‘A Promised Land’: First volume of Barack Obama’s memoir to hit stands on November 17

The first volume of former US president Barack Obama’s memoir, which has created a buzz over his candid remarks on Indian politicians, is coming out on November 17. The book, titled ‘A Promised Land’, mentions former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party president Sonia Gandhi.

While the memoir is currently not available in stores, the New York Times provided a glimpse of the content in its book review. Obama says Rahul Gandhi has “a nervous, unformed quality about him, as if he were a student who’d done the coursework and was eager to impress the teacher but deep down lacked either the aptitude or the passion to master the subject,” according to The NYT review.

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Former PM Manmohan Singh also finds mention in Obama’s memoir as he recalls Singh as “having a kind of impassive integrity.” The book has been able to draw India’s attention due to the remarks made by Obama on the country’s political leaders.

On Sunday, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that he has got hold of an advance copy of ‘A Promised Land’, in which the former US President has praised Singh, describing him as “wise, thoughtful, and scrupulously honest”.

In a series of tweets, the 64-year-old parliamentarian said that Obama has called Singh as a “man of uncommon wisdom and decency” with whom he enjoyed “a warm and productive relationship”. Tharoor added that the memoir offers a “foretaste of what the second volume is likely to tell us about India” in a post-Manmohan Singh era.

The 768-page memoir, the first of a two-part memoir, will hit the stands tomorrow, after which more details regarding Obama’s view on Indian leaders are expected to emerge.