Read by Barack Obama
What books does Barack Obama recommend?
Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, turned the presidential reading list into a cultural event, and his 35 book recommendations preserve that annual ritual of curiosity. They come from his published favorites of the year and his summer reading lists, plus interviews with the likes of Wired and The New York Times. Unlike the finance-heavy shelves of many public figures, his reading tilts toward literary fiction, followed by history, society and politics, and the workings of the mind. His most recent headline pick is Ron Chernow's Mark Twain, which he calls "a comprehensive biography of one of the most important writers and social commentators in American history." The list stretches from Toni Morrison, whose novels he says are "transcendent, all of them," to Robert Caro's The Power Broker, which he read at 22 and credits with helping "shape how I think about politics."
Last updated January 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
Mark Twain
A Biography
byRon Chernow
20251200 Pages“A comprehensive biography of one of the most important writers and social commentators in American history.”
— Barack Obama
Source: 2025 Summer Reading List
Read by Barack Obama
The Book of Records
A Novel
byMadeleine Thien
2025368 Pages“A beautiful fable about migration, memory, and the struggle to recognize our common humanity.”
— Barack Obama
Source: 2025 Summer Reading List
Read by Barack Obama
King of Ashes
A Novel
byS.A. Cosby
2025352 Pages“One of my favorite crime fiction writers delivers in this story of family, ambition and corruption in a racially charged and violent South.”
— Barack Obama
Source: 2025 Summer Reading List
Abundance
How We Build a Better Future
byEzra Klein, Derek Thompson
2025304 Pages“A must-read for progressives who want a blueprint for reforming government so it can deliver for working people.”
— Barack Obama
Source: 2025 Summer Reading List
Read by Barack Obama
byAnita Desai
2024112 Pages“A short, beautiful novella about a woman's discovery of her mother's secret past.”
— Barack Obama
Source: 2025 Summer Reading List
Read by Barack Obama
byKatie Kitamura
2025208 Pages“A quiet novel about the ways we hide our true selves from others — and ourselves.”
— Barack Obama
Source: 2025 Summer Reading List
Read by Barack Obama
byStephen Graham Jones
2025448 Pages“A mash-up of history and horror that explores the brutal legacy of conquest against Native American peoples.”
— Barack Obama
Source: 2025 Summer Reading List
Read by Barack Obama
Who Is Government?
The Untold Story of Public Service
byMichael Lewis
2025272 Pages“A timely reminder of the quiet dedication and skill of the people who work every day to make this country work.”
— Barack Obama
Source: 2025 Summer Reading List
Read by Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Sam Harris and 6 others
The Anxious Generation
How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
byJonathan Haidt
2024400 PagesSource: Favorite Books of 2024
Read by Barack Obama
bySally Rooney
2024464 PagesSource: Favorite Books of 2024
Read by Barack Obama
bySamantha Harvey
2023144 PagesSource: Favorite Books of 2024
Read by Barack Obama
byAyşegül Savaş
2024192 PagesSource: Favorite Books of 2024
Read by Barack Obama
Stolen Pride
Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right
byArlie Russell Hochschild
2024400 PagesSource: Favorite Books of 2024
Read by Barack Obama
byMartin MacInnes
2023496 PagesSource: Favorite Books of 2024
Read by Barack Obama
Growth: A Reckoning
A History and a Reckoning
byDaniel Susskind
2024304 PagesSource: Favorite Books of 2024
Read by Barack Obama
The Work of Art
How Something Comes from Nothing
byAdam Moss
2024432 PagesSource: Favorite Books of 2024
Read by Barack Obama
Read by Barack Obama
byMarilynne Robinson
2024352 PagesSource: 2024 Summer Reading List
Read by Barack Obama
There's Always This Year
On Basketball and Ascension
byHanif Abdurraqib
2024352 PagesSource: 2024 Summer Reading List
Read by Barack Obama
byJames McBride
2023400 PagesSource: Favorite Books of 2023
The Wager
A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
byDavid Grann
2023352 Pages“A tale of shipwreck, mutiny and murder.”
— Barack Obama
Source: Favorite Books of 2023
Read by Barack Obama
byMatthew Desmond
2023304 PagesSource: Favorite Books of 2023
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Barack Obama recommend?
His 35 recommendations include Mark Twain by Ron Chernow, The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, and Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson.
What is Barack Obama's most recommended book?
A recent top pick is Ron Chernow's Mark Twain, which he describes as "a comprehensive biography of one of the most important writers and social commentators in American history." He has also spoken with lasting admiration of Toni Morrison's fiction.
Where do Barack Obama's book recommendations come from?
They are drawn from his annual favorite-books lists and summer reading lists, plus interviews with outlets including Wired, The New York Times, and CNN.
Has Barack Obama written any books?
Yes, four: the presidential memoir A Promised Land, The Audacity of Hope, the early memoir Dreams from My Father, and the children's book Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters.
What genres does Barack Obama read most?
His lists lean heavily toward literary fiction, followed by history and society and politics, with recurring interest in psychology and human behavior and philosophy.
All 35 Books Barack Obama Has Recommended
- Mark Twain · Ron Chernow
- The Book of Records · Madeleine Thien
- King of Ashes · S.A. Cosby
- Abundance · Ezra Klein
- Rosarita · Anita Desai
- Audition · Katie Kitamura
- The Buffalo Hunter Hunter · Stephen Graham Jones
- Who Is Government? · Michael Lewis
- James · Percival Everett
- The Anxious Generation · Jonathan Haidt
- Intermezzo · Sally Rooney
- Orbital · Samantha Harvey
- The Anthropologists · Ayşegül Savaş
- Stolen Pride · Arlie Russell Hochschild
- In Ascension · Martin MacInnes
- Growth: A Reckoning · Daniel Susskind
- The Work of Art · Adam Moss
- The God of the Woods · Liz Moore
- Reading Genesis · Marilynne Robinson
- There's Always This Year · Hanif Abdurraqib
- Martyr! · Kaveh Akbar
- The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store · James McBride
- The Wager · David Grann
- Poverty, by America · Matthew Desmond
- Song of Solomon · Toni Morrison
- Gilead · Marilynne Robinson
- Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln · Doris Kearns Goodwin
- The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York · Robert A. Caro
- Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind · Yuval Noah Harari
- The Three-Body Problem · Cixin Liu
- One Hundred Years of Solitude · Gabriel García Márquez
- The Underground Railroad · Colson Whitehead
- Self-Reliance · Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Invisible Man · Ralph Ellison
- Thinking, Fast and Slow · Daniel Kahneman