Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

At a time when the meaning of America is up for grabs, Cody Keenans new book chronicles ten days that tested us and ultimately showed us at our best. Its a captivating story about whats worth fighting for, an antidote to cynicism that will make you believe again.President Barack Obama, via Twitter

From Barack Obamas chief speechwriter Cody Keenan, a spellbinding account of the ten most dramatic days of the presidency, when a hate-fueled massacre and looming Supreme Court decisions put the character of our country on the line, and a presidents words could bring the nation together or tear it apart.

A white supremacist shooting and an astonishing act of forgiveness. A national reckoning with race and the Confederate flag. The fate of marriage equality and the Affordable Care Act. Grace is the propulsive story of ten days in June 2015, when Obama and his chief speechwriter Cody Keenan composed a series of high-stakes speeches to meet a succession of stunning developments.

Through behind-the-scenes momentsfrom Obamas suggestion that Keenan pour a drink, listen to some Miles Davis, and find the silences, to the presidents late-night writing sessions in the First Familys residenceKeenan takes us inside the craft of speechwriting at the highest level for the most demanding of bosses, the relentlessly poetic and perfectionist Barack Obama. Grace also delivers a fascinating portrait of White House insiders like Ben Rhodes, Valerie Jarrett, Jen Psaki, and the speechwriting team responsible for pulling it all off during a furious, historic stretch of the Obama presidencyincluding a gifted fact-checker who took Keenans rhetoric to task before taking his hand in marriage. Grace is the most intimate writing that exists on the rhetorical tightrope our first Black president had to walk, culminating with an unforgettable high point: Obama stunning everybody by taking a deep breath and leading the country in a chorus of Amazing Grace.