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'Intelligent, amiable, compelling and principled ... a classic coming-of-age story, about the journey from idealism to realism, told with candor and immediacy' NEW YORK TIMES This is a book about two people making the most important decisions in the world. One is Barack Obama. The other is Ben Rhodes. The World As It Istells the full story of what it means to work alongside a radical leader; of how idealism can confront reality and survive; of how the White House really functions; and of what it is to have a partnership, and ultimately a friendship, with a historic president.

A young writer and Washington outsider, Ben Rhodes was plucked from obscurity aged 29. Chosen for his original perspective and gift with language, his role was to help shape the nations hopes and sense of itself. For nearly ten years, Rhodes was at the centre of the Obama Administration first as a speechwriter, then a policymaker, and finally a multi-purpose aide and close collaborator.

Rhodes puts us in the room at the most tense and poignant moments in recent history: starting every morning with Obama in the Daily Briefing; waiting out the bin Laden raid in the Situation Room; reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran; leading secret negotiations with the Cuban government; confronting the resurgence of nationalism that led to the election of Donald Trump.

This is the most vivid portrayal yet of Obamas presidency. It is an essential record of the last decade. But it also shows us what it means to hold the pen, and to write the words that change our world.

One of the most compelling stories I ve seen about what it s actually like to serve the American people BARACK OBAMA A revelatory, behind-the-scenes account of the Obama presidency and a political memoir about the power of words to change our world This is a book about two people making the most important decisions in the world. One is Barack Obama. The other is Ben Rhodes. A young writer and Washington outsider, Rhodes was plucked from obscurity aged 29. For nearly ten years, he was at the centre of the Obama Administration first as a speech-writer, then a policy maker, and finally a close collaborator. Here, Rhodes tells the full story of his partnership and, ultimately, friendship with a historic president. From the early days of the Obama campaign to the final hours in the Oval Office, he puts us in the room at the most tense and poignant moments in recent history. Vivid, lucid, enjoyable A compelling account of life in the Obama White House Justin Webb, The Times A stylish, beautifully written political memoir Colum McCann