--- description: A cohesive list of the 44th president's favorites title: Every Book Barack Obama Has Recommended During His Presidency image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc85f4ee44c8a0ac4/6988b5f9cf40a8752fc4618f/summer-2016.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Every Book Barack Obama Has Recommended During His Presidency by [Ruth Kinane / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Ruth Kinane / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2017 9:06 PM CUT  EW.com by [Ruth Kinane / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Ruth Kinane / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2017 9:06 PM CUT Whether he’s reading to kids at the White House, hitting up local bookstores on Black Friday, or giving recommendations to his daughters, President Barack Obama may as well be known as the Commander in Books. POTUS is an avid reader and recently [spoke to](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/books/obamas-secret-to-surviving-the-white-house-years-books.html "undefined") the _New York Times_ about the significant, informative and inspirational role literature has played in his presidency, crediting books for allowing him to “slow down and get perspective.” With his presidency coming to an end this Friday, EW looked back at Obama’s lit picks over the years — because it can’t hurt to read like a great leader. #ObamaForBookClubPresident2017, anyone? See a comprehensive list of every book Obama has recommended during his presidency: **Books for Daughters:** When asked what books he recommended to his 18-year-old daughter Malia, Obama gave the _Times_ a list that included _The Naked and the Dead_ and _One Hundred Years of Solitude._ “I think some of them were sort of the usual suspects \[…\] I think she hadn’t read yet. Then there were some books that are not on everybody’s reading list these days, but I remembered as being interesting.” Here’s what he included: 1\. [_The Naked and the Dead_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312265050/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined")_,_ Norman Mailer 2\. [_One Hundred Years of Solitude_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060883286/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Gabriel García Márquez 3\. [_The Golden Notebook_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061582484/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Doris Lessing 4.[ _The Woman Warrior_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679721886/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Maxine Hong Kingston **Independent Bookstore Purchases:** In November 2014, Obama took a[ trip to D.C. independent bookstore](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/us/honoring-small-business-obamas-go-book-shopping.html "undefined") Politics and Prose to honor small businesses and add to his personal library. Accompanied by daughters Malia and Sasha, POTUS picked up novels from the _Redwall_ fantasy series by Brian Jacques, as well as some from the _Junie B. Jones_ series by Barbara Park. He also added these titles to his heavy bags: 1\. [_Brown Girl Dreaming_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0147515823/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined")_,_ Jacqueline Woodson 2\. [_Heart of Darkness_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1503275922/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined")_,_ Joseph Conrad 3\. [_Nora Webster_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439170932/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined")_,_ Colm Toibin 4\. [_The Laughing Monsters_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374280592/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined")_,_ Denis Johnson 5\. [_Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374535272/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined")_,_ Evan Osnos 6\. [_Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805095152/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined")_,_ Dr. Atul Gawande 7\. [_Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1442490624/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined")_,_ Katherine Rundell 8\. [_The Narrow Road to the Deep North_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804171475/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined")_,_ Richard Flanagan 9\. [_Redwall_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142302376/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined") series, Brian Jacques 10\. [_Junie B. Jones_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375813616/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined") series, Barbara Park 11\. [_Nuts To You_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060092777/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Lynn Rae Perkins **Summer Reads 2016:** Just like us, the president enjoys a good beach read while relaxing in the sun. In 2016, he [released his list](https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/08/12/presidents-summer-reading-list "undefined") of summer vacation books: 1\. [_Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143109391/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0143109391&linkId=9d6d1802d09161ab5ca109ca7cc7377e "undefined"), William Finnegan 2\. [_H Is for Hawk_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802124739/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0802124739&linkId=6d3069fe46bf2848c24906759144d125 "undefined"), Helen Macdonald 3\. [_The Girl on the Train_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594634025/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1594634025&linkId=484a5a40028e068ce1ce04799e07fd20 "undefined"), Paula Hawkins 4\. [_Seveneves_,](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062334514/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0062334514&linkId=6496e9c3162a2827aa5f4fd601a4cbeb "undefined") Neal Stephenson 5\. [_The Underground Railroad_,](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385542364/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0385542364&linkId=0194da3860eab85654128f9f4d7c1c16 "undefined") Colson Whitehead **Summer Reads 2015:** He also released a list of his summer favorites[ back in 2015](http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/08/14/heres-what-president-obama-is-reading-this-summer "undefined"): 1\. [_All That Is_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400078423/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined")_,_ James Salter 2\. [_The Sixth Extinction_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250062187/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined")[,](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250062187/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1250062187&linkId=abcc864174c625d970bfdd376f56d764 "undefined") Elizabeth Kolbert 3\. [_The Lowland_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307278263/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Jhumpa Lahiri 4\. [_Between the World and Me_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812993543/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Ta-Nehisi Coates 5\. [_Washington: A Life_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143119966/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Ron Chernow 6\. [_All the Light We Cannot See_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1476746583/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined")_,_ Anthony Doerr **Childhood Classics:** During a trip to a public library in Washington’s Anacostia neighborhood in 2015, Obama [shared some of his childhood favorites ](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/obama-favorite-books-117524 "undefined")with a group of young students_._He also read (and acted out) _Where the Wild Things Are_ by Maurice Sendak to kids at the White House in 2014. 1\. [_Treasure Island,_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FLMWTAK/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B01FLMWTAK&linkId=9795861e47e7cec9e44a214c223ac5a1 "undefined")Robert Louis Stevenson 2.[ _Of Mice and Men_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140177396/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0140177396&linkId=d78221a0af77754781a0bbc68bbdfa9d "undefined"), John Steinbeck 3\. [_The Great Gatsby_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743273567/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0743273567&linkId=c1834896a4ce510012b23d5583e82dd0 "undefined")_,_ F. Scott Fitzgerald 4\. [_Where the Wild Things Are_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060254920/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0060254920&linkId=93c30fb5ddee3e45e7454d794a8f21b8 "undefined"), Maurice Sendak **All-time Favorites:** According to the president’s [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/pg/barackobama/about/?tab=page%5Finfo "undefined") and a 2008 interview with the[ _New York_ ](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/books/review/Meacham-t.html "undefined")[_Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/books/review/Meacham-t.html "undefined"), these titles are among his most influential forever favorites: 1\. [_Moby Dick_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393972836/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined")_,_ Herman Melville 2\. [_Self-Reliance_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486277909/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Ralph Waldo Emerson 3\. [_Song Of Solomon_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/140003342X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Toni Morrison 4\. [_Parting The Waters_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671687425/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Taylor Branch 5\. [_Gilead_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031242440X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Marylinne Robinson 6\. [_Best and the Brightest_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0449908704/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), David Halberstam 7\. [_The Federalist_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593082827/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined")_,_ Alexander Hamilton 8\. [_Souls of Black Folk_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1505223377/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), W.E.B. Du Bois 9\. [_The Power and the Glory_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142437301/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Graham Greene 10\. [_The Quiet American_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143039024/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Graham Greene 11\. [_Cancer Ward_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000G68A8C/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 12.[ Gandhi’s autobiography](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807059099/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined") 13\. [_Working_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1565843428/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1565843428&linkId=6d3852377bc8be9139569527a8a38f83 "undefined"), Studs Terkel 14\. [_Wealth of Nations_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1505577128/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1505577128&linkId=6153cb2183ed9a04a36197033a021c28 "undefined"), Adam Smith 15\. [_Theory of Moral Sentiments_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1619491281/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1619491281&linkId=e1eec7233bf455692ca345bd9bb1f93d "undefined"), Adam Smith 16\. [_All the King’s Men_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0156012952/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0156012952&linkId=6ab00820ef15c921aa8f6616b04b0be8 "undefined"), Robert Penn Warren **Excellent Novels and Poetry collections:** As a devoted reader, the president has been linked to a [lengthy list of novels](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/barack-obama-book-reading-habits/ "undefined") and poetry collections over the years — he [admits](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/books/transcript-president-obama-on-what-books-mean-to-him.