David Katz's captivating, heartwarming and uplifting photo book Barack Before Obama selects more than 200 photos from the 900,000 shots Katz took between 2004 and 2008. The period covers Obama's 2004 Senate campaign, his time working in the Senate and his 2008 presidential campaign. Katz began as an unpaid intern and soon became Obama's personal photographer. The book concludes with images from the night Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States.
The stunning photographs are supplemented with succinct paragraphs of background information by Katz and anecdotes collected from Obama's inner circle, including personal aide (or "body man") Reggie Love, campaign manager David Plouffe, sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, Michelle Obama's chief of staff Melissa Winter and others. Readers learn that Obama loved to play DJ for his campaign staff; Oprah Winfrey was so unimpressed with Obama's Chicago apartment that she conducted their first interview outside; Michelle joked with her husband to help him relax before debates; and Obama played online Scrabble with his sister during his entire presidency. But the real star of this book is the beautiful, crisp and vibrant photography that captures Obama and his family playing, laughing, campaigning and relaxing. Some of the most haunting images include Obama massaging his daughter Malia's neck as she draws with crayons and a single tear running down Obama's cheek after hearing that the grandmother who raised him has died.
Katz's impressive collection of photos and anecdotes is a charming and moving tribute to the four-year period where Obama's political career gained traction. --Kevin Howell, independent reviewer and marketing consultant