The Captured Perspective

I attended the Leadership Summit on Thursday and Friday last week and was really (really) impressed. This annual event is put on by Willow Creek Church and broadcast around the world for 120,000 conference attendees. The speakers included Tony Blair, Bono, Tim Keller, Gary Hamel, and David Gergen to name a few, and the constant marketing of books and the emphasis put on reading by these individuals has finally inspired me to share my “favorites” reading list. Let’s just say if books affected your BAC, I’d be a bumbling, stumbling alcoholic.

These books, in my opinion, all meet a high thought provocation standard while also being immensely readable. What can I say, I like to have my book and read it too.

Economic Development

Banker to the Poor/Mohammad Yunnus
The Bible of microfinance; I dare you to not be moved by his pragmatic, diligent, and experiential approach to organization development and problem solving.

The End of Poverty/Jeffery Saches
Incredible story of how the author became a leading voice in economic development. His work in the economies of Eastern Europe around the fall of the Soviet Union, Peru during it hyperinflation crisis, and Asia are fascinating. His message though, about how more aid will solve the world’s problems is seriously misguided. Be sure to read White Man’s Burden afterward.

The White Man’s Burden/William Easterly
Don’t you love a good contrarian? Read Easterly’s book immediately after The End of Poverty. He pretty much shreds Saches arguments to bits and focuses on small, non-government controlled solutions to problems. While I don’t agree with everything he says, the spotlight he puts on the hubris of the West has deeply affected how I think about aid and intervention in other countries.

A Thousand Hills/Stephen Kinzer
Detailed account of Kagame’s controversial but economically effective turnaround of Rwanda. Additionally, it provides a detailed history of the country which elucidated for me what lead to the genocide.

Honorable mentions: The Age of Turbulence (Alan Greenspan), The Blue Sweater, and Confessions of an Economic Hitman

Opening Your Heart and Mind to the Needs of Others: Incredible Personal Stories

Three Cups of Tea/ David Oliver Relin, Greg Mortenson
Greg Mortenson overcame incredible odds to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He began this quest after a failed attempt at summiting K2 so it is a great study of how to accomplish amazing things when you’re completely unequipped. Everyone should read this book. Period.

A Long Way Home: Memoirs of a Boy Solider/Ishmael Beah
The story of how a boy became a solider in Sierra Leone during a civil war. If you’ve ever thought you could never commit war atrocities, read his story and challenge yourself to question how you would react. The most difficult book I’ve ever read. It is a blessing that he survived and shared his story with the rest of us.

Leap of Faith/Queen Noor
Queen Noor of Jordan is a fascinating figure. American by birth, she ended up marrying the much older King Hussein of Jordan. This is the story of their deep relationship and the Jordanian perspective of Middle Eastern events over a 30 year period.

Gang Leader For A Day/ Sudhir Venkatesh
This book answered a lot of questions for me about how the Projects operate and why gangs exist in these communities. A graduate student stumbles upon an up-and-coming gang leader on the south side of Chicago and is given an unprecedented view into a gang leader’s life and the “business” of gangs over a 6 year period.

Infidel/Ayaan Hirsi Ali
A first hand account of a Somalia girl raised in a fundamentalist Muslim family. She made a daring escape to Holland to avoid an arranged marriage and ended up a member of Dutch parliament. While a highly controversial figure, her story and view points are worth considering.

Mountains Beyond Mountains/Tracy Kidder
The story of Paul Farmer’s crusade to improve the health of Haitians and others worldwide. There is just no one like Paul Farmer and his experiences caring for the poor are informative as you think about health issues and the needs of the poor.

Same Kind of Different As Me/ Dawn Hall, Denver Moore, Lynn Vincent, Ron Hall
A story about faith, service, homelessness, sickness, transformation, friendship and death. I was incredibly moved by each one of the characters. Highly relatable and a quick, powerful read.

The Glass Castle/ Jeannette Walls
A short book with serious literary punch. What happens when a now acclaimed journalist grows up in a dysfunctional yet loving home marked by poverty but also fantastic adventure? This book.

The Soloist/Steve Lopez
Addresses mental illness as well as the challenges of serving the homeless. Helped me understand why it can be difficult to get homeless people into housing, even if it’s free. Fans of classical music will love it.

Honorable Mention: River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze/Peter Hessler

Other Great Leadership Books

Autobiography of Ben Franklin/Ben Franklin
The Man Who Listens to Horses/Monty Roberts
Team of Rivals/Doris Kearns Goodwin
American Creation/Joseph Ellis

I have read most of these books in the last 12 months and have been changed in some indelible way by each one. I find these stories, especially the personal accounts of transformation, more useful than all the business books I’ve read. I encourage you to add additional book suggestions. Happy reading!