Barack Hussein Obama served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017, becoming the first African American to hold the office. Before his presidency, he worked as a community organizer, civil rights attorney, and Illinois state senator. Since leaving office, he has remained active in public discourse and literary promotion.
120 Books Recommended by Barack Obama
Ranked by popularity across all reading lists on this site
Between the World and Me
10 people recommendedBarack Obama's "2016 Summer Reading List.
Also recommended by: Jack Dorsey, Jay Z, Bob Iger, Cal Fussman, Deray Mckesson, Jon Stewart, Linda Sarsour, Mark Manson, Sunny Hostin
Educated
8 people recommendedA remarkable memoir of a young woman raised in a survivalist family in Idaho.
Also recommended by: Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Kathryn Minshew, Marty Cagan, Michelle Obama, Olivia Wilde, Shauna Niequist
The Oxford Shakespeare
8 people recommendedOn the "favorite books" section of Barack Obama's Facebook profile.
Also recommended by: Jk Rowling, Christopher Hitchens, Fred Wilson, Mark Twain, Ricardo Semler, Shah Rukh Khan, Stewart Brand
Factfulness
7 people recommendedA hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases.
Also recommended by: Raj Shamani, Bill Gates, Howard Marks, Melinda Gates, Jordan Peterson, Michael Batnick
Life 3.0
7 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2018 list.
Also recommended by: Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Keith Rabois, Lex Fridman, Pewdiepie, Derek Sivers
Moby Dick
6 people recommendedOn the "favorite books" section of Barack Obama's Facebook profile.
Also recommended by: Steve Jobs, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jack Edwards, Penn Jillette, Pewdiepie
A Gentleman in Moscow
5 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2017 list.
Also recommended by: Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Brian Koppelman, Sarah Jessica Parker
Normal People
5 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2019 list.
Also recommended by: Taylor Swift, Brit Marling, Jack Edwards, Serena Izzo
An American Marriage
5 people recommendedA moving portrayal of the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African-American couple.
Also recommended by: Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, Shauna Niequist
The Moment of Lift
5 people recommendedMelinda tells the stories of the inspiring people sheβs met through her work all over the world, digs into the data, and powerfully illustrates issues that need our attention.
Also recommended by: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Brene Brown, Satya Nadella
Becoming
5 people recommendedObviously my favorite [book of 2018]!
Also recommended by: Oprah Winfrey, Brene Brown, Tyler Oakley, Selena Gomez
Song of Solomon
5 people recommendedOn the "favorite books" section of Barack Obama's Facebook profile.
Also recommended by: Oprah Winfrey, Bozoma Saint John, Jesse Williams, Michelle Obama
The Underground Railroad
5 people recommendedBarack Obama's "2016 Summer Reading List.
Also recommended by: Oprah Winfrey, Andy Cohen, John Legend, Sarah Jessica Parker
Abundance
5 people recommendedBarack Obama's summer reading recommendations of 2025.
Also recommended by: Michael Dell, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Steve Jurvetson
Exhalation
4 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2019 list.
Also recommended by: Naval Ravikant, Ryan Shea, Tim Ferriss
Things Fall Apart
4 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2018 list.
Also recommended by: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jacqueline Novogratz, Sarah Jessica Parker
The Girl on the Train
4 people recommendedBarack Obama's "2016 Summer Reading List.
Also recommended by: George R R Martin, Jennifer Aniston, Joe Hill
Seveneves
4 people recommendedBarack Obama's "2016 Summer Reading List.
Also recommended by: Bill Gates, Adam Savage, Chris Young
The Power
4 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2017 list.
Also recommended by: Bill Gates, Kathryn Minshew, Olivia Wilde
Parting the Waters
4 people recommendedOn the "favorite books" section of Barack Obama's Facebook profile.
Also recommended by: Christopher Hitchens, Cory Booker, Ryan Holiday
Pachinko
3 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2019 list.
Also recommended by: Emma Watson, Jia Tolentino
Self Reliance
3 people recommendedOn the "favorite books" section of Barack Obama's Facebook profile.
Also recommended by: Patrick Oshaughnessy, Derek Sivers
The Shallows
3 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2019 list.
Also recommended by: Ezra Klein, Tara Brach
Abraham Lincoln
3 people recommendedOn the "favorite books" section of Barack Obama's Facebook profile.
