Dreams from My Father

Dreams from My Father

Author	Barack Obama
Country	United States
Language	English
Subject	Early life of Barack Obama
Genre	Memoir
Publisher	Times Books (1995) Three Rivers Press (2004)
Publication date	July 18, 1995 August 10, 2004
Media type	Book
Pages	403 (1995) 442 (2004)
ISBN	1-4000-8277-3
Dewey Decimal	973/.0405967625009/0092 B 22
LC Class	E185.97.O23 A3 2004

This article is part of a series about Barack Obama
Pre-presidency Early life and career Illinois State Senator 2004 DNC keynote address U.S. Senator from Illinois 2004 election sponsored bills 44th President of the United States Presidency timeline Transition Inaugurations Trips international Policies Economy Energy Foreign policy Arctic Europe East Asia Middle East South Asia Obama Doctrine Pardons Marine Native Social Space Appointments Cabinet Judiciary Sotomayor Kagan Garland Supreme Court candidates First term First 100 days Recovery Act Russia nuclear treaty Affordable Care Act Dodd–Frank Iraq withdrawal Killing of Osama bin Laden 2011 debt-ceiling crisis Libya intervention Afghanistan withdrawal Benghazi attack Second term 2013 debt-ceiling crisis Anti-ISIL campaign Iraq Syria Iran nuclear deal Cuban thaw Sanctions against Russia Selma 50th anniversary speech Paris Agreement Presidential campaigns 2008 primaries convention debates election 2012 primaries convention debates election Post-presidency Planned presidential library Obama Foundation One America Appeal Publications Dreams from My Father The Audacity of Hope A Promised Land Personal Family Public image Honors Others Nobel Peace Prize Tan suit controversy
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Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (1995) is a memoir by Barack Obama that explores the events of his early years in Honolulu and Chicago until his entry into Harvard Law School in 1988. Obama originally published his memoir in 1995, when he was starting his political campaign for the Illinois Senate.^[1]

After Obama won the U.S. Senate Democratic primary victory in Illinois in 2004, the book was re-published that year. He gave the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC) and won the US Senate seat in the fall. Obama launched his presidential campaign three years later.^[2] The 2004 edition includes a new preface by Obama and his DNC keynote address.^[2]

According to The New York Times, Obama modeled Dreams from My Father on Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man.^[3] The book, frequently praised for its literary qualities, has also been criticized for inaccuracies and over-use of artistic license. Obama acknowledges using composite characterizations and adjusted timelines in the book's introduction, writing that the "hazards" of autobiography could not be fully avoided.