. It’s the Indian version of getting a Hollywood star. So far Obama’s done nothing to be better or worse than any other president when it comes to Indians, which is what I suspected, because we represent no important voting bloc. His name should be One Who Helps Liberals and Moderates Throughout the Land.
Alexie also comments on book banning, the Amazon Kindle, and the intersections of pop culture and Indian identity. Read the entire interview here.
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Obama Wins 2009 Nobel Peace Prize
From the Norwegian Nobel Committee:
“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. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.
For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world’s leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama’s appeal that “Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.”
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Grassroots Publishing and “Designing Obama”
Scott Thomas, the design director of the Obama campaign, is applying the model of grassroots activism to the publication of the art book, Designing Obama. To receive a copy of the 360-page book, Thomas and a collective of artists and designers are soliciting donations to fund its production. According to their website, the collection offers “the inside story on how design was used by the campaign, and scope out the pieces, created unofficially, by grassroots supporters.” Contribute as little as $10 for a digital download, $50 for a hardcover, or $150 for a special edition with your name printed in the book. You can also follow the book’s progress on Twitter.
New Book: “Mrs. O: The Face of Fashion Democracy”
Head over to Black-Eyed Susan’s and enter to win an advanced copy of Mrs. O: The Face of Fashion Democracy by Mary Tomer. Written and edited by the founder of Mrs. O, a website that follows the First Lady’s fashion, the book features commentary, designer interviews, sketches, and over 120 photos. From the publisher:
Celebrated for her style and substance, Michelle Obama has transformed the role of first lady and become a 21st century icon, attracting attention from all over the world. The qualities so admired in her – intelligence, strength and charisma – radiate through her personal style, which has united accessibility with high-wattage glamour. The clothes, like the woman, feel both familiar and inspirational. Readily mixing high-end labels with more affordable brands, with a focus on craftsmanship and artistry, Mrs. O has elevated the notion of real value and ushered in a new era of fashion democracy.
