二○○四年七月，歐巴馬參議員在美國民主黨全國黨代表大會上，以「無畏的希望」（The Audacity of Hope）為題發表二十分鐘的演說，從此在民主黨的聲勢扶搖直上。




　　本書即是以那篇演講為架構，再就政治生態、教育、保健、反恐戰爭等議題，發表論述。歐巴馬在《The Audacity of Hope》中，揭示了他以改變、信任、與希望為根基的政治理念。呼籲新一代的美國人團結，以化解政治分歧。




　　本書脫胎自選戰過程中，歐巴馬與他人的交談。「與選民的邂逅，不僅證實美國人民有根本的善良，他們還提醒，美國經驗的核心當中，有一組理想，一直在激勵 我們的集體良心；儘管我們有差異，還是共有一套價值，讓我們凝聚在一起；有股綿延不絕的希望，讓我們幾乎不可能的民主實驗奏效下去。」




　　書中他談及家人、參議院同僚乃至於總統的種種故事，他還寫到菜鳥參議員如何上手；怎樣在服務大眾又兼顧家庭生活的種種需求中，找到平衡；自己對宗教的信仰日益虔誠；本書筆調親密得驚人，又有謙抑的幽默。




本書中文版《歐巴馬勇往直前》由「商周」出版。




　　”A government that truly represents these Americans--that truly serves these Americans--will require a different kind of politics. That politics will need to reflect our lives as they are actually lived. It won’t be pre-packaged, ready to pull off the shelf. It will have to be constructed from the best of our traditions and will have to account for the darker aspects of our past. We will need to understand just how we got to this place, this land of warring factions and tribal hatreds. And we’ll need to remind ourselves, despite all our differences, just how much we share: common hopes, common dreams, a bond that will not break.” from The Audacity of Hope
In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners’ minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Senator Obama called ”the audacity of hope.”



　　Now, in The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics -- a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the ”endless clash of armies” we see in congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of ”our improbable experiment in democracy.” He explores those forces -- from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media -- that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He also writes, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating humor, about settling in as a senator, seeking to balance the demands of public service and family life, and his own deepening religious commitment.



　　At the heart of this book is Senator Obama’s vision of how we can move beyond our divisions to tackle concrete problems. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and the transnational threats -- from terrorism to pandemic -- that gather beyond our shores. And he grapples with the role that faith plays in a democracy -- where it is vital and where it must never intrude. Underlying his stories about family, friends, members of the Senate, even the president, is a vigorous search for connection: the foundation for a radically hopeful political consensus.



　　A senator and a lawyer, a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic, and above all a student of history and human nature, Senator Obama has written a book of transforming power. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. Those Americans are out there, he writes --- ”waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them.”

巴拉克．胡笙．歐巴馬（Barack Hussein Obama II，1961年8月4日－）



　　生於美國夏威夷州檀香山，是代表伊利諾州的資淺聯邦參議員，2008年美國總統選舉民主黨籍候選人。根據美國參議院歷史辦公室的資料顯示，歐巴馬是歷史上第五位非裔美國人參議員，也是目前參議院唯一的非裔人。