The Best Books To Learn About President Barack Obama
(You can view the rest of our presidential Best Book lists by going to our Best US President Books page, or for a more in-depth look at how we found and ranked the books you can visit our Best Book About Every United States President article.)
Barack Obama Quick Facts |
| President Number | 44 |
| Terms In Office | 2 |
| Years | 2009-Now |
| Political Party | Democratic |
| Vice President | Joe Biden |
| Home State | Illinois |
| Presidential Pet | Portuguese Water Dogs (Bo & Sunny) |
| Campaign Slogan | “Yes We Can” & “Change We Can Believe In” &”Hope” & “Forward” |
| Articles Used in Ranking | 10 |
| Number of Unique Books | 12 |
The Best Book About Barack Obama
(Appears on 4 Lists)
Barack Obama: The Story by David Maraniss
Lists It Appears On:
- Foreign Affairs
- Presidents USA
- The Tailored Man
- The Washington Post
Barack Obama: The Story chronicles as never before the forces that shaped the first black president of the United States and explains why he thinks and acts as he does. Much like the author’s classic study of Bill Clinton, First in His Class, this promises to become a seminal book that will redefine a president.
#2-12
(Appear on 1 List)
Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage by Christopher Andersen
Lists It Appears On:
- Presidents USA
They exploded on the national political scene in 2004 and within four short years captured the ultimate political prize. By the time they claimed the White House in one of the most hotly-contested presidential races in modern history, Barack and Michelle Obama were seen by millions around the world as the new Jack and Jackie Kennedy―brilliant, attractive, elegant, youthful, exciting. Accompanied by their two young daughters Malia and Sasha, the Obamas would arrive at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with the promise of a new Camelot all but assured. Given the obvious historic significance of what they accomplished together, the marriage of Barack and Michelle stands as one of the great personal and political partnerships in American history. Yet, incredibly, the true nature of that relationship remains a mystery. Until now. In the style of his #1 New York Times bestsellers The Day Diana Died and The Day John Died, as well as his bestselling books about the Kennedys, the Clintons and the Bushes, author Christopher Andersen draws on important sources―some speaking for the first time―to paint the first complete, compelling portrait of America’s first black First Family.
Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope by Nikki Grimes
Lists It Appears On:
- Presidents USA
Ever since Barack Obama was young, Hope has lived inside him. From the beaches of Hawaii to the streets of Chicago, from the jungles of Indonesia to the plains of Kenya, he has held on to Hope. Even as a boy, Barack knew he wasn’t quite like anybody else, but through his journeys he found the ability to listen to Hope and become what he was meant to be: a bridge to bring people together.
Dreams from my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama
Lists It Appears On:
- Presidents USA
In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father—a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man—has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey—first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother’s family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family, confronts the bitter truth of his father’s life, and at last reconciles his divided inheritance.
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann
Lists It Appears On:
- Presidents USA
Game Change is the New York Times bestselling story of the 2008 presidential election, by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, two of the best political reporters in the country. In the spirit of Richard Ben Cramer’s What It Takes and Theodore H. White’s The Making of the President 1960, this classic campaign trail book tells the defining story of a new era in American politics, going deeper behind the scenes of the Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin campaigns than any other account of the historic 2008 election.
Obamas China’s by Jeffrey A. Bader
Lists It Appears On:
- Foreign Affairs
In Obama and China’s Rise, Bader reveals what he did, discusses what he saw, and interprets what it meant—first during the Obama campaign, and then for the administration. The result is an illuminating backstage view of the formulation and execution of American foreign policy as well as a candid assessment of both. Bader combines insightful and authoritative foreign policy analysis with a revealing and humanizing narrative of his own personal journey.
