Barack Obama names Dan Rooney book as a favorite of 2019

Barack Obama included a Pittsburgh gem in his list of top books from of the year.

The former president and avid reader shared via Twitter 19 titles that impressed him. One of his sports favorites was Jim Rooney’s “A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney’s Story from the Super Bowl to the Rooney Rule.”

“As we wind down 2019, I wanted to share with you my annual list of favorites that made the last year a little brighter,” Obama wrote on Twitter. “I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.”

As we wind down 2019, I wanted to share with you my annual list of favorites that made the last year a little brighter. We’ll start with books today — movies and music coming soon. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. pic.twitter.com/l5qTGkAPok

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 28, 2019

Jim’s account of his father’s life is a blend of biography, business management and history. Dan was best known as owner and president of the Pittsburgh Steelers but Jim highlights his achievements on and off the football field, including his time as ambassador to Ireland.

“Dan Rooney’s leadership at the National Football League was unmatched. This book will tell you why,” former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said in a statement when the book was released.

“Where he was really effective was playing that long game. He stuck with things,” Jim told the Tribune-Review in October. “What I hope comes across in the book is this idea that you can be strong, be principled and set really high standards — and also have the commitment to humanity and be decent and kind.”

Obama’s other sports recommendation is “The Sixth Man: A Memoir” by NBA star Andre Iguodala of the Golden State Warriors.

Here’s the rest of Obama’s book list:

• “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power” by Shoshana Zuboff

• “The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company” by William Dalrymple

• “Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee” by Casey Cep

• “Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernardine Evaristo

• “The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present” by David Treuer

• “How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy” by Jenny Odell

• “Lost Children Archive” by Valeria Luiselli

• “Lot: Stories” by Bryan Washington

• “Normal People” by Sally Rooney

• “The Orphan Master’s Son” by Adam Johnson

• “The Yellow House” by Sarah M. Broom

• “Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland” by Patrick Radden Keefe

• “Solitary” by Albert Woodfox

• “The Topeka School” by Ben Lerner

• “Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion” by Jia Tolentino

• “Trust Exercise” by Susan Choi

• “We Live in Water: Stories” by Jess Walter

He included “a reminder of books that I recommended earlier this year:”

• “American Spy” by Lauren Wilkinson

• “The Education of an Idealist” by Samantha Power

• “Exhalation” by Ted Chiang

• “Finding My Voice” by Valerie Jarrett

• “Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth” by Sarah Smarsh

• “How to Read the Air” by Dinaw Mengestu

• “Inland” by Téa Obreht

• “Lab Girl” by Hope Jahren

• “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive” by Stephanie Land

• “Men Without Women” by Haruki Murakami

• “The Moment of Lift” by Melinda Gates

• “The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead

• “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee

• “The Shadow of Sirius” by W. S. Merwin

• “The Shallows” by Nicholas Carr

• Toni Morrison’s collected works

• “Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For” by Susan Rice

• “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration” by Isabel Wilkerson

• “Wolf Hall” by Hilary Mantel