As we say goodbye to US president Barack Obama, avid reader and champion of literature, we’re left wondering what books Donald Trump might bring to the White House. We know he thinks Hamilton the musical is overrated and sketch TV show SNL is boring, but not much has been published about what’s on the president-elect’s nightstand.
When asked in November by Extra’s AJ Calloway his two favorite books, Trump named two of his own: The Art of the Deal, which came out in 1987, and Surviving at the Top, from 1990.
“I love reading, when I get a chance to read,” he added.
Earlier this year he told The Hollywood Reporter he was reading Ed Klein’s book on Hillary Clinton (likely Unlikeable, which came out the previous fall); “the book on Richard Nixon” (he didn’t specify which one); and that he was rereading All Quiet on the Western Front, which he called “one of the greatest books of all time.”
Trump does tweet book endorsements, and at times it seems like he has read the book in question. Here is a compilation of what the president-elect seems to like reading, derived from recommended reading lists published in his books; tweets endorsing books he says he’s read; and interviews.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the books Trump mentions are often titles slamming Obama and Hillary Clinton, and bemoaning the state of the United States. In books he has written, he recommends classics of Western civilization, like The Prince and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essays. When it comes to fiction, Trump has few picks: He often says the novel All Quiet on the Western Front is one of his favorites, and he once tweeted an endorsement of a thriller called Hidden Mirrors.
Contemporary politics (11)
- The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies, by Lieutenant General Michael T. Flynn and Michael Ledeen
- Wake Up America, by Eric Bolling
- Unlikeable: The Problem with Hillary, by Ed Klein
- Adios, America: The Left’s Plan to Turn Our Country into a Third World Hellhole, by Ann Coulter
- The Silencing: How the Left is Killing Free Speech, by Kirsten Powers
- The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic, by Mark R. Levin
- Emily Gets Her Gun: …But Obama Wants to Take Yours, by Emily Miller
- The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House, by Ed Klein
- A Nation of Wusses: How America’s Leaders Lost the Guts to Make Us Great, by Ed Rendell
- The Secrets of the FBI, by Ronald Kessler
- Plunder and Deceit: Big Government’s Exploitation of Young People and the Future, by Mark R. Levin
Autobiographies (7)
- And the Good News Is…: Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side, by Dana Perino
- A Little Bit Vulnerable: On Hollywood, God, Sobriety, & Politics, by Janine Turner
- Special Heart: A Journey of Faith, Hope, Courage and Love, by Bret Baier with Jim Mills
- Shooting Straight: Guns, Gays, God, and George Clooney, by Piers Morgan
- Makers, Shakers & Takers, by Roy Eaton
- Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and Life, by Mike Lewis with Bruce Feldman
- Iacocca: An Autobiography, by Lee Iacocca and William Novak
History (6)
- Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
- The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, by William Manchester
- No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
- George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution, by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger
- “the book on Richard Nixon” (not clear which)
- The Golden Ratio, by Mario Livio
Business and management (5)
- What It Takes to be #1, by Vince Lombardi
- Rich Woman: A Book on Investing for Women—Because I Hate Being Told What to Do, by Kim Kiyosaki
- Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad’s Guide to Financial Freedom, by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon K. Lechter
- 10 Clowns Don’t Make a Circus: And 249 Other Critical Management Success Strategies, by Steven Schragis and Rick Frishman
- Making the Case: How to Be Your Own Best Advocate, by Kimberly Guilfoyle
Misc. classics (5)
- Ideas and Opinions, by Albert Einstein
- Essays and Lectures, by Ralph Waldo Emerson
- The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli
- Memories, Dreams, Reflections, by Carl Jung
- The Art of War, by Sun Tzu
Books by or about Trump (4)
- The Art of the Deal, by Donald J. Trump and Tony Schwartz
- Surviving at the Top, by Donald J. Trump and Charles Leerhsen
- Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know about Success, Real Estate and Life, by Donald J. Trump and Meredith McIver
- What America Needs: The Case for Trump, by Jeffrey Lord
Fiction (3)
- All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque
- Hidden Mirrors, by DonnaMarie
- The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand
Religion (2)
- Sweet Freedom: A Devotional, by Sarah Palin
- The Bible
Kids’ books (1)
- Our Constitution Rocks, by Juliette Turner
Self-help (1)
- The Power of Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale
This post has been updated.