Chicago: Barack Obama is America`s "truly hybrid" president who represents many continents, races, cultures and histories, his first Indian-American biographer has said.
Dinesh Sharma`s book is the first full-length book on a sitting president and examines how Obama`s early years influenced him.
"Despite all that has been written about him, very little attention has been paid to Barack Obama`s global roots and international persona," Sharma told reporters during a press conference recently.
"Barack Obama is born of a multicultural America at the cusp of the age of globalisation," said Sharma, a cultural psychologist.
"He is truly America`s hybrid president, a man of many continents, races, cultures, and histories," he said.
Sharma interviewed Obama`s half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, teachers, and friends from Indonesia to New York for his book titled `Barack Obama in Hawaii and Indonesia: The Making of a Global President`, which was released recently.
"Certainly, there have been no biographies exploring the linkage between Obama`s early upbringing and socialisation in the culturally diverse communities of Honolulu and Jakarta and his global political outlook," Sharma said.
"This type of cultural analysis is essential for a complete understanding of Barack Obama`s character and his agenda for America in the 21st century," Sharma, a senior fellow at the Institute for International and Cross-Cultural
Research at St Francis College, New York.
"He`s the first president who traveled half way around the world to Indonesia and South East Asia before becoming senator," Sharma said.
"In terms of genealogy and his ethnic backgrounds he stands out because his father was from Africa and mother from America," he said.
Comparing Obama to leaders like George Bush and Bill Clinton, Sharma said that Obama was from a more global background than any of previous US presidents.
Sharma is the author and editor of three books and many peer-reviewed articles.
Sharma is planning to organise a book signing event on November 5 which is expected to be attended by Obama`s half-sister.
Obama, 50, is the 44th president of the US. The Republican president has already announced his plans to run for re-election in 2012.
PTI
