Obama says his upcoming memoir will look back at 'what I got right and the mistakes I made'

Former President Barack Obama speaks at a rally to support Michigan democratic candidates at Detroit Cass Tech High School on October 26, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 17 September 2020

Former President Barack Obama's new memoir will soon be available wherever books are sold.

Penguin Random House on Thursday announced that Obama's 768-page memoir A Promised Land will be published on Nov. 17, two weeks after the 2020 presidential election, The New York Times reports. It will be the first of two volumes, and it will cover events up to the 2011 death of Osama bin Laden. Obama reportedly started writing the book soon after he left office.

"There's no feeling like finishing a book, and I'm proud of this one," Obama said. "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: 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."

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An Obama spokesperson told the Times that releasing the book prior to the presidential election on Nov. 3 was not considered because Obama hoped to focus on helping Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden with his campaign. Penguin Random House's imprint Crown previously signed a $65 million deal with Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama for their memoirs, the Times reports. The former first lady's memoir, Becoming, was released in 2018 and was that year's best-selling book in the United States, Axios notes.

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.