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") he enjoys a thriller: “I thought _Gone Girl_ was a well-constructed, well-written book,” he told the _Times_. Obama is also a fan of sci-fi titles like Liu Cixin’s _The Three-Body Problem_ for the escapism they provide. “The scope of it was immense,” [he said](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/books/obamas-secret-to-surviving-the-white-house-years-books.html "undefined"). “So that was fun to read, partly because my day-to-day problems with Congress seem fairly petty — not something to worry about. Aliens are about to invade!” 1.[ _Cutting for Stone_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375714367/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0375714367&linkId=d4a22f6bd2841e4b3a2af00b34e63799 "undefined"), Abraham Verghese 2\. [_To the End of the Land_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307476405/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0307476405&linkId=77c072e54f93fff8b6c5113e1e47deae "undefined"), David Grossman 3\. [_Purity_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/125009710X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=125009710X&linkId=33ad4e08caaaf3910345154848afe4af "undefined"), Jonathan Franzen 4\. [_A Bend in the River_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679722025/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0679722025&linkId=0ca055a3a17ed77dee4c732bcd26f86a "undefined"), V. S. Naipau 5\. [_Fates and Furies_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594634483/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1594634483&linkId=8ecec00d2113f61713d2fb98e3fa7cd7 "undefined"), Lauren Groff 6.[ _Lush Life_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312428227/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0312428227&linkId=1aae1eeacfa70132cec28b8b0660c2e6 "undefined"), Richard Price 7\. [_Netherland_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307388778/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0307388778&linkId=6baae0ed8d8b74ae28047a84d651e7e9 "undefined")_,_ Joseph O’Neill 8\. [_Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812988205/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0812988205&linkId=addd1e51f19fb4870810d7729dddb085 "undefined"), Salman Rushdie 9\. [_Redeployment_,](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143126822/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0143126822&linkId=d01d565aa8cb61112cd0807fa367bfb7 "undefined") Phil Klay 10\. [_Invisible Man_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679732764/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0679732764&linkId=1f980cb118a2da16491a50024e205da6 "undefined"), Ralph Ellison 11\. [_Plainsong_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375705856/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0375705856&linkId=7a9c8db25345adcac16e839ee1b6b756 "undefined"), Kent Haruf 12\. [_The Way Home_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316156493/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0316156493&linkId=684d6763e0da8c1f6f5b9ff6161b4fd4 "undefined"), George Pelecanos 13\. [_What Is the What_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307385906/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0307385906&linkId=0a31c75d29e4d3d695ab73e04aa7a346 "undefined"), Dave Eggers 14\. _Philosophy & Literature_, Peter S Thompson 15\. [_Collected Poems_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374520259/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0374520259&linkId=4a176dcbe0a0cd4deeccb77c223ae866 "undefined"), Derek Walcott 16\. [_In Dubious Battle_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143039636/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0143039636&linkId=03bd9bcf0d821e1ecd4cb09b257e53b3 "undefined"), John Steinbeck 17\. [_Gone Girl_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307588378/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0307588378&linkId=4bc4aeabe583c454adca0a65f649bf95 "undefined"), Gillian Flynn 18\. [_The Three-Body Problem_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765382032/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0765382032&linkId=3157b5711d6eb75a33d36ec30d7258d3 "undefined"), Liu Cixin 19\. [_Harry Potter_ series](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0545162076/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0545162076&linkId=c3b53234f164646134a5eb949bad28be "undefined"), J.K. Rowling **Books About Other Presidents:** The Oval office can be a lonely place, so reading about your forefather’s experience could only help. “The biographies have been useful, because I do think that there’s a tendency, understandable, to think that whatever’s going on right now is uniquely disastrous or amazing or difficult,” [said President Obama](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/books/transcript-president-obama-on-what-books-mean-to-him.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") in an interview. He’s turned to these books for advice: 1\. [_The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375756787/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0375756787&linkId=b429a44b4b06e80bb0bb18188ce61bb7 "undefined"), Edmund Morris 2\. [_John Adams_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743223136/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0743223136&linkId=05f22437d8117043406e8318229b66c7 "undefined")_,_ David McCullough 3\. [_Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060773367/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0060773367&linkId=1d0c5fdb35fd8ce7082b2eb1ce0c48cb "undefined")_,_ Fred Kaplan 4\. [_Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743246012/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0743246012&linkId=951df0e8f61f03808f31de34f541e1eb "undefined")_,_ Jonathan Alte 5\. [_FDR_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812970497/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0812970497&linkId=b7b065a2c4554c9a2dab35429276027e "undefined")_,_ Jean Edward Smith 6\. [_Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743270754/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0743270754&linkId=382ea85318e86c120be9988a60ad93d9 "undefined")_,_ Doris Kearns Goodwin 7\. [The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143447710X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=143447710X&linkId=c98a07c497bd2cefd9707022f62f88d9 "undefined") **Informative Reads:** He may have the country’s finest experts at his fingertips, but it still doesn’t hurt to [read up ](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/barack-obama-book-reading-habits/ "undefined")on environmental and economic issues. 