Examines the experiences of Barack Obama's life and explores the ambition behind his rise to the presidency, from his relationship with his parents to how social and racial tensions influenced his philosophy.

"With a new epilogue"--Cover.

Prologue: The Joshua generation -- A complex fate -- Surface and undertow -- Nobody knows my name -- Black metropolis -- Ambition -- A narrative of ascent -- Somebody nobody sent -- Black enough -- The wilderness campaign -- Reconstruction -- A righteous wind -- A slight madness -- The sleeping giant -- In the racial funhouse -- The book of Jeremiah -- "How long? Not long?" -- To the White House -- Epilogue -- Epiloge to the Vintage edition.