A Great Book with Barack Obama

by Barack Obama, Higher Ground

Some books don't just tell a story — they change the way you see the world. In A Great Book with Barack Obama, a new Audible Original podcast from Audible and Higher Ground, President Obama is joined by some of the most compelling thinkers, writers, and artists of our time to revisit six timeless books that shaped his life and perspective on the world.

With his signature intellectual curiosity, President Obama reflects on identity, power, memory, and culture using the stories that impacted him most. Over the course of six episodes, President Obama sits down with guests Tom Hanks, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jill Lepore, Ben Rhodes, Percival L. Everett, and Lauren Groff. Together they explore a central what do the stories we love tell us about the world we live in and the world we want to create?

The books featured in this season Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, All The King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, and All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction

Audible Audio

Published September 24, 2026

About the author

Barack Obama was the 44th president of the United States, elected in November 2008 and holding office for two terms. He is the author of two previous New York Times bestselling books, Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope, and the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Michelle. They have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

Reviews

[Kristīne]

Vairāk kā podkāsts, bet tā kā Audible to piedāvāja kā viena gabala audiogrāmatu, kāpēc ne.

Vispār jau brīnišķīgi, ka politiķis ir ne tikai tik daudz lasījis, bet izlasīto spēj arī sasaistīt ar apkārt notiekošo un atklāti runā par lasīšanas ietekmi uz savas personības veidošanos.
Inteliģentas sarunas starp gudriem, interesantiem cilvēkiem, jautājumi, kas rosina domāt, rīkoties. Un vēl tas viss par grāmatām!
Lai gan nevienu no nosaukumiem nebiju lasījusi, izbaudīju un dažas pievienoju savam lasāmsarakstam.

[Ann]

Excellent. I enjoyed the discussions on each of the books and added 2 books to my to-be-read list. It was interesting to see the perspectives, especially on the books that I myself had already read. Also throughout all of this, I kept thinking how wonderful it was to have an intelligent president who reads. Educating yourself should be a lifelong journey. One of the best ways to do that is with a book.

[Paige]

An intriguing listen and document.

[Claire Kurtz]

Fantastic conversations about literature and life between President Obama and some of our current brightest thinkers/writers. I cannot recommend this enough. Even if you have not read each of the works they discuss you will be richer for having listened to these conversations.

I hope there will be more of these to come!

[Suellyn]

This was a quick listen and I loved it. Not really a book, but so much fun for readers because Obama is a President who really reads and can talk books. His guests are terrific and the insights into life and the application of great books to our current day are interesting. Great audio.

[Tamara Mansfield]

I loved the conversations that happened here. My favorite conversation was between Obama and Coates on racism and how to get beyond it. It’s so nice to hear a great conversation on politics and what we can do these days.

[Jason Bradley]

Obama chats about books

[Nicole Elkind]

“Part of the question for all of us is how do we select the injustices worthy of our attention, because there are many. There are comparable stories that could be told of really good and innocent people being damaged by reckless and terrible things…How do we direct our energies and proper moral outrage in constructive ways, in order for us to get things done.”

[Karen]

Ah, the joys of a President who read! Who was actually interested in ideas! Who had thoughtful conversations that were neither derogatory nor sycophantic!

[Susan]

As an avid reader, I was delighted with this book. The book consists of six episodes where Barack Obama has a conversation with someone about six of his favorite books and ones that had the most influence on him. The conversations are very thoughtful and intellectual which is such a breath of fresh air. It reminded me of just how much I miss him as our president. I have not read any of the six books that they discussed, but believe me, they are now on my "to read" list. The books discussed are Gilead by Marilyn Robinson, The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John la Carrè, Song of Soloman by Toni Morrison, and All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. I would highly recommend listening to the book as it is a conversation between Barack and six different people (Tom Hanks, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jill LaPore, Ben Rhodes, Percival Everett, and Lauren Groff. The dialogue is SO good, and I found it fascinating to listen to their perceptions and realizations about the books, society, and themselves.

[Samuil]

It was great to hear Obama talk about the books that had an impact on his life. I'm encouraged to read these books and have a new appreciation for a well-spoken politician.

The books were varied and explored at least these themes that I remember:
aging/mortality/fatherhood,
race identity and American ideals vs reality,
politics / corruption,
interactions between the individual and the bureaucratic system,
masculinity in today's age.

I was particularly impressed with Obama's ability to take away the positive aspects of a book written from a Christian perspective. He talks to Tom Hanks about a Christian writer's ability to capture the beauty of life in the way that light is reflected off of droplets from a sprinkler that his son is running through... Absolute chills. I can't wait to start reading the books mentioned.

