David Remnick, a *New Yorker* editor and noted journalist, shares with us his thoughts on the historic 2008 presidential election and his new book, *The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama*. No story has been more central to America's history this century than the rise of Barack Obama, and until now, no journalist or historian has written a book thatfully investigates the circumstances and experiences of Obama's life or explores the ambition behind his rise. Those familiar with Obama's own best-selling memoir or his campaign speeches know the touchstones and details that he chooses to emphasize, but now--from a writer whose gift for illuminating the historical significance of unfolding events is without peer--we have a portrait of a young man in search of himself, and of a rising politician determined to become the first African American president.