THE WORLD TODAY

Post- election release for Obama memoir

THE first volume of former US president Barack Obama’s memoir will be released on November 17, two weeks after the country’s election. It will be called A Promised Land and will cover his swift and historic rise to the White House and his first term in office.

The publication date for the second volume has not yet been decided.

Obama said in a statement yesterday: “I’ve spent the last few years reflecting on my presidency and in A Promised Land I’ve tried to provide an honest accounting of my presidential campaign and my time in office.

“That includes the key events and people who shaped it; my take on what I got right and the mistakes I made, and the political, economic and cultural forces that my team and I had to confront then – and that as a nation we are grappling with still.

“In the book, I’ve also tried to give readers a sense of the personal journey that Michelle and I went through during those years, with all the incredible highs and lows.

“And finally, at a time when America is going through such enormous upheaval, the book offers some of my broader thoughts on how we can heal the divisions in our country going forward and make our democracy work for everybody – a task that won’t depend on any single president but on all of us as engaged citizens.”

Obama’s 768- page book, like his previous ones, will be released by Crown. The publisher has ordered a first US printing of three million copies.

The book will be release around the world in 25 languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Czech, Finnish and Vietnamese.