Structure

Obama’s memoir includes a Preface, and is divided into seven parts, and 27 individual chapters. Each part of the memoir carries a title that bears thematically on the contents of the chapters contained within it, and sets the tone for it. For example, the first part of the memoir, entitled “The Bet,” describes the private formation of Obama’s highest political and social ideals. In the final pages of this section, he describes that the bet consists of testing the extent to which his ideals are shared on the national stage by running for president. In this manner the titles of the parts find their explication at some point in Obama’s narrative.

The main narrative arc of the memoir traces Obama’s personal development as a young man, through to his various tenures in public office and his experiences as president, up until the killing of...