Pete Buttigieg's Reading List

Former US Transportation Secretary, former mayor of South Bend; polyglot and avid reader.

Pete Buttigieg's 10 Favorite Books (2020)

Curated for One Grand Books with quotes from Buttigieg about each pick.

James Joyce · 1922 · Buy on Amazon

"A story about what it is to be human as one middle-class guy goes about one day."

Dylan Thomas · 1952 · Buy on Amazon

"Achieves the remarkable feat of making me nostalgic about someone else's childhood."

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry · 1943 · Buy on Amazon

"Touching, it's about innocence and exploration, it's sad but also uplifting."

Homer · -700 · Buy on Amazon

"Connects me to my Mediterranean (Maltese) roots."

Graham Greene · 1955 · Buy on Amazon

"Points out the dangers of well-intentioned interventions."

Stephen Kotkin · 2001 · Buy on Amazon

"Ahead of its time in pointing out how the seeds of oligarchy were sown."

Orhan Pamuk · 1998 · Buy on Amazon

"A gripping novel about art and religion, the encounter of East and West."

Naguib Mahfouz · 1956 · Buy on Amazon

"Views politics not through the excitements of politicians but what it means for our lived experience."

Erlend Loe · 1996 · Buy on Amazon

"The book that every searching twenty-something needs."

Hilary Mantel · 2009 · Buy on Amazon

"Explores what it means to live by a code when you are at political and personal risk."