There's also something to be said about reading a book that has influenced one of the most powerful people in our age. It feels like these books have some sort of timeless substance to them. I'm now craving some books with "profound moral seriousness".

[Lena Dodd]

Not so much a book as a podcast type format. President Obama and others discussing books - sign me up!
(I would listen to this on the weekly if they wanted to continue this series.)
Six books/segments/conversations with the overall question: What do the stories we love say about the the world we live in and the world we want to create?
So many wonderful moments to highlight and the overarching themes were race relations/racism, family dynamics, passion, power, struggle...life. I got an intro to classics I haven't read and learned new details about those I had.
One of my favorite segments was Obama and Tom Hanks discussing Marilynne Robinson's book "Gilead" - digging deep into the fathers and sons dynamic. And what it means to live a life of purpose. Good stuff.
The main takeaway: I love having an intelligent, thinking, voracious book reading, kind, thoughtful person discuss books and life and their worldview with other like minded folks.

[Zach]

Enjoyable podcast that's kind of a book group format of reviewing 6 of the Books that influenced Barack Obama. He invites a different person he respects and might have a unique perspective on each book to discuss it with him. Their discussions have a very philosophical bent and comment on our society and people in general. His point of view is that reading books is still one of the most important aspects of any person's life and education! These are the books: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, All The King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, and All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.

[Alison McIntyre]

This is not a book. I thought it was a book 🤣 it is more like a podcast. Either way, it was still interesting.

“I have access to all information in world but am I smarter?”

It is so refreshing to hear a well read, intelligent US president again. I miss the years that he was in charge.

In this book/podcast, Barack speaks with famous people about their thoughts on the following books:

Gilead
The Fire Next Time
All the King’s Men
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Song of Solomon
All the Pretty Horses

And honestly, he touches on a lot of taboo subjects these days and has such wonderful thoughts about all of them. I miss world leaders like this.

[Meg]

I will listen to any book that Barack Obama wants to narrate! In this one he has conversations with select people about certain books that have influenced him over the years. Although I didn't read all of the books that they were talking about I didn't have any real trouble following what they were saying. However, I will admit that this is partly because some of the conversations were less about the books and more about his time in the White House or about his views about specific topics. I felt that the conversations that focused more on the books were those with Tom Hanks, Percival Everett and Lauren Groff.

[Jacky]

I went into this expecting a decent listen, but I didn't realize how much I was going to love it.

Listening to Barack Obama and Tom Hanks explore books and conversation together is an absolute treat. Both of them bring so much natural warmth, humor, and intelligence to the discussion. You can hear every bit of their charm and wit straight through their voices.

It’s rare to find an audio production where the listening experience itself is just as engaging as the material being discussed, but these two make it look easy. I could easily listen to them talk for hours.

[Laura]

4 stars. Book club with Barack Obama. Absolute heaven. It didn’t even matter what books he was reviewing. I just find him so thoughtful and insightful. I can’t imagine a two person book club event where you get the invitation to sit down and share ideas with him. His voice is soothing and his brilliance , kindness, and insight are a joy to experience.

[Martina Quirke]

A good book that sits with you long after you listen to it. The conversations in the book are thought provoking, insightful and relevant in today’s age. I throughly enjoyed it having not read all the books mentioned within this book. The interviewees and Barack Obama are all very eloquent and I would recommend to a diverse audience on a long car ride.

[Cathy Hodge]

I had a great time listening to President Barack Obama discuss books with 5 famous (and interesting) authors. The Books were not written by the participates. They chose wonderful titles and chatted about plots, themes, characters, significances', and cultural impacts. I especially liked the personal stories of how these great works of literature effected their lives. Enjoy !

[Pduit]

This is a great book for book readers. It was like being in a book club learning about great literature about books that I added to my to read list. On top of that it’s a conversation with President Barack Obama and great writers.

[Ann Lee]

Wow, this was fantastic! I hope he does this again! Hearing him talk about these books and what they meant to him was such a joy. The conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates about The Fire Next Time was my favorite. I was enraptured!

[John]

What a great listen! I would love to see more of these.

[Robert Courtney]

This was so cool. I hope they ignore these. It’s like being in the best book club ever.

[Arthur Ratliff]

Boring chatter? I couldn't finish it

[Michelle]

3.5

[Debbie]

It was soul-refreshing to remember the sensitivity and intellect of my president. The discussion of these great books also added more to my TBR list!

[Nicole]

I’m sure I would have enjoyed it more if I had read all the books that were discussed. Still, great conversations.

[Retha Jackson]

The reviews were insightful & I will look forward to reading the books I have not read. I enjoyed listening to the reviews.

[Tamara McKinney]

I hope this turns into a series

[Ron]

It’s a podcast. Audible gave it to me for free and you get what you pay for.