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  Chief of Naval Operations Reading List 2021  

The CNO-Professional Reading Program consists of 12 books and is a mix of writing genres including fiction, non-fiction, military, strategy, management, and technology, among others. The goal of the program is to contribute to a culture dedicated to warfighting and learning, while simultaneously supporting the personal and professional development of Sailors beyond that of their primary designator or rating.

A learning mindset is essential to accelerating our warfighting advantage.  A Navy that learns, adapts, and improves the fastest will be the most successful. Knowledge sharing is essential to creating a learning culture.  We are driving a fleet-wide campaign of self-improvement and we must foster an organization that supports and empowers Sailors to have an independent quest for knowledge through reading and information sharing. What you know and how fast you learn is relevant in this era of strategic competition.

Following the twelve, this lists the longer 2021 Chief of Naval Operations Reading List books by categories.

CNO-Professional Reading Program 2021

A Brief Guide to Maritime Strategy

James R. Holmes
Format: Book

A compact introductory work aimed at junior seafarers, those who make decisions affecting the sea services, and those who educate seafarers and decision-makers. It introduces readers to the main theoretical ideas that shape how statesmen and commanders make and execute maritime strategy...

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To Rule the Waves: How Control of the World's Oceans Determines the Fate of the Superpowers

Bruce Jones - Scribner
Format: Hardcover

For centuries, oceans were the chessboard on which empires battled for dominance. But in the nuclear age, air power and missile systems dominated our worries about security, and for the United States, the economy was largely driven by domestic production, with trucking and railways that...
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China As a Twenty-First Century Naval Power: Theory, Practice, and Implications

McDevitt, Michael A. - Naval Inst Pr
Format: Book

McDevitt then explores the PLA Navy's role in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. He provides a detailed assessment of what the PLAN will be expected to do if Beijing chooses to attack Taiwan potentially triggering combat with America's "first responders" in East Asia, especially...
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Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate

M. E. Sarotte
Format: Hardcover

A leading expert on foreign policy reveals how tensions between America, NATO, and Russia transformed geopolitics in a Foreign Affairs Best Book of 2021 "Sarotte is the unofficial dean of 'end of Cold War' studies. . . . With her latest book, she tackles head-on the not-controversial-at-all...
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The Sailor's Bookshelf: Fifty Books to Know the Sea

Stavridis, James - Nav Inst Pr
Format: Book

Admiral Stavridis, a leader in military, international affairs, and national security circles, shares his love of the sea and some of the sources of that affection. The Sailor's Bookshelf offers synopses of fifty books that illustrate the history, importance, lore, and lifestyle of the oceans...
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Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War

Paul Scharre - W. W. Norton & Company
Format: Paperback

"A tour de force of the future of war technology. ... A highly readable journey through the world of robots on the battlefield and beyond." -- P.W. Singer, author of Wired for War and Ghost FleetThe era of autonomous weapons has arrived. Today around the globe, at least thirty...
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Fortune Favors Boldness: The Story of Naval Valor During Operation Iraqi Freedom

Barry M Costello - Fortis
Format: Book

Documents the incredible professionalism of the Sailors and Marines who operated in harm's way in the dangerous waters of the Northern Arabian Gulf, on the ground in Iraq and in the air over the country in 2003. It tells a story of epic events and bravery from the perspective of retired...

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The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour

James D Hornfischer - Bantam Books
Format: Print book

"This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."With these words, Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland addressed the crew of the destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts on the morning of October 25, 1944,...
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World War II at Sea: A Global History

Craig L Symonds - Oxford University Press
Format: Hardcover

Author of Lincoln and His Admirals (winner of the Lincoln Prize) , The Battle of Midway (Best Book of the Year, Military History Quarterly) , and Operation Neptune (winner of the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature) , Craig L. Symonds ranks among the country's finest...
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Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon - Harper
Format: Hardcover

In 2010, the Army created Cultural Support Teams, a secret pilot program to insert women alongside Special Operations soldiers battling in Afghanistan. The Army reasoned that women could play a unique role on Special Ops teams: accompanying their male colleagues on raids and, while those...
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Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.

Brené Brown - Random House
Format: Hardcover

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Bren Brown has taught us what it means to dare greatly, rise strong, and brave the wilderness. Now, based on new research conducted with leaders, change makers, and culture shifters, she's showing us how to put those ideas into practice so we can step...
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Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Carol S Dweck - Random House
Format: Print book

World-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, in decades of research on achievement and success, has discovered a truly groundbreaking idea - the power of our mindset. Dweck explains why it's not just our abilities and talent that bring us success - but whether we approach...
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Readiness 2021

Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal

James D. Hornfischer - Bantam; First edition
Format: Book

No holdings. Neptune's Inferno is at once the most epic and the most intimate account ever written of the contest for control of the seaways of the Solomon Islands Americarsquos first concerted offensive against the Imperial Japanese juggernaut and the true turning point of the Pacific...
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Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War

P. W. Singer - Eamon Dolan/Mariner Books
Format: Paperback

"A novel that reads like science fiction but bristles with rich detail about how the next World War could be fought." - Vice"A modern-day successor to tomes such as The Hunt for Red October from the late Tom Clancy." - USA Today What Will World War III Look Like?...
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Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy

Ian W. Toll - W. W. Norton; First Edition edition
Format: Hardcover

How "a handful of bastards and outlaws fighting under a piece of striped bunting" humbled the omnipotent British Navy.Before the ink was dry on the U.S. Constitution, the establishment of a permanent military had become the most divisive issue facing the new government. Would...
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Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War

Karl Marlantes - Atlantic Monthly Press
Format: Hardcover

Intense, powerful, and compelling, Matterhorn is an epic war novel in the tradition of Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead and James Jones's The Thin Red Line. It is the timeless story of a young Marine lieutenant, Waino Mellas, and his comrades in Bravo Company, who are dropped into...
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Red Star over the Pacific: China's Rise and the Challenge to U.S. Maritime Strategy

Toshi Yoshihara - Naval Institute Press
Format: Paperback

Combining a close knowledge of Asia and an ability to tap Chinese-language sources with naval combat experience and expertise in sea-power theory, the authors assess how the rise of Chinese sea power will affect U.S. maritime strategy in Asia. They argue that China is laying the groundwork...
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SEA POWER A Guide for the Twenty-First Century

Geoffrey Till
Format: Book

No holdings.
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The Leader's Bookshelf

Adm. James Stavridis USN (Ret.) - Naval Institute Press
Format: Book

No holdings.  Adm. James Stavridis and his co-author, R. Manning Ancell, have surveyed over two hundred active and retired four-star military officers about their reading habits and favorite books, asking each for a list of titles that strongly influenced their leadership...
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Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't

Simon Sinek - Portfolio
Format: Hardcover

The New York Times bestseller by the acclaimed, bestselling author of Start With Why and Together is Better. Now with an expanded chapter and appendix on leading millennials, based on Simon Sinek's viral video "Millenials in the workplace" (150+ million views)...
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Mindset : the new psychology of success. Summary.

Carol S Dweck; Soundview Executive Book Summaries. - Soundview Executive Book Summaries ; [Norwood
Format: Paperback

Now updated with new research - the book that has changed