Holiday Gift Guide: Barack Obama: Words of Hope and Inspiration

The first thing January Magazine’s art director did when he got a load of Barack Obama: Words of Hope and Inspiration (Sourcebooks) was proclaim that he was certain it hadn’t been created by Obama’s official design team. His contention was that the official Obama graphic designers -- whoever they are -- would have left a superior design mark on their work. And it’s true: all those official posters and t-shirts and other materials available for purchase “in support of” during the campaign was gorgeous, flawless, really great stuff.

Now all of that said, Sourcebooks’ entry into the Obama market is nothing to snuffle at. The Obama calender has been a top-seller since its release back in August. The calendar includes charming photos of president-elect Obama as well as inspirational quotes from Obama, Nelson Mandela, John F. Kennedy and others and the photos included seem mostly unposed. Obama painting a house, waving at crowds, with his family. One just hopes that the Sourcebooks calendar is not prophetic: the Obama image for February shows Obama looking pensive and holding his head in one hand. One hopes not!