'Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs' by Deborah Willis & Kevin Merida

Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs by Deborah Willis and Kevin Merida traces Barack Obama's run for President through the Democratic Primary. The book is limited to the campaign, as opposed to trying to cover Obama's entire life. It does an excellent job, however, of chronicling its topic -- the spirit of Barack Obama's campaign and the enthusiasm of his supporters is beautifully illustrated. I only wish that the publisher had waited to release this book until after the general election so that it could have included scenes from the fall and the victory speech in Grant Park.

My favorite part about Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs is how well it captures the enthusiasm of Obama's supporters. It shows massive crowds, a Scrabble necklace someone made that says "Obama," and giddy girls with shirts that spell the candidate's name. Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs captures Barack Obama's celebrity and impact on the masses better than some other books, like Time's President Obama: The Road to the White House.

The overall structure of Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs is not as neat and chronological as some may want. It also does not have much text to accompany the photographs. These issues, however, do not really detract from the overall quality of the book. Indeed, the book uses photographs well to tell a powerful story.

My biggest critique of the book is that it ends before the general election. As someone who picked up the book after November 2008, I was hoping that it would cover the entire campaign. Where are the debates with McCain, the overseas trip, the Democratic Convention? Where is the victory party in Grant Park? Although I love the photos that are included in the book, I would hesitate to recommend this as the only campaign keepsake for one's library since it is missing the crucial last months of the campaign.