A Discussion with Jodi Kantor, Author of The Obamas

Join me for an evening of insight into the Obama family from someone who has researched them for over four years.

Jodi Kantor began her journalism career by dropping out of Harvard Law School to join Slate.com in 1998. Four years later she became the Arts & Leisure editor of the New York Times, the youngest person in memory to edit a section of the newspaper. She has been covering the Obamas since 2007, writing front-page stories about their faith, friends, marriage, roots, and family, along with portraits of Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney and other major political figures.

THE OBAMAS is the story of a remarkable family whose lives are in flux, of the sacrifices and the trials they face as they grapple with their new roles, try to change the country, raise children, maintain friendships, and figure out what it means to be president and first lady.

THE OBAMAS is the product of over four years of research andhundreds of hours of interviews with over two hundred people: Barack and Michelle Obama, thirty-three current and former White House officials, aides, and cabinet members, but also the Obamas’ friends and relatives, former neighbors, employees and colleagues, and members of Congress. Several top advisers and close friends, including DavidAxelrod, Valerie Jarrett, Robert Gibbs, Susan Sher, Eric Whitaker, and Marty Nesbitt, each gave many hours of interview time.

IN THE OBAMAS Kantor’s reporting reveals many heretofore unknown stories and revelations about the connection between the personal and political issues in this presidency, and how the first couple’s partnership affects us all. This revelatory portrait is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what the Obamas have learned in office, and how that might help the president win a second term, or not.