The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Obama, Barack. A Promised Land. Crown, 2020.

Obama’s memoir, A Promised Land, is divided into seven parts, with each describing a new stage in Obama’s personal and political development. The events of the narrative span from Obama’s early youth growing up in Hawaii all the way through to near the end of his first term, culminating in the discovery and assassination of Osama bin Laden.

The first part of the memoir, entitled The Bet, begins with Obama’s youth in Hawaii as he is raised by his single mother and maternal grandparents. The Bet encompasses Obama’s early political formation in college and as a community organizer in Chicago, his time in law school, his early experiences holding public office both in the Illinois state senate and the U.S. senate, and culminates with his decision to run for president in 2008.

In the second part, entitled Yes We Can, narrates Obama’s campaign in the Democratic primary against Hillary Clinton, and the presidential race against John McCain. The events of this section are marked by the onset of the 2008 financial crisis, Hurricane Katrina, and Obama’s visit to Iraq, and includes a description of Obama’s victory in the election against John McCain, and his initial efforts to put together a staff for his administration.

Part three, entitled The Renegade, recounts the tireless effort of Obama and his team to understand the consequences of the financial crisis and build legislation to mitigate these consequences. This section of the narration also focuses heavily on the bail out of the automotive industry, and Obama’s initial strategies for proceeding with U.S. military intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Part four, entitled The Good Fight, describes Obama’s first experiences on the international stage as he visits the G20 Summit in London, and tours to other countries in Europe on official visits. Obama also pays official visits to the Middle East where he delivers his Cairo speech in Egypt in an attempt to ease relations between the West and the Muslim world. When Obama returns from his official visits, he and his team begin to work on passing healthcare reform, which passes, but not without many concessions and a long partisan political struggle.

Part five, entitled The World as It Is, chronicles Obama’s attempt to change the course of America’s military operations and objectives in the Middle East. Obama faces pressure from McChrystal and the military establishment at large to send more troops to Afghanistan. Obama receives the Nobel Peace Prize during this time. In this section Obama’s diplomatic efforts are described as he tries to curb military intervention in favor of building relationships with other world leaders. He accomplishes coercing Iran into nuclear disarmament after he persuades Russia to impose harsher sanctions on Iran for breaking their nuclear quota agreements. Obama also focuses his attention on climate change, marked by a harrowing scene at a summit in Copenhagen in which Obama brokers a deal between emerging Asian economies and European powers in order to update the commitments of the Kyoto Protocol.

In part six, entitled In the Barrel, Obama describes the declining approval ratings and the negative perception in the media that his administration is receiving, as key economic metrics have not yet turned around since the financial crisis. This results in Obama’s administration passing Wall Street banking reform via the Dodd-Frank Act. This period is also marked by the Deepwater Horizon environmental disaster, the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and the failure to pass the DREAM Act.

In part seven, entitled On the High Wire, Obama recounts his efforts to arrange peace between Israel and Palestine, stop the suppression of democratic expression in Egypt taking place under Mubarak, as well as stop Gadhafi in Libya from massacring civilians in Benghazi. After these events, the CIA informs Obama that they have new information on Osama bin Laden. Obama, along with his team and other military experts begin building a plan to capture the person they believe to be bin Laden. The operation is successful and bin Laden is killed in the raid on his compound in Abbottabad.