Read by Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Jamie Dimon and 3 others
What books does Steven Spielberg recommend?
For the most commercially successful director in history, reading is often the first step toward filming: many of Steven Spielberg's book recommendations are novels he adapted or long wanted to. This list of 12, gathered from interviews with outlets like The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, and The Guardian, alongside production notes and Academy of Achievement conversations, is dominated by fiction, history, and society and politics. His anchor is Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals, which became Lincoln: "I was just so moved by the book... I just couldn't put it down." He recalls falling for Alice Walker's The Color Purple in a single night, and traces his imagination back to childhood, naming Treasure Island as "the first book that ever made me realize that there was a world outside of my own."
Last updated February 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
byDoris Kearns Goodwin
2005944 Pages“I was just so moved by the book. It’s a very thick book, but I read it in a few sittings. I just couldn’t put it down.”
— Steven Spielberg
Source: Interview with Richard Warren Field
Read by Steven Spielberg
byStephen King, Peter Straub
1984646 Pages(235,000)
“I've owned the book since '82, and I'm hoping to get this movie made in the next couple of years. I'm not committing to the project as a director, I'm just saying that it's something that I've wanted to see come to theaters for the last 35 years.”
— Steven Spielberg
Source: Entertainment Weekly interview
Read by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Shonda Rhimes and 1 others
byAlice Walker
2003300 Pages“I fell in love with Alice Walker's book. I read it in one night. I think I was the first person in my company to read it.”
— Steven Spielberg
Source: The Hollywood Reporter interview
Read by Steven Spielberg
byMichael Crichton
1990399 Pages“I was very excited by the book. Michael Crichton and I were very close friends, and he had told me about the idea for the book before he even started writing it.”
— Steven Spielberg
Source: Director's Commentary / Production Notes
Read by Steven Spielberg
byThomas Keneally
1982400 Pages“Sid Sheinberg gave me the book... and I was very moved by it. I didn't think I was ready to make the film, but the book stayed with me.”
— Steven Spielberg
Source: Academy of Achievement Interview
Read by Steven Spielberg
Peter Pan
or, The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up
byJ.M. Barrie
1911240 Pages“I have always felt like Peter Pan. I still feel like Peter Pan. It has been very hard for me to grow up.”
— Steven Spielberg
Source: Biography / Collider Article
Read by Steven Spielberg
Treasure Island
A Story of Buccaneers and Buried Gold
byRobert Louis Stevenson
2001240 Pages“I think the first book I ever read was Treasure Island. It was the first book that ever made me realize that there was a world outside of my own.”
— Steven Spielberg
Source: The Guardian Interview
Read by Steven Spielberg
byJ.G. Ballard
1984278 Pages“I was spellbound by J.G. Ballard's book. It was a very personal story for me, even though it was set in a world I didn't know.”
— Steven Spielberg
Source: Interview regarding film adaptation
Read by Steven Spielberg
byMichael Morpurgo
1982176 Pages“The bones of the story of 'War Horse' is a love story. That's what makes it universal.”
— Steven Spielberg
Source: Official War Horse Production Interview
Read by Mark Zuckerberg, Brian Chesky, Chip Wilson and 2 others
byErnest Cline
2011374 Pages(1,302,519)
“I loved the book. It was a very difficult book to adapt, but I loved the world that Ernie had created.”
— Steven Spielberg
Source: Cinemablend Interview
Read by Steven Spielberg
The Last of the Mohicans
A Narrative of 1757
byJames Fenimore Cooper
1986410 PagesSource: Scholastic Interview / Favorite Books List
Read by Wong Kar Wai, Chip Wilson, Steven Spielberg and 1 others
byJohn Steinbeck
2002464 PagesSource: Deadline Feature Article
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Steven Spielberg recommend?
His 12 recommendations include Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally, Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.
What is Steven Spielberg's favorite book?
A top pick is Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which inspired his film Lincoln. He says, "I was just so moved by the book. It's a very thick book, but I read it in a few sittings. I just couldn't put it down."
Which book did Steven Spielberg read in one night?
Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Spielberg recalls, "I fell in love with Alice Walker's book. I read it in one night. I think I was the first person in my company to read it."
What was the first book Steven Spielberg read?
Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. He calls it "the first book that ever made me realize that there was a world outside of my own," crediting it with opening his imagination.
Has Steven Spielberg written a book?
He is credited on Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), the novelization tied to his classic science-fiction film.
All 12 Books Steven Spielberg Has Recommended
- Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln · Doris Kearns Goodwin
- The Talisman · Stephen King
- The Color Purple · Alice Walker
- Jurassic Park · Michael Crichton
- Schindler's Ark · Thomas Keneally
- Peter Pan · J.M. Barrie
- Treasure Island · Robert Louis Stevenson
- Empire of the Sun · J.G. Ballard
- War Horse · Michael Morpurgo
- Ready Player One · Ernest Cline
- The Last of the Mohicans · James Fenimore Cooper
- The Grapes of Wrath · John Steinbeck