Public figures
Books recommended by Barack Obama
44th President of the United States
Former U.S. president who has published annual lists of favourite books, films and music since leaving office, shared through the Obama Foundation.
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Philosophy & how to liveFiction & literaturePolitics & societyHistoryScience fiction
Photo: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
This is a selection of sourced recommendations, not a complete list of everything Barack Obama has read or praised. How we choose.
Recommendations
Books Barack Obama recommends
50 books from 7 sources. Each one links to the place where Barack recommended it.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2024
Annual year-end list of favourites.
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The Anxious Generation
Year-end favouriteFirst book on his list of 2024 favourites.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2024 Organization pageobama.org
+1 other recommender: Bill Gates
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Orbital
Year-end favouriteOn his list of 2024 favourites — a short novel set aboard the International Space Station.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2024 Organization pageobama.org
+1 other recommender: The Booker Prize
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Patriot
Year-end favouriteOn his list of 2024 favourites — the posthumous memoir of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2024 Organization pageobama.org
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Growth: A Reckoning
Year-end favouriteOn his list of 2024 favourites.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2024 Organization pageobama.org
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The Work of Art
Year-end favouriteOn his list of 2024 favourites — interviews with artists about how specific works got made.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2024 Organization pageobama.org
+1 other recommender: Austin Kleon
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Stolen Pride
Year-end favouriteOn his list of 2024 favourites.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2024 Organization pageobama.org
President Obama's favorite books and music of summer 2024
Annual summer reading list.
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James
Year-end favouriteFirst book on his 2024 summer reading list.
President Obama's favorite books and music of summer 2024 Organization pageobama.org
+3 other recommenders: Ryan Holiday, The Booker Prize, The Pulitzer Prizes
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Of Boys and Men
Year-end favouriteOn his 2024 summer reading list.
President Obama's favorite books and music of summer 2024 Organization pageobama.org
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The Wide Wide Sea
Year-end favouriteOn his 2024 summer reading list — an account of Captain James Cook's final voyage.
President Obama's favorite books and music of summer 2024 Organization pageobama.org
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When the Clock Broke
Year-end favouriteOn his 2024 summer reading list.
President Obama's favorite books and music of summer 2024 Organization pageobama.org
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2025
Barack Obama's annual list of favourite books, published by the Obama Foundation.
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The Look
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's list of his favourite books of 2025.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2025 Organization pageobama.org
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Paper Girl
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's list of his favourite books of 2025.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2025 Organization pageobama.org
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Flashlight
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's list of his favourite books of 2025.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2025 Organization pageobama.org
+2 other recommenders: Ayobami Adebayo, The Booker Prize
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We the People
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's list of his favourite books of 2025.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2025 Organization pageobama.org
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The Wilderness
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's list of his favourite books of 2025.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2025 Organization pageobama.org
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There Is No Place for Us
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's list of his favourite books of 2025.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2025 Organization pageobama.org
+1 other recommender: The New York Times Book Review: 10 Best Books
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North Sun
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's list of his favourite books of 2025.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2025 Organization pageobama.org
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1929
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's list of his favourite books of 2025.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2025 Organization pageobama.org
+1 other recommender: Bill Gates
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The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's list of his favourite books of 2025.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2025 Organization pageobama.org
+3 other recommenders: Ayobami Adebayo, The Booker Prize, The New York Times Book Review: 10 Best Books
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Dead and Alive
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's list of his favourite books of 2025.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2025 Organization pageobama.org
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What We Can Know
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's list of his favourite books of 2025.
President Obama's favorite films, books, and music of 2025 Organization pageobama.org
President Obama's favorite books of the summer
Barack Obama's summer reading list, published by the Obama Foundation.
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Mark Twain
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2025 reading list.
President Obama's favorite books of the summer Organization pageobama.org
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The Book of Records
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2025 reading list.
President Obama's favorite books of the summer Organization pageobama.org
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Abundance
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2025 reading list.
President Obama's favorite books of the summer Organization pageobama.org
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King of Ashes
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2025 reading list.
President Obama's favorite books of the summer Organization pageobama.org
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Rosarita
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2025 reading list.
President Obama's favorite books of the summer Organization pageobama.org
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The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2025 reading list.
President Obama's favorite books of the summer Organization pageobama.org
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A Marriage at Sea
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2025 reading list.
President Obama's favorite books of the summer Organization pageobama.org
+1 other recommender: The New York Times Book Review: 10 Best Books
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Audition
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2025 reading list.
President Obama's favorite books of the summer Organization pageobama.org
+2 other recommenders: Ayobami Adebayo, The Booker Prize
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Who Is Government?
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2025 reading list.
President Obama's favorite books of the summer Organization pageobama.org
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The Sirens' Call
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2025 reading list.
President Obama's favorite books of the summer Organization pageobama.org
President Obama's Summer Favorites
Barack Obama's summer reading list, published by the Obama Foundation.
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Kin
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2026 reading list.
President Obama's Summer Favorites Organization pageobama.org
+1 other recommender: Oprah Winfrey
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The Things We Never Say
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2026 reading list.
