Double-consciousness and the rhetoric of Barack Obama : the price and promise of citizenship /

Terrill (communication and culture, Indiana Univ., Bloomington) investigates the nuances of rhetoric and public policy in his new book on President Obama and the often-used but frequently misunderstood metaphor on double consciousness first articulated by W. E. B. Du Bois. Terrill analyzes a number of speeches by the president and notes that he often frames problems in a manner in which he holds both sides of an argument up as valuable and worthy of respect, thus modeling and enhancing the idea of rhetorical debate as essential to effective and just public policy. Terrill argues that this is more than the idea of "second sight," as is often ascribed to minorities struggling against an oppressive majority, and is an example for all citizens in understanding and participating in the democratic process. This incisive work illuminates the influences of words and ideas and the process of democracy. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. --Kevin Anderson, Eastern Illinois University