President Obama’s much-anticipated fourth book—and the first of his presidential memoirs—covers his first term in the White House. He details the journey to the night he was elected the first Black president of the United States, the early days of setting up his cabinet, and the many situations he had to navigate in the Oval Office, including the killing of Osama bin Laden. He gives insight into his decision-making and where he felt he could have done better, making for a compelling, engaging read. I’ve heard the audiobook, narrated by the president, is excellent. 768 pages.

Written well before Barack Obama contemplated a presidential run, his first memoir spans his upbringing in Kansas, Hawaii, and Indonesia to his time as a community organizer in Chicago. He explores his racial identity as he makes sense of his absentee father’s death and travels to Kenya to meet his extended family. A great storyteller, this first memoir provides a glimpse of the president he’ll become and all he’s accomplished since.