Bookseller's Memoir Details Grassroots Efforts in Support of Obama

John and Michelle Presta got their start in bookselling in 1991 as the founders of a small bookstore, Reading on Walden, in Chicago. They got their start in politics about a decade later working on the campaign of then-congressional hopeful Barack Obama.

In Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots: How Barack Obama, Two Bookstore Owners, and 300 Volunteers Did It (Elevator Group Publishing, January 2010), John Presta shares his involvement in Obama's political campaigns from 2000 to 2008, and details how he helped build a grassroots network of hundreds of volunteers.

Presta, who was born and raised in Chicago, recently explained to BTW that, though his volunteer work for Obama was his first trek into political activism, politics had always been a passion of his.

Obama's Dreams From My Father (Crown) was Presta's introduction to the man who would eventually become the 44th president of the U.S. "We ordered a copy of the paperback of Dreams From My Father, then published by Kodansha Globe," he said. "We even tossed around the idea of a book signing since we loved to host local authors. This book especially caught my eye because ... [Obama] was running for political office."

During late 1999 and early 2000, Presta learned more about Obama from his campaign manager, Dan Shomon. "The book was the catalyst," Presta said. "[But] it was on March 13, 2000, when my wife, Michelle, and I talked to Obama at length, and I realized, 'This man is going to be president one day. He has 'it'.... He had that gift of making you feel like the only person in the room."

Shomon recruited the Prestas to help with Obama's run for the U.S. Congress in 2000. "We eventually agreed to help organize a candidates' forum, inviting the four candidates on the Democratic ticket," Presta explained. "[Obama] lost that particular race, but he did not lose me." In Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots, Presta describes how he capitalized on his position as an indie bookstore owner to bring hundreds of people in the community together to work on Obama's senate campaign and eventual run for the presidency.

Independent bookselling, politics, and community are things that Reading on Walden had always combined, said Presta, who now runs the bookstore exclusively online and blogs regularly for the Chicago Examiner. "The words 'independent booksellers' connotes involvement in the community," he stressed. "Booksellers are catalysts for change, and it is what independent booksellers have done for many years."

Presta hopes that Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots gives readers a sense of the importance of community activism, and that "when you believe in something or someone strongly, you stay with it and never give up." He also hopes that his own story of how two booksellers helped launch a political career will "bring attention to the great things independent booksellers do for their communities."

Presta invited booksellers who are interested in receiving an ARC of Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots to send an e-mail, including the store mailing address, to [email protected], with "Send me Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots" in the subject line. --Karen Schechner