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A personal, intimate, photographic celebration of President Barack Obama in the years prior to his presidency, from friend and former aide David Katz From 2004 to 2008, David Katz worked alongside then senate-hopeful Barack Obama as a personal aide, an unofficial documentarian, and a friend. During this time, the President and Katz spent approximately six days per week campaigning across downstate Illinois and developed a close, personal relationship. What began as two friends mounting a longshot senate run culminated with the election of America's first African-American president in 2008. During this time, David was never without his camera, capturing quotidian scenes from the life of a man who would soon become known the world over: a dad playing with his small daughters; a young, unknown politician walking the streets of New York by himself with no one noticing; a devoted husband lovingly making faces at his wife in an elevator mirror; messy offices and midnight burger runs. In 2004, after seeing the personal and touching photographs David had amassed, Annie Leibovitz gave him some advice: "Don't release these photos of Obama for at least fifteen years. They need time to age." Now, fifteen years later, Barack Before Obama is the treasury of these photographs, a collection of images that illustrate the making of an American icon. Pulled from an archive of over 90,000 images, every photograph in this collection is like nothing that has been seen before: the ease in which David captures the spirit and essence of one of our most beloved first families is unparalleled, and it is in this affectionate familiarity that his photographs sing. Warm, engaging captions tell the stories behind the photos--the surprise meeting with Nelson Mandela, the back room conversation before the rally, the emotion after sending one of the girls off to school--that bring readers closer than ever to the spirit and motivation behind the extraordinary man who became our 44 th president. ...
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"An arresting look back at history in the making." - People
"An intimate look at the West Wing and the first family during the Obama years." - Forbes, "5 Books to Read in December"
"Made me feel like an official insider." - Book Referees
"This lively book of photographs . . . capture[s] quiet moments of intimacy, reflection, and joy. . . Katz's pictures are professional but casual, betraying his unique relationship with his subject: Katz was a political photographer but also Obama's personal aide, driving Obama across Illinois during the campaign for Senate. That closeness is evident." - Booklist
"This historic collection captures the transformation of Barack Obama from hopeful candidate to 44th president of the United States." - Publishers Weekly
"A brilliantly photographed tribute to the rise of the 44th president." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"An important document in the early years of Barack Obama's political life." - Pete Souza, former chief official White House photographer and author of Obama: An Intimate Portrait
"One of the reasons David Katz was able to so brilliantly document Barack Obama's meteoric rise is because the President trusted him to capture everything from intimate family moments to backstage before the speech of a lifetime. Barack Before Obama is a thoroughly enjoyable reminder that long before the 44th President stepped onto the national scene in 2004, he was a loving family man, a driven public servant, and a once-in-a-generation talent who inspired audacious hope in a country that needed it." - Jon Favreau, former Director of Speechwriting for Barack Obama, founder of Crooked Media, host of Pod Save America
"There was a beautiful idealism to Barack Obama's long-shot campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2004. David Katz captures that early journey and Obama's inspiring run up to the White House years in this brilliant collection of behind-the-scenes photographs."
- David Axelrod, former senior advisor to Barack Obama and author of Believer: My Forty Years in Politics
"These photos document the improbable rise of Barack Obama as well as any words can. You feel like you are in the room as he moves from State Senator to President of the United States." - David Plouffe, former campaign manager for Barack Obama and author of The Audacity to Win
"The trust the Obamas had in David shines through in these one-of-a-kind images, which display a familiarity rarely seen in political photography. They provide a moving portrait of their extraordinary journey to the White House." - Valerie Jarrett, Former senior advisor to Barack Obama and author of Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward
