What do you think?
Rate this book
Joe Biden American Dreamer / Promise Me Dad
Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
About the author
Evan Osnos
15 books304 followersEvan Osnos joined The New Yorker as a staff writer in 2008. He is a correspondent in Washington, D.C. who writes about politics and foreign affairs. He is the author of "Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, May 2014). Based on eight years of living in Beijing, the book traces the rise of the individual in China, and the clash between aspiration and authoritarianism. He was the China Correspondent at The New Yorker magazine from 2008 to 2013. He is a contributor to This American Life on public radio, and Frontline, the PBS series. Prior to The New Yorker, he worked as the Beijing bureau chief of the Chicago Tribune, where he contributed to a series that won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. He has received the Asia Society’s Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia, the Livingston Award for Young Journalists, and a Mirror Award for profile-writing. Before his appointment in China, he worked in the Middle East, reporting mostly from Iraq.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 11, 2021
I've just finished the audio book version of American Dreamer and it's a light and enjoyable listen, but doesn't really add anything new. It starts with Biden's aneurysm, before going on to describe the other tragedies and highs of his life. He's portrayed as a good man, a relationship builder, and someone who was so sure that another term with Trump as president would so permanently damage America's standing in the world, that he stood purely to prevent that outcome.
I live in the UK, and broadly follow politics, but even I knew the major events in this book - I suspect Americans would be even more aware. I was hoping for more depth and opinion, but this was sadly missing. It had the feel of something quickly cobbled together to capitalise on his election victory.
Those negatives aside, it was well written and well narrated, so 4*s.
Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.
I live in the UK, and broadly follow politics, but even I knew the major events in this book - I suspect Americans would be even more aware. I was hoping for more depth and opinion, but this was sadly missing. It had the feel of something quickly cobbled together to capitalise on his election victory.
Those negatives aside, it was well written and well narrated, so 4*s.
Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.
February 4, 2021
Reading this book within weeks of the 2021 inauguration is something like reading a history you are living. It is well paced and interesting at every step of the way; Walking the tightrope between honest portrayal and obvious admiration, this book offers a 360 view in a thimble. I read this after Promise Me, Dad and was pleased to see the overlap, as well as learn more about the context of the years remembered in that memoir.
Osnos' style is so appealing I am off to read his National Book Award winning publication, Age of Ambition, simply so that I can spend more time with his story telling style.
Osnos' style is so appealing I am off to read his National Book Award winning publication, Age of Ambition, simply so that I can spend more time with his story telling style.
February 20, 2021
A very concise picture of Biden's life and career.
It really needed to be longer and more detailed.
It makes some good points about his strengths and some of his weaknesses.
It really needed to be longer and more detailed.
It makes some good points about his strengths and some of his weaknesses.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews