The untold story of barack obamas mother is a 2011 book by former new york times journalist janny scott. In the beneficiary, janny scott offers an intimate look. Draws on interviews with friends, colleagues, and relatives. Janny scott on her book about barack obamas mother. Awardwinning reporter janny scott interviewed nearly two hundred of dunhams friends, colleagues, and relatives including both her children, and combed through boxes of personal and professional papers, letters to friends, and photo albums, to uncover the full breadth of this womans inspiring and untraditional life, and to show the. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. In it, we meet a very nonordinary woman, born stanley. Interview with janny scott, author of a singular woman. Janny scott is a journalist and the author of two books, the beneficiary. The untold story of barack obamas mother by janny scott. Dunhams life in a singular woman, janny scott s richly researched, unsentimental book. The untold story of barack obamas mother 9781594485596.
Janny scott, author info, published books, bio, photo. By recovering obamas mother from obscurity, a singular woman adds in a meaningful way to an understanding of a singular president. Fortune, misfortune, and the story of my father april 16, 2019 and a singular woman. In a singular woman, janny scott portrays obamas mother the. The untold story of barack obamas mother hardcover. A singular woman by janny scott, 9781594485596, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Barack obama has written extensively about his father, but little is known about stanley ann dunham, the fiercely independent woman who raised him, the person he credits for, as he says, what is best in me. Barack obama has written extensively about his father, but little is known about stanley ann dunham, the fiercely independent woman who raised him, the person he credits. The new york times janny scott packs two and a half years of research into her bio of stanley ann dunham, the quixotic anthropologist who raised a president. Janny scotts a singular woman, a biography of obamas mother.
Three years and more than 200 interviews later, scotts biography of obamas mother, a singular woman riverhead books, appeared this spring. A singular woman also does a great service to obama too. Profile of janny scott, author of a singular woman. Scotts book is tirelessly researched, and the sections covering dunhams life in. What emerges in this straightforward, deeply reported account is a complicated portrait of an outspoken, independentminded woman with a life of unconventional choices. The untold story of barack obamas mother janny scott. She was a reporter for the new york times from 1994 to 2008 and was a member of the times reporting team that won the 2000 pulitzer prize for national reporting for. Janny scott is the author of the new book, a singular woman. Janny scotts new book, the beneficiary, offers an intimate look at life inside ardrossan.
The story of the singular woman at the center of this book is told, and told well, by scott. The untold story of barack obamas mother mines her own rich and privileged family history in this insightful memoir. In a singular woman, janny scott portrays obamas mother. Barack obama has written extensively about his father but credited his mother for what is best in me. Inside a locked chest in a storage closet at ardrossan, robert montgomery scotts diaries awaited her. The untold story of barack obamas mother 2011, touching on topics such as how the former presidents parents met, the spurious birther claims about his country of origin, and his childhood experiences in indonesia, among others. In a singular woman, awardwinning new york times reporter janny scott tells the story of this unique woman, stanley ann dunham, who broke many of the rules of her time, and shows how her fierce example helped influence the future presidentand can serve as an inspiration to us all. Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting. I was always interested in history and writing, says scott, who majored in history and literature and wrote her senior honors thesis on irish home rule in the 1920s. In a singular woman, awardwinning new york times reporter janny scott tells the story of this unique woman, stanley ann dunham. She was a member of the times reporting team that won the 2000 pulitzer prize for national reporting.
H elen hope montgomery scott would not have approved of her granddaughters outfit. The untold story of barack obamas mother was published in 2011, quickly becoming a bestseller. Janny scotts a singular woman, a biography of obamas. Janny scotts book is a cautionary tale for anyone who wants to preserve capital or pass on family treasures. I told it with love for my father and my family, not out of any desire to cause any harm, said scott, who also wrote a singular woman. Much can be learnt about him in this story, much more than has been in a myriad of books written about him. What other book might you compare a singular woman to and why. Slate the key to understanding the disciplined and often impassive 44th president is his mother, as janny scott, a reporter for the new york times, decisively demonstrates in her new biography a singular woman.
No, too long, although i would listen to it going from north carolina to new jersey. Main line native janny scotts book views her famous. In a singular woman, the author janny scott goes beyond what we know about barack obamas mother a white woman from kansas to portray a woman who took a more difficult path. In the beneficiary, janny scott weighs the emotional heft of inheritance janny scott, a biographer and awardwinning reporter for the new york times, has. Before going on leave to work on the book, scott was a reporter for the new york times from 1994 to 2008, where she was a member of the reporting team that won a 2000 pulitzer prize for national reporting.
Discount prices on books by janny scott, including titles like a singular womanthe untold story of barack obamas mother chinese edition. In an ambitious new biography, a singular woman, janny scott travels from kansas to hawaii to indonesia in an effort to account for the disparate forces that forged dunham and, by extension. I had done a fair amount of delving into tidbits of anns life, enough to know that she was clearly a phenomenal woman. A singular woman tells the moving story of an unconventional woman who. A singular woman by janny scott penguin random house canada. She was a reporter for the new york times for fourteen years, writing about race. A singular woman the new york times bestselleran unprecedented look into the life and character of the woman who raised a president. In the beneficiary, janny scott weighs the emotional. Author janny scott spent 2 years in research that spanned the us mainland, hawaii and. Still, little is known about this fiercely independent, spirited woman who raised the man who became the first biracial president of the united states. In 2008 she contributed six long biographical articles for. She was a reporter for the new york times from 1994 to 2009 and was a member of the times reporting team that won the 2000 pulitzer prize for more about janny scott.
The untold story of barack obamas mother is driven by an unspoken tension or maybe question is a better word. She roamed widely in pursuit of the untold story of barack obamas mother, the subtitle of a singular woman, about stanley ann dunham. Video of janny scott discussing her book a singular woman. Fortune, misfortune, and the story of my father and a singular woman. During a pivotal time in history, when the world was focused on the son, barack obama, a photograph diverted journalist janny scotts attention to the mother, stanley ann dunham.
This biography of barack obamas mother presents a more complex picture than the president offered in his own books. Scott conducted nearly 200 interviews to understand the life of the woman who knew her son could do anything he ever wants in the world, even be president of the united. The book is extremely well written never preaches and lays out her story in plain and concise language. Dunhams life in a singular woman, janny scotts richly researched, unsentimental book. Janny scott was a reporter for the new york times from 1994 to 2009, when she left to write this book.
687 791 1071 241 712 318 173 709 808 294 852 942 739 391 977 936 1363 325 1317 1377 1468 525 1260 1114 756 628 28 511 1305 349 694 686 273 247 1358 983 32 554 414