This is a list of selected readings that inspire me–books, magazines, blogs and websites. Some are recent reads, others have stayed with me even though I read them some time ago. I’ve been judicious–I could add many more in all categories, and in the Business + Finance and Management + Leadership categories, I’ve selected books that are not on every bestseller list. Links are to Amazon or to the author or publication website. I’ve provided links to Twitter for authors or publications I know are active there.
Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., edited by Clayborne Carson
Long Walk to Freedom, by Nelson Mandela
Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Personal History, by Katherine Graham
Reagan in His Own Hand: The Writings of Ronald Reagan that Reveal His Revolutionary Vision for America, edited by Kiron K. Skinner, Annelises Anderson and Martin Anderson
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Enough: True Measures of Money, Business and Life, by John C. Bogle
Glimmer: How Design Can Transform Your Life, and Maybe Even the World, by Warren Berger (@GlimmerGuy)
Love Marks: The Future Beyond Brands, by Kevin Roberts
Profit for Life: How Capitalism Excels, by Joseph H. Bragdon
Profit with Honor: The New Stage of Market Capitalism, by Daniel Yankelovich
Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom, by John O’Donohue
On Being (@beingtweets)
The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life, by Twyla Tharp
Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art, by Stephen Nachmanovitch
The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America, by David Whyte
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, by Steven Pressfield (@SPressfield)
The Business of Fashion (@BoF)
Luxury Culture
NOWNESS (@NOWNESS)
The Moment (@TMagazine)
SHOWStudio (@SHOWstudio)
Charlie Rose
David Brooks
Financial Times (of particular note: the Life + Arts section and Luke Johnson (See Venture Capital + Entrepreneurship, below))
Iconoclasts
McKinsey Quarterly (@McKQuarterly)
Monocle
Stanford Social Innovation Review (@SSIReview)
Strategy + Business
The Art of War, by Sun Tzu (Barnes + Noble Classics Edition–Lionel Giles,Translator and Dallas Galvin, Editor)
Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down, by Vineet Nayar (@vineetnayar)
Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life, Once Conversation at a Time, by Susan Scott
The Mary Kay Way: Timeless Principles from America’s Greatest Woman Entrepreneur, by Mary Kay Ash
Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win, by William C. Taylor (@practicallyrad) and Polly LaBarre (@pollylabarre)
Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow, by Chip Conley (@chipconley)
The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal, by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz)
AVC (@fredwilson)
Ben’s Blog (@bhorowitz)
Betashop (@betashop)
Luke Johnson