1\. [_Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374166854/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0374166854&linkId=3bcf65b32ed2d0073b29b02299fd90d8 "undefined"), Thomas L Friedman 2\. [_Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA_, _Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143034669/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0143034669&linkId=f20ea285f9876efbbf25e3190e3e75b2 "undefined"), Steve Coll 3\. [_Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691146233/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0691146233&linkId=1ff80ce649f18e6200874718c7f6ae4f "undefined"), Larry Bartels 4\. [_The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394720245/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0394720245&linkId=d441fa0fd5ae07bb5911e38503c2626e "undefined"), Robert A. Caro **Non-Fiction Titles:** Fact or fiction, the president knows that reading keeps the mind sharp. He also delved into these non-fiction reads: 1\. [_Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374535272/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0374535272&linkId=b0fa823d446637a18eeafc06ea94241c "undefined"), Evan Osnos 2\. [_Thinking, Fast and Slow_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374533555/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0374533555&linkId=4d3c79c3e11db05966712be4a9b6a161 "undefined"), Daniel Kahneman 3\. [_Moral Man And Immoral Society_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NZIT6E/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B000NZIT6E&linkId=65a6620c2d599daed0fdb46972a99a7c "undefined")_,_ Reinhold Niebuhr 4\. [_A Kind And Just_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807044032/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0807044032&linkId=d199d6cebdf0a7ea45d4e4e20fdcd34b "undefined") [_Parent_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807044032/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0807044032&linkId=d199d6cebdf0a7ea45d4e4e20fdcd34b "undefined"), William Ayers 5\. [_The Post-American World_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393340384/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0393340384&linkId=f2be78fda1e0c37aa0c8d74201b81c98 "undefined"), Fareed Zakaria 6\. [_Lessons in Disaster_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805090878/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0805090878&linkId=4821642bb7b660255d6305178bad2ba0 "undefined"), Gordon Goldstein 7\. [Sapiens: _A Brief History of Humankind_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062316095/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0062316095&linkId=1da26f1737bc2ff41e2f42d3f82a64af "undefined"), Yuval Noah Harari 8\. [_The Fire Next Time_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067974472X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=067974472X&linkId=b9a2a46ef7872ed54acbacaf81ec426e "undefined"), James Baldwin 9\. [Andy Grove: The Life and Times of an American](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591841399/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1591841399&linkId=3d953669bc95cc6939413fa20756bc91 "undefined"), Richard S Tedlow 10\. [_Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081297932X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=entertain07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=081297932X&linkId=0ec172aacd76f41fc1321d52f30103ad "undefined"), Katherine Boo **Additional Authors** **and Philosophers** Throughout his time in office, Obama has also [recommended](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/books/obamas-secret-to-surviving-the-white-house-years-books.html "undefined") a dozen other authors and literary figures of note, even though he might not have named specific books. Check them out below: 1\. Langston Hughes 2\. Richard Wright 3\. Mark Twain 4\. Malcolm X 5\. Philip Roth 6\. Saul Bellow 7\. Junot Díaz 8\. Dave Eggers 9\. Zadie Smith 10\. Barbara Kingsolver 11\. St. Augustine 12\. Friedrich Nietzsche 13\. Jean-Paul Sartre 14\. Thomas Jefferson 15\. Ralph Waldo Emerson 16\. Abraham Lincoln 17\. Paul Tillich 18\. E.L. Doctorow _This_ [_article_](http://ew.com/books/2017/01/18/barack-obama-book-recommendations/ "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://EW.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4638127/barack-obama-book-list/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4638127/barack-obama-book-list/"},"headline":"Every Book Barack Obama Has Recommended During His Presidency","datePublished":"2017-01-18T21:06:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:47:33.795Z","description":"A cohesive list of the 44th president's favorites","url":"https://time.com/4638127/barack-obama-book-list/","keywords":["Books","timeshop"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc85f4ee44c8a0ac4/6988b5f9cf40a8752fc4618f/summer-2016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ruth Kinane / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc85f4ee44c8a0ac4/6988b5f9cf40a8752fc4618f/summer-2016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"summer-2016","caption":"","creditText":"EW.com","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4638127/barack-obama-book-list/","name":"Every Book Barack Obama Has Recommended During His Presidency"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"10 Days That Define the Obama Presidency: Inauguration Day 2009","description":"As President Obama's two terms in office come to a close, TIME is taking a look back at the most pivotal moments of his presidency.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/WTCDCseF/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-01-10T21:50:31.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/WTCDCseF.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4638127/barack-obama-book-list/","duration":"PT1M32S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4638127/barack-obama-book-list/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```