President Obama's Summer Favorites Organization pageobama.org
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A World Appears
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2026 reading list.
President Obama's Summer Favorites Organization pageobama.org
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Whistler
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2026 reading list.
President Obama's Summer Favorites Organization pageobama.org
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This Land is Your Land
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2026 reading list.
President Obama's Summer Favorites Organization pageobama.org
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Vigil
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2026 reading list.
President Obama's Summer Favorites Organization pageobama.org
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One Sun Only
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2026 reading list.
President Obama's Summer Favorites Organization pageobama.org
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Seek Immediate Shelter
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2026 reading list.
President Obama's Summer Favorites Organization pageobama.org
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Data Empire
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2026 reading list.
President Obama's Summer Favorites Organization pageobama.org
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Transcription
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2026 reading list.
President Obama's Summer Favorites Organization pageobama.org
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Cool Machine
Year-end favouriteOn Barack Obama's summer 2026 reading list.
President Obama's Summer Favorites Organization pageobama.org
The President's Summer Reading List
Official White House blog post announcing President Obama's summer 2016 reading list.
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The Underground Railroad
Year-end favouriteOn President Obama's official summer 2016 reading list, published by the White House.
The President's Summer Reading List Organization pageobamawhitehouse.archives.gov
+1 other recommender: Mark Manson
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H Is for Hawk
Year-end favouriteOn President Obama's official summer 2016 reading list, published by the White House.
The President's Summer Reading List Organization pageobamawhitehouse.archives.gov
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The Girl on the Train
Year-end favouriteOn President Obama's official summer 2016 reading list, published by the White House.
The President's Summer Reading List Organization pageobamawhitehouse.archives.gov
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Seveneves
Year-end favouriteOn President Obama's official summer 2016 reading list, published by the White House.
The President's Summer Reading List Organization pageobamawhitehouse.archives.gov
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All the Light We Cannot See
Year-end favouriteOn President Obama's official summer 2016 reading list, published by the White House.
Listed in the source as “All The Light We Cannot See”.
The President's Summer Reading List Organization pageobamawhitehouse.archives.gov
+1 other recommender: Mark Manson
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The Sixth Extinction
Year-end favouriteOn President Obama's official summer 2016 reading list, published by the White House.
The President's Summer Reading List Organization pageobamawhitehouse.archives.gov
+3 other recommenders: Beth Shapiro, Bill Gates, Mark Manson
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Washington
Year-end favouriteOn President Obama's official summer 2016 reading list, published by the White House.
Listed in the source as “Washington: A Life”.
The President's Summer Reading List Organization pageobamawhitehouse.archives.gov
Barack Obama's favourite books, year by year
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Intermezzo
Year-end favouriteListed among his favourite books of 2024 in Katie Couric Media's running record of his annual lists.
Barack Obama's favourite books, year by year News reportkatiecouric.com
Written by Barack Obama
Books Barack Obama wrote
Their most-published books, from Open Library. These are books they wrote, not recommendations.
Cross-recommendations
Picks others agree on
14 books Barack recommends that at least one other person in the directory also recommends, each from their own source.
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4recommendersJames 4 recommendersBarack Obama, Ryan Holiday, The Booker Prize, The Pulitzer Prizes
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4recommendersThe Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny 4 recommendersAyobami Adebayo, Barack Obama, The Booker Prize, The New York Times Book Review: 10 Best Books
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4recommendersThe Sixth Extinction 4 recommendersBeth Shapiro, Bill Gates, Mark Manson, Barack Obama
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3recommendersAudition 3 recommendersAyobami Adebayo, Barack Obama, The Booker Prize
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3recommendersFlashlight 3 recommendersAyobami Adebayo, Barack Obama, The Booker Prize
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2recommenders1929 2 recommendersBill Gates, Barack Obama
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2recommendersA Marriage at Sea 2 recommendersBarack Obama, The New York Times Book Review: 10 Best Books
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2recommendersAll the Light We Cannot See 2 recommendersMark Manson, Barack Obama
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2recommendersKin 2 recommendersBarack Obama, Oprah Winfrey
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2recommendersOrbital 2 recommendersBarack Obama, The Booker Prize
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2recommendersThe Anxious Generation 2 recommendersBarack Obama, Bill Gates
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2recommendersThe Underground Railroad 2 recommendersMark Manson, Barack Obama
Plus 2 more below, marked with the other recommenders.
Cross-recommendations
Who agrees with Barack
People in the directory who recommended at least one of the same books.
- TBThe Booker Prize5 books in commonOrbital · James · Flashlight · The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny · Audition
Bill Gates3 books in commonThe Anxious Generation · 1929 · The Sixth Extinction
Ayobami Adebayo3 books in commonFlashlight · The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny · Audition- TNThe New York Times Book Review: 10 Best Books3 books in commonThere Is No Place for Us · The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny · A Marriage at Sea
Mark Manson3 books in commonThe Underground Railroad · All the Light We Cannot See · The Sixth Extinction
Austin Kleon1 book in commonThe Work of Art
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