- Former President Barack Obama is a prolific reader.
- It's a tradition for him to make a list of summer reading each year.
- This year's book recommendations focused on African literature.
Former President Barack Obama is making his first trip to Africa since he left the White House last year. So, his annual summer reading list, which he posted on Facebook, is focusing on African literature.
"Kenya, of course, is the Obama ancestral home," he wrote in the July 13 post. "I visited for the first time when I was in my twenties and I was profoundly influenced by my experiences – a journey I wrote about in my first book, Dreams from My Father."
Along with these six new recommendations, we also included the 11 books that Obama praised in a conversation in 2017 with Michiko Kakutani, the chief book critic for the New York Times.
Here's what the former president said you ought to read this summer:
SEE ALSO: Barack Obama shares his 12 favorite books from 2017
'Things Fall Apart,' by Chinua Achebe
Obama says:
"A true classic of world literature, this novel paints a picture of traditional society wrestling with the arrival of foreign influence, from Christian missionaries to British colonialism. A masterpiece that has inspired generations of writers in Nigeria, across Africa, and around the world."
'A Grain of Wheat,' by Ngugi wa Thiong’o
Obama says:
"A chronicle of the events leading up to Kenya's independence, and a compelling story of how the transformative events of history weigh on individual lives and relationships."
'Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela,' by Nelson Mandela
Obama says:
"Mandela's life was one of the epic stories of the 20th century. This definitive memoir traces the arc of his life from a small village, to his years as a revolutionary, to his long imprisonment, and ultimately his ascension to unifying President, leader, and global icon. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand history – and then go out and change it."
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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