The biography of America's hottest political superstar--Barack Obama--from a journalist who has been covering Obama and his career since his successful run for U.S. Senate Barack Obama's meteoric rise from Hawaii high schooler to exemplary Harvard Law School student to well-groomed politico is the stuff of legend, a political story that has captured the attention of virtually every American. Since his headline-grabbing speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, Obama has come to represent the promise of unity among groups of all types--blacks and whites; Democrats, Republicans, and moderates; the young and the old; the upper, middle, and lower classes. In this first-of-a-kind, groundbreaking biography, veteran journalist and Obama chronicler David Mendell gives an in-depth, comprehensive portrait of the boy named Barry who took inspiration from

David Mendell has covered Obama since the beginning of his campaign for the Senate and as a result enjoys far-reaching access to the new Senator - both his professional and personal life. He uses this access to paint a very intimate portrait of Obama and his life pre and post Senate, including Obama's new status as a sex symbol now that going into a crowd to shake hands with constituents carries the added concern of being groped by women, and the toll this has had on his marriage.Mendell also describes the dirty tactics sanctioned by Obama - who has steeped his image and reputation on the ideals of clean politics and good government - to win his Senate seat by employing David Axelrod, a Chicago-based political consultant (consultant to the John Edwards' campaign) with what the author describes as 'an appetite for the Big Kill'. Mendell also positions Barack Obama as in fact the Saviour of a fumbling Democratic party, who is potentially orchestrating a career in Senate to guarantee him at the very least a vice presidential nod, if not a nod for the top job in 2008.