Barack and Joe, Steven Levingston
Barack and Joe, Steven Levingston
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Barack and Joe
The Making of an Extraordinary Partnership

Author: Steven Levingston, Michael Eric Dyson

Narrator: Ron Butler

Unabridged: 10 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/08/2019

Synopsis

A Washington Post 2019 Notable Selection

A vivid and inspiring account of the "bromance" between Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
The extraordinary partnership of Barack Obama and Joe Biden is unique in American history. The two men, their characters and styles sharply contrasting, formed a dynamic working relationship that evolved into a profound friendship. Their affinity was not predestined. Obama and Biden began wary of each other: Obama an impatient freshman disdainful of the Senate's plodding ways; Biden a veteran of the chamber and proud of its traditions.

Gradually they came to respect each other's values and strengths and rode into the White House together in 2008. Side-by-side through two tension-filled terms, they shared the day-to-day joys and struggles of leading the most powerful nation on earth. They accommodated each other's quirks: Biden's famous miscues kept coming, and Obama overlooked them knowing they were insignificant except as media fodder. With his expertise in foreign affairs and legislative matters, Biden took on an unprecedented role as chief adviser to Obama, reshaping the vice presidency. Together Obama and Biden guided Americans through a range of historic moments: a devastating economic crisis, racial confrontations, war in Afghanistan, and the dawn of same-sex marriage nationwide. They supported each other through highs and lows: Obama provided a welcome shoulder during the illness and death of Biden's son Beau.

As many Americans turn a nostalgic eye toward the Obama presidency, Barack and Joe offers a new look at this administration, its absence of scandal, dedication to truth, and respect for the media. This is the first book to tell the full story of this historic relationship and its substantial impact on the Obama presidency and its legacy.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Raymond on August 29, 2019

Barack and Joe is a great refresher about the real life bond between the former president and vice-president. Levingston's book chronicles the relationship by highlighting important events from their days in the Senate to the more current moment of Biden deciding to run for President in the 2020 cyc......more

Goodreads review by Nancy on September 23, 2020

4 stars because it is very good and 1 extra star because I cry for what we have lost over the past four years.......more

Goodreads review by Stanjay on November 10, 2024

After engaging with this thoroughly researched book detailing the alliance between two vastly different men who secured their legacy as potentially the most effective president and vice president team in American political history, numerous concepts deeply resonated with me. These include the essenc......more

Quotes

Praise for Barack and Joe

"Levingston, a gifted diviner of our political ethos and an eloquent chronicler of our national tendencies, delves purposefully into the relationship between Obama and Biden, showing how it was the magical melding of two forceful personalities who were quite dissimilar in many ways, but no less capable of turning their differences into national benefit.... This buddy film come-to-life is a magnificent story told with poetic verve by a writer who sets his study up like a thriller and crafts it with the pace and surprise of a first-rate novel."—Michael Eric Dyson, from the Foreword

"Barack and Joe brilliantly recounts the remarkable friendship of two very different American leaders. The Obama-Biden axis remains the most potent force in Democratic politics. As the 2020 election nears, this remarkable and timely book will be a must-read for informed voters of every persuasion. Highly recommended!"—Douglas Brinkley, New York Times bestselling author of American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race

"Steven Levingston's brisk, lucid, and essential portrait of the relationship between Barack Obama and his Vice President tells us much that we did not know before- and at a moment when understanding that relationship will be crucial to deciding who should be the next President."
—Michael Beschloss

"There may then be no better time for the first in-depth exploration of [the Obama-Biden] relationship, offered by Steven Levingston in the simply and appropriately titled Barack and Joe.'"—The Washington Post

"Particularly now, with Biden's status as a front-runner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination challenged, a tinge of nostalgia informs Levingston's deeply insightful, highly readable narrative."
—The National Book Review

"Levingston weaves a lively narrative about an unlikely alliance between the taciturn Obama and gregarious, voluble Biden. . . . As Levingston recounts their relationship during the campaign's high and low points and throughout eight years of facing economic, social, and military crises, he points out many occasions when the two men seemed close. In particular, Obama's demonstrative sympathy for Biden when his son Beau died of brain cancer is compelling evidence of the sincerity of his friendship and love."—Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Kennedy and King

"By reminding us of these great leaders and their accomplishments, this book will fuel your passion for the new work we still need to do in our society today."—Congressman John Lewis

"Comparing and contrasting disparate historical figures can easily be artificial, misleading, even gimmicky. Steven Levingston, however, has walked this tightrope magnificently... As is always the case with major contributions to our understanding, Levingston's is grounded in diligent research and detail."—Washington Post

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