'A Promised Land': 1st volume of Barack Obama's presidential memoirs coming out in November
Former President Barack Obama announced Thursday the release of the first volume of his highly-anticipated presidential memoirs -- dropping two weeks after Election Day -- which will recount his first term in the White House and address how he thinks the nation can "heal our divisions."
The book, titled "A Promised Land," is scheduled for release on Nov. 17 and will cover Obama's "improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world" and "landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency," according to a press release from the book's publisher, Crown, which is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group.
"There's no feeling like finishing a book, and I'm proud of this one," Obama tweeted Thursday morning. "In A Promised Land, I try to provide an honest accounting of my presidency, the forces we grapple with as a nation, and how we can heal our divisions and make democracy work for everybody."
The first volume of two presidential memoirs from Obama will take readers from his early political career up through his first years in the Oval Office. It will cover his dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, efforts to pass the Affordable Care Act and the response to Deepwater Horizon. It concludes with the successful operation to kill Osama bin Laden.
"In the book, I’ve also tried to give readers a sense of the personal journey that Michelle and I went through during those years, with all the incredible highs and lows. And finally, at a time when America is going through such enormous upheaval, the book offers some of my broader thoughts on how we can heal the divisions in our country going forward and make our democracy work for everybody -- a task that won’t depend on any single president, but on all of us as engaged citizens," Obama said in a press release through Crown.
"Along with being a fun and informative read, I hope more than anything that the book inspires young people across the country -- and around the globe -- to take up the baton, lift up their voices, and play their part in remaking the world for the better," he added.
The print edition of "A Promised Land" will be simultaneously issued in 25 languages with the English-language edition coming in at 768-pages with two 16-page photographic inserts. It's suggested list price is $45 in the U.S.
Obama will also narrate an audio version of the book.
A publication date for the second and final volume of the memoirs has not been determined.
This is Obama's first book since leaving the White House and the fourth he has written. His previous titles are "Dreams from My Father," published in 2005, "The Audacity of Hope," published in 2006, and a children's book "Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters," published in 2010.
Former first lady Michelle Obama's memoir, "Becoming," published in 2018, sold 1.4 million copies in the first week and instantly topped best seller lists.
ABC News' Alison Ehrlich contributed to this report.
