bBarack Obama's inauguration as president on January 20, 2009, inspired the world.b But the great promise of Change We Can Believe In was immediately tested by the threat of another Great Depression, a worsening war in Afghanistan, and an entrenched and deeply partisan system of business as usual in Washington. Despite all the coverage, the backstory of Obama's historic first year in office has until now remained a mystery. pIn iThe Promise President Obama, Year Onei, Jonathan Alter, one of the country's most respected journalists and historians, uses his unique access to the White House to produce the first inside look at Obama's difficult debut. pWhat happened in 2009 inside the Oval Office What worked and what failed What is the president really like on the job and off-hours, using what his best friend called a Rubik's Cube in his brain These questions are answered here for the first time. We see how a surprisingly cunning Obama took effective charge in Washington several weeks befo