11 January 2009

Introduction

The text below is excerpted from the book Obama in His Own Words, published by the Bureau of International Information Programs. View the entire book (PDF, 7.33MB).

When Barack Obama in February, 2007, announced his candidacy for the U.S. presidency, he cited the 16th president: Abraham Lincoln, Obama said, “tells us there is power in words.” During the two years that followed, Obama proved the truth of Lincoln’s vision. Speaking to crowds from Lincoln’s own Springfield, Illinois, to Berlin, Germany, the young Senator was compared to Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, and other great Americans whose words earned them the respect, affection, and loyalty of their countrymen.

These pages share President Obama’s words with our global readership. This book includes the complete text of the 44th President’s Inaugural Address. Also featured are extended excerpts from eight other significant speeches. It is our hope that while the book itself is small, readers will discover that the vision captured in its pages is large.