books recommended by Barack Obama

Barack Obama is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president of the United States.

books recommended by Barack Obama

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman

The Three-Body Problem

The Three-Body Problem

Cixin Liu

Factfulness

Factfulness

Hans Rosling

Between the World and Me

Between the World and Me

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Evicted

Evicted

Matthew Desmond

Becoming

Becoming

Michelle Obama

Educated

Educated

Tara Westover

Normal People

Normal People

Sally Rooney

The Moment of Lift

The Moment of Lift

Melinda Gates

Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe

The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad

Colson Whitehead

Life 3.0

Life 3.0

Max Tegmark

Pachinko

Pachinko

Min Jin Lee

All the Light We Cannot See

All the Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doerr

Exhalation

Exhalation

Ted Chiang

Seveneves

Seveneves

Neal Stephenson

Song of Solomon

Song of Solomon

Toni Morrison

Moby-Dick

Moby-Dick

Herman Melville

The Sixth Man

The Sixth Man

Andre Iguodala

A Gentleman in Moscow

A Gentleman in Moscow

Amor Towles

The Power

The Power

Naomi Alderman

Long Walk to Freedom

Long Walk to Freedom

Nelson Mandela

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

Shoshana Zuboff

Trick Mirror

Trick Mirror

Jia Tolentino

Exit West

Exit West

Mohsin Hamid

The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train

Paula Hawkins

An American Marriage

An American Marriage

Tayari Jones

H is for Hawk

H is for Hawk

Helen MacDonald

The Sixth Extinction

The Sixth Extinction

Elizabeth Kolbert

Girl, Woman, Other

Girl, Woman, Other

Bernardine Evaristo

The Lowland

The Lowland

Jhumpa Lahiri

The Shallows

The Shallows

Nicholas Carr

Lab Girl

Lab Girl

Hope Jahren

Self Reliance

Self Reliance

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Americanah

Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Life of Pi

Life of Pi

Yann Martel

The Ministry for the Future

The Ministry for the Future

Kim Stanley Robinson

Tough Love

Tough Love

Susan Rice

Heartland

Heartland

Sarah Smarsh

Barbarian Days

Barbarian Days

William Finnegan

The Return

The Return

Hisham Matar

The Nickel Boys

The Nickel Boys

Colson Whitehead

Men Without Women

Men Without Women

Haruki Murakami

Gilead

Gilead

Marilynne Robinson

Finding My Voice

Finding My Voice

Valerie Jarrett

Asymmetry

Asymmetry

Lisa Halliday

The Warmth of Other Suns

The Warmth of Other Suns

Isabel Wilkerson

Into the Fire

Into the Fire

Dakota Meyer

The World as It Is

The World as It Is

Ben Rhodes

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee

David Treuer

How Democracies Die

How Democracies Die

Steven Levitsky

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

John G. Nicolay

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

Jeanne Theoharis

Parting the Waters

Parting the Waters

Taylor Branch

Lost Children Archive

Lost Children Archive

Valeria Luiselli

Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life

Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life

William Finnegan

Wolf Hall

Wolf Hall

Hilary Mantel

Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe

Raymond Arsenault

The Largesse of the Sea Maiden

The Largesse of the Sea Maiden

Denis Johnson

The Orphan Master's Son

The Orphan Master's Son

Adam Johnson

Furious Hours

Furious Hours

Casey Cep

American Prison

American Prison

Shane Bauer

Basketball

Basketball

Shea Serrano

Trust Exercise

Trust Exercise

Susan Choi

The Education of an Idealist

The Education of an Idealist

Samantha Power

Solitary

Solitary

Albert Woodfox

American Spy

American Spy

Lauren Wilkinson

The Shadow of Sirius

The Shadow of Sirius

W.S. Merwin

Say Nothing

Say Nothing

Patrick Radden Keefe

Sing, Unburied, Sing

Sing, Unburied, Sing

Jesmyn Ward

The Topeka School

The Topeka School

Ben Lerner

Immigrant, Montana

Immigrant, Montana

Amitava Kumar

Why Liberalism Failed

Why Liberalism Failed

Patrick J. Deneen

Grant

Grant

Ron Chernow

The Broken Ladder

The Broken Ladder

Keith Payne

Inland

Inland

Téa Obreht

A Different Way to Win

A Different Way to Win

Jim Rooney

Truth Decay

Truth Decay

Jennifer Kavanagh

Feel Free

Feel Free

Zadie Smith

Janesville

Janesville

Amy Goldstein

Dying

Dying

Cory Taylor

Anything Is Possible

Anything Is Possible

Elizabeth Strout

Coach Wooden and Me

Coach Wooden and Me

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

How to Do Nothing

How to Do Nothing

Jenny Odell

A Grain of Wheat

A Grain of Wheat

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

The Source of Self-Regard

The Source of Self-Regard

Toni Morrison

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

David W. Blight

Lot

Lot

Bryan Washington

The Anarchy

The Anarchy

William Dalrymple

There There

There There

Tommy Orange

Washington Black

Washington Black

Esi Edugyan

How to Read the Air

How to Read the Air

Dinaw Mengestu

Florida

Florida

Lauren Groff

A House for Mr. Biswas

A House for Mr. Biswas

V.S. Naipaul

Five-Carat Soul

Five-Carat Soul

James McBride

We Live in Water

We Live in Water

Jess Walter

Washington

Washington

Ron Chernow

The Yellow House

The Yellow House

Sarah M. Broom

Warlight

Warlight

Michael Ondaatje

In the Shadow of Statues

In the Shadow of Statues

Mitch Landrieu

Book cover overlay

Four Great Tragedies

Four Great Tragedies

William Shakespeare

Book cover overlay

The New Geography of Jobs

The New Geography of Jobs

Enrico Moretti

Book cover overlay

Futureface

Futureface

Alex Wagner

Book cover overlay

Maid

Maid

Stephanie Land

Book recommendations coming soon!

explore all books

Books written by Barack Obama

Book cover overlay

A Promised Land

A Promised Land

Barack Obama

Book cover overlay

Dreams from My Father

Dreams from My Father

Barack Obama

explore all books

Need better sleep, more energy, and faster recovery? Try Eight Sleep — the ultimate smart mattress. Up to $350 off.

People also viewed

explore all people

Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible, from complex word problems and the meaning of our history to scientific discovery and technological proficiency.

Barack Obama

FAQs

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique.

Did Barack Obama recommend all these books?

This book list has Barack Obama's must-read recommendations, it can also be comprised of mentions, suggestions or social media posts.

How do you know Barack Obama mentioned these books?

Every suggestion made by Barack Obama is validated by our editors either via reaching out to the featured person, their social media or mentions from interviews.

Did Barack Obama actually create this list?

A few of our lists have been created by the featured person. The rest are either crowdsourced or created by the Good Books staff.

Still have questions?

If you have any questions or you believe there is an error in our information, please contact us.

Explore our book lists

Books Billionaires Read

Best Personal Development Books

Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo

You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness by Jen Sincero

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Best Fiction Books

Best Cryptocurrency Books

Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain by Andreas Antonopoulos

The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking by Saifedean Ammous

Bitcoin Billionaires by Ben Mezrich

Best Environment Books

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates

The Overstory by Richard Powers

The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells

Best Mental Health Books

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma Book by Bessel van der Kolk

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone Book by Lori Gottlieb

First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Story about Anxiety Book by Sarah Wilson

explore all our lists

Barack Obama's book recommendations

Thinking, Fast and Slow

The Three-Body Problem

Factfulness

+