Also recommended by: Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jared Leto
Trick Mirror
3 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2019 list.
Also recommended by: Kara Swisher, Natalie Portman
Exit West
3 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2017 list.
Also recommended by: Michelle Obama, Sarah Jessica Parker
The Sixth Man
3 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2019 list.
Also recommended by: Arianna Huffington, Bill Gurley
Heartland
3 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2019 list.
Also recommended by: Melinda Gates, Sarah Jessica Parker
Why Liberalism Failed
2 people recommendedOffers cogent insights into the loss of meaning and community that many in the West feel.
Also recommended by: Tim Keller
How to Do Nothing
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2019 list.
Also recommended by: Ezra Klein
Girl, Woman, Other
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2019 list.
Also recommended by: Jack Edwards
All the Light We Cannot See
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's "2016 Summer Reading List.
Also recommended by: Mike Maples Jr
The Sixth Extinction
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's "2016 Summer Reading List.
Also recommended by: Bill Gates
Evicted
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2017 list.
Also recommended by: Bill Gates
Tough Love
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2019 list.
Also recommended by: Dick Costolo
How Democracies Die
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2018 list.
Also recommended by: Steve Kerr
Long Walk to Freedom
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2018 list.
Also recommended by: Richard Branson
Americanah
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2018 list.
Also recommended by: Kathryn Minshew
The Lowland
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's "2016 Summer Reading List.
Also recommended by: Mindy Kaling
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2019 list.
Also recommended by: Vinod Khosla
The Warmth of Other Suns
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2019 list.
Also recommended by: Alicia Keys
American Prison
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2018 list.
Also recommended by: David Friedberg
Barbarian Days
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's "2016 Summer Reading List.
Also recommended by: Paul Graham
Wolf Hall
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2019 list.
Also recommended by: Christopher Hitchens
Lost Children Archive
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2019 list.
Also recommended by: Natalie Portman
Coach Wooden and Me
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2017 list.
Also recommended by: Noah Kagan
Grant
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's favorite books of 2017 list.
Also recommended by: Hugh Hewitt
Washington
2 people recommendedBarack Obama's "2016 Summer Reading List.
Also recommended by: Jamie Dimon
The Word Collector
2 people recommendedA fun book that vividly illustrates the transformative power of words.
Also recommended by: Michelle Obama
Speed & Scale
2 people recommendedIf you care about climate change, [this book] offers concrete steps that we can all take to make a difference.
Also recommended by: Tracy Dinunzio
Truth Decay
A look at how a selective sorting of facts and evidence isnβt just dishonest, but self-defeating to a society that has always worked best when reasoned debate and practical problem-solving thrive.
A House for Mr Biswas
Great novel about growing up in Trinidad and the challenge of post-colonial identity.
The New Geography of Jobs
Still a timely and smart discussion of how different cities and regions have made a changing economy work for them.
In the Shadow of Statues
An ultimately optimistic take from someone who believes the South will rise again not by reasserting the past, but by transcending it.
Paper Girl
Barack Obama's favorite books of 2025.
Flashlight
Barack Obama's favorite books of 2025.
We the People
Barack Obama's favorite books of 2025.
The Wilderness
Barack Obama's favorite books of 2025.
There is No Place for Us
Barack Obama's favorite books of 2025.
North Sun
Barack Obama's favorite books of 2025.
1929
Barack Obama's favorite books of 2025.
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Barack Obama's favorite books of 2025.
Dead and Alive
Barack Obama's favorite books of 2025.
What We Can Know
Barack Obama's favorite books of 2025.
The Look
Barack Obama's favorite books of 2025.
Mark Twain
Barack Obama's summer reading recommendations of 2025.
The Book of Records
Barack Obama's summer reading recommendations of 2025.
King of Ashes
Barack Obama's summer reading recommendations of 2025.
Rosarita
Barack Obama's summer reading recommendations of 2025.
Audition
Barack Obama's summer reading recommendations of 2025.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
Barack Obama's summer reading recommendations of 2025.
A Marriage at Sea
Barack Obama's summer reading recommendations of 2025.
Who is Government?
Barack Obama's summer reading recommendations of 2025.
The Sirens’ Call
Barack Obama's summer reading recommendations of 2025.