Book Description

A philosophical examination of the cultural and spiritual significance of Barack Obama's candidacy. Maxwell's book is a political tome that is practically devoid of conventional political opinion or fact. Rather, it is a series of ruminations on the more ethereal aspects of Obama, including his persona, biography and potential as a cultural touchstone. Organized in sections of essay and poetry based thematically around the seven deadly sins (the "Sins of Our Fathers" from the book's subtitle), the author suggests that Obama is a politician who serves as a unique symbol to help us understand the errors our forebears have made, as well as an opportunity for redemption. Maxwell looks at Obama from a variety of fresh perspectives, including his role as both a devoted parent and a son who was abandoned by his father. At some points it is difficult to discern concrete ideas in the midst of Maxwell's sometimes overly flowery prose- he seems to imagine Obama more as a symbol than an actual person, let alone a political figure. For instance, he calls Obama "our American prince" and says that he "representatively is any troubled youth." Considering Maxwell's penchant for highly emotional, impressionistic writing, poetry fits his temperament most effectively, and many of the poems feature strong imagery and a clearer distillation of what Maxwell is trying to convey than his essays do. The major fault of the poetry is that it can at times be overly sentimental, too, which diminishes its impact and does nothing to allay the general vagueness of this book. But overall, Maxwell offers a provocative view of the aspects of Obama that can't be covered in a white paper or a policy speech. An interesting, if murky, take on what Obama means from a symbolic, rather than political, standpoint.-Kirkus Discoveries