Advertisement
Books

Fire and Fury: A President’s library

We’re a big fan of libraries at The Big Issue so here is an artist’s impression of an exciting new one planned for Chicago.

Every President since Herbert Hoover has established a Presidential Library in their home state to preserve and celebrate their legacy, and this will be Obama’s, in Illinois. More than simply a museum or library documenting the past, Obama hopes the complex will be “a campus for active citizenship…that helps to build our collective future”.

The main museum building is a tower representing “ascension, hope and what ordinary people have the power to do together”. The design was inspired by a picture of four hands coming together, which is perfectly clear… if you use a little imagination. Inside, besides an exhibition telling Obama’s story, will be a basketball court, yoga space and a test kitchen, to reflect his administration’s emphasis on healthy lifestyles.

Controversy is building from some of the local communities who object to a proposed car park, and more than 100 faculty members of the nearby University of Chicago, while supporting the centre being close to the campus, have criticised plans on economic and preservation grounds. The project is predicted to cost up to $1.5bn and be completed by 2021.

And despite the incumbent President being decidedly less of a reader (while still a very stable genius), another library that opened its doors (briefly) in Chicago in late 2017 was the Trump Presidential Twitter Library. It was created by The Daily Show to showcase “the finest works from Trump’s Twitter collection”. The installation allowed visitors to play with a ‘Trump nickname generator’ to find out if they’d be described as an ‘airhead’ or ‘flunky’, among many other potential insults, and roleplay behind a replica of the desk in the Oval Office to see if they could send a tweet within 30 seconds to avert, or divert attention away from, a damaging crisis. Take your own tour, it’s truly covfefe.

And remember, anyone who wants some brand new books for a group that encourages reading and could use more books but doesn’t have ready access can write to The Big Issue’s Big Book Giveaway and tell us what you need and why.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

Recommended for you

Read All
Ground by Jadelin Gangbo review – hope for healing amid the wreckage
Books

Ground by Jadelin Gangbo review – hope for healing amid the wreckage

Gliff by Ali Smith review – ingenious and warm anti-establishment storytelling
Books

Gliff by Ali Smith review – ingenious and warm anti-establishment storytelling

Horrible Histories author Terry Deary: 'The most important day in history is tomorrow'
Books

Horrible Histories author Terry Deary: 'The most important day in history is tomorrow'

Top 5 books in rhyme, chosen by children's author Vicky Cowie
Books

Top 5 books in rhyme, chosen by children's author Vicky Cowie

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue