by Peter Slevin (Author)This is the inspiring story of a modern American icon, the first comprehensive account of the life and times of Michelle Obama. “The life of Michelle Obama is a uniquely American story, and Peter Slevin tells it beautifully in this deft, revealing work. In sharing Michelle's extraordinary journey, Slevin also paints a rich picture of Chicago's South Side during the past century and the family and forces that helped shape this exceptional woman.” - David Axelrod, former Senior Advisor to the President, director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago "Inspiring read for women in search of (authentic) positivity...We see her passion for equality and her commitment to ending childhood obesity, but above all the takeaway is this: Never give anyone else the power to decide what is possible for you." - Dawn Raffel, Oprah.com "[T]he future First Lady was a girl from the South Side of Chicago, navigating the Ivy League world and its social intricacies while questioning the impact black Princeton graduates had on the community at large. She didn’t want to forget her roots and the importance of reaching back — a value instilled in her by her parents back home...Slevin is able to connect the dots of Mrs. Obama’s life and assess the impact her upbringing, deeply rooted in the black experience, has had on not only her impressive career trajectory, but also the legacy she’ll leave behind as First Lady." - Time With disciplined reporting and a storyteller's eye for revealing detail, Peter Slevin follows Michelle to the White House from her working-class childhood on Chicago's largely segregated South Side. He illuminates her tribulations at Princeton University and Harvard Law School during the racially charged 1980s and the dilemmas she faced in Chicago while building a high-powered career, raising a family, and helping a young community organizer named Barack Obama become president of the United States. From the lessons she learned in Chicago to the messages she shares as one of the most recognizable women in the world, the story of this First Lady is the story of America. Michelle Obama: A Life is a fresh and compelling view of a woman of unique achievement and purpose. Author Biography PETER SLEVIN is a contributing writer for The New Yorker, focusing on politics. He spent a decade on the national staff of The Washington Post, writing extensively about Barack and Michelle Obama, as well as political campaigns and policy debates from one end of the country to the other. He lives in Evanston, Illinois, where he is a professor at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.