President Obama: The Path to the White House by Adi Ignatius
Lists It Appears On:
- Presidents USA
Barack Obama’s path from Hawaii to Indonesia to the White House represents one of the most unlikely and fascinating journeys in U.S. political history. With this special publication that is sure to become an instant collector’s item, TIME will mark Obama’s rise with an illustrated 96-page book. TIME Obama will contain original TIME magazine reporting and analysis from the magazine’s political experts. The book will showcase the unrivaled, intimate behind-the-scenes photography of campaign photographer Callie Shell, who has been visually documenting Obama’s journey since he began his run for President. And it will provide readers with a colorful and concise account of how Obama rose to power — from his early days to his Chicago years to the moment when he became a political phenomenon.
The American Journey of Barack Obama by The Editors of Life Magazine
Lists It Appears On:
- Presidents USA
For decades Americans have turned to LIFE to see, understand, and remember the most important events and people of our time. Just as LIFE once opened up the glittering Kennedy White House, LIFE now focuses its lens on Barack Obama. The American Journey of Barack Obama covers the candidate from his childhood and adolescence to his time as editor of The Harvard Law Review and his Chicago activist years, culminating with the excitement and fervor of the historic 2008 Democratic National Convention. The unfolding drama of Obama’s life and political career is cinematic in scope, and never has it been presented so compellingly. In addition to a powerful array of photographs that were taken by many of the country’s greatest photographers (and some that were snapped, in the quiet moments, by Obama family members themselves), this book also includes a Foreword by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, an incisive narrative biography and original essays by some of our finest writers, including Gay Talese, Charles Johnson, Melissa Fay Greene, Andrei Codrescu, Fay Weldon, Richard Norton Smith, Bob Greene and several others. Many readers will find a new understanding of Obama. All readers will feel that they are bearing witness to a singular, undeniably American story.
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama
Lists It Appears On:
- Presidents USA
The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama by David Remnick
Lists It Appears On:
- The Washington Post
Through extensive on-the-record interviews with friends and teachers, mentors and disparagers, family members and Obama himself, Remnick explores the elite institutions that first exposed Obama to social tensions, and the intellectual currents that contributed to his identity. Using America’s racial history as a backdrop for Obama’s own story, Remnick further reveals how an initially rootless and confused young man built on the experiences of an earlier generation of black leaders to become one of the central figures of our time.
The Oath by Jeffrey Toobin
Lists It Appears On:
- Foreign Affairs
From the moment Chief Justice Roberts botched Barack Obama’s oath of office, the relationship between the Court and the White House has been a fraught one. Grappling with issues as diverse as campaign finance, abortion, and the right to bear arms, the Roberts court has put itself squarely at the center of American political life. Jeffrey Toobin brilliantly portrays key personalities and cases and shows how the President was fatally slow to realize the importance of the judicial branch to his agenda. Combining incisive legal analysis with riveting insider details, The Oath is an essential guide to understanding the Supreme Court of our interesting times.
The Obamians: The Struggle Inside the White House to Redefine American Power by James Mann
Lists It Appears On:
- Foreign Affairs
In The Obamians, acclaimed author James Mann tells the compelling story of the administration’s struggle to enact a coherent and effective set of policies in a time of global turmoil. At the heart of this struggle are the generational conflicts between the Democratic establishment—including Robert Gates, Hillary Clinton, and Joseph Biden—and Obama and his inner circle of largely unknown, remarkably youthful advisers, who came of age after the Cold War had ended.
The Best Barack Obama Book Lists Consulted
| Source | Article |
| At Times Dull | Janet’s Presidential Biography Project & Blog |
| Best Presidential Bios | The Best Presidential Biographies |
| Foreign Affairs | Five Books on Barack Obama |
| Huffington Post | Presidents’ Day History: The Must-Reads Of Presidential Biographies |
| Mandi Lindner | 44 Presidents and Their Definitive Biographies |
| Presidential History | Presidential Resources |
| Presidential History (Again) | Pulitzer Prize Winning Books About Presidents |
| Presidents USA | FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT BARACK OBAMA |
| The Tailored Man | The 44 Best Presidential Biographies |
| The Washington Post | The Fix’s list of best presidential biographies |
