/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f636871d937d35488668ca8/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=3044&cropY1=0&cropY2=1712&w=1200&resize=1200,675&ssl=1 "Obama’s New Memoir To Be Published Two Weeks After Election Day")
Topline
Former President Barack Obama’s new memoir, “A Promised Land,” is coming November 17, two weeks after Election Day — the first volume in a highly-anticipated two part set.
ATLANTA, GA – JULY 30: Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during the funeral service of the … [+]
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Key Facts
The book will touch on Obama’s early political career, before moving to his presidential campaign in 2008 and ending with the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011.
Demand for the book is expected to be astronomical: Crown, a division of Penguin Random House, said it has ordered 3 million books as a first printing.
Crown secured the rights to Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama’s memoirs in February for $65 million.
Michelle’s memoir, “Becoming,” was a roaring success, with 8.1 million copies sold so far.
The book will be 768 pages long and will sell for $45.
What To Watch For
The publication date for the second volume of Obama’s memoirs has not been released.
Crucial Quote
“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,” Obama said in a statement Thursday.
Big Number
25. That’s the number of languages the book will be published in, including Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Czech, Finnish and Vietnamese.
Key Background
Obama began to write the book shortly after exiting the White House in 2016. He worked on it at home and finished it while vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard this summer, according to the New York Times. The former president has already published two books that have sold millions of copies: “Dreams from My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope.”
Further Reading
Michelle Obama’s Memoir to Arrive in November (New York Times)
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