I think that the Public Papers of the Presidents is one of the Federal Government’s most distinguished series of publications – and not just because my name once appeared in one of its volumes. Each President since Herbert Hoover (except Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose papers were published privately prior to the inauguration of the official series) has had his papers and speeches printed in these imposing and austerely handsome volumes, usually issued twice a year by the National Archives and Records Administration’s Office of the Federal Register.
I bring this up because the first volume of President Barack Obama’s Public Papers has just hit the Government Book Talk main desk (at 1,030 pages, plus an extensive index, it hit with great impact, too.) Every President gets his own binding color, and President Obama’s is a navy blue, with the usual cool gold stamping. In addition to the text, it includes a few color photographs of the President and First Lady – in all, a fine example of GPO’s expertise in traditional printing even as it continues to innovate in the digital arena. (The President gets his own special leather-bound copy personally delivered by the Public Printer of the United States – and as he points out, we don’t do many of those!) To see how GPO does it, click here.
Well, it’s great that these are such beautiful books, but what about the content? It shows that Presidents turn up everywhere, from the Tonight show (page 301) to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (page 759) to a town hall meeting in Green Bay, Wisconsin (page 802). The topics of his speeches, interviews, and news conferences are as diverse as the duties of America’s Chief Executive – health care, foreign relations, economic crises, and even history, as shown by his visit to the Buchenwald concentration camp (page 781). I was particularly touched by his brief statement regarding the victims of a horrendous 2009 Metro subway crash here in DC (page 873) – it happened not long after I rode the same subway line home from work that day.
Perhaps no book better conveys the range of responsibility our Presidents must shoulder every day of their terms. It’s a volume for browsing, revisiting the issues of President Obama’s first six months in office, and wondering how any President deals with the myriad demands on his time, energy, and intellect. You can do your own browsing here or add a copy to your personal library from here. For other volumes in this fine series, you can visit GPO’s Federal Digital System for those issued since 1991 or check our online bookstore by searching under “public papers” to see which ones are still in print.
govbooktalk
Trudy Hawkins
Government Book Talk 
[…] at the Government Book Talk blog, Jim Cameron announced the publication of the first collection of President Obama’s public […]
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These are actually impressive ideas about blogging.
You have touched some fastidious factors here. Any way keep up writing.
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[…] This book is part of the Public Papers of the Presidents series which consists of public writings, addresses and remarks made by the President and is the second volume of the Barack Obama Public Papers collection, which includes an eBook version of Book 1. (Read about the first volume in our blog post: “The First Collection of President Obama’s Public Papers.”) […]
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C’est très bon et nous devons apprendre beaucoup de chose et travaux et les activités de notre président obama cher monsieur. c’est une très bonne activité pour les peuples grâce
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Having read some of the Public Papers of the Presidents I agree those documents convey the vast duties the President performs. Glad to see the 1st Obama volume is in.
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CONGRATULATIONS!YOU HAVE BLOGGED AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE
AGAIN!!!FIRST OF ALL:IN MY OPINION PRESIDENT OBAMA IS
THE BEST OF ALL PRESIDENTS!I AM WATCHING EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM.HIS SPEECHES , HIS INTERWIEWS , HIS MEETING , HIS JOURNEYS!I AM WATCHING HIS ATTEMPTS TO CHANGE MANY THINGS IN THE USA.I ADMIRE HIM VERY MUCH!!!I HOPE TO SUCCESS HIS ATTEMPTS!
I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE “FIRST COLLECTION OF PRESIDENT OBAMA ‘ S PUBLIC PAPERS”!
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This is very good and we must learn alot of thing and works and activities of our president dear obama sir. this is a pretty good activity for the peoples thanks
Regards
Taifoor zareen
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04/14/2011
Hello dear Ladies and Gentlemen in DCCC-USA,
Dear Mrs.Michelle Obama is not it cute with a vision born offered DCCC-USA-CIA-Interpol-The Hague and others to turn into a park of peace throughout the planet Earth as the economy-ecology policy-Millennium solution led by you informing Your PHD degree research through Wikipedia with my pleasure today of your selection of joint husband USA Mr.President Barack Obama your consent to be decisive innate strategy that you personally your lives offered witnesses alive live your life at the head of where you are invoking your cooperation with my involvement of the more than immense a wayward values of peace and stability of the whole earth and certainly the achievement of the merger and the other planets that we are waiting for the common harmony,,, You Agim 07/15/2010th With God and you win the Millennium—
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Parabéns aos autores desta publicação, porque dá as informações importantes de conhecimento.
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