To capture the complex story of Barack Obama, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maraniss (associate editor, Washington Post; Rome 1960: The Summer Olympics That Stirred the World) writes what he calls "not a traditional biography." He begins with narratives of Obama's American and African ancestors several generations before he was born and ends with the 27-year-old community organizer leaving Chicago for Harvard Law School. Maraniss conducted numerous interviews with Obama's family, friends, and fellow students (all cited in the notes) to show that change has been the most constant circumstance in the president's life, e.g., being raised mostly by his grandparents in Hawaii (and in a sense having to raise himself) while his mother studied in Indonesia; moving to Los Angeles and then to New York, for college; heading to Chicago for three years as a community organizer; then finally returning east to Harvard. Throughout, Maraniss notes Obama's "determination to avoid life's traps." His struggle to find stability in his volatile world is the book's prominent recurring theme. VERDICT General readers, including those who enjoyed David Remnick's The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama, will be gripped by this absorbing, graceful account. [See Prepub Alert, 12/19/11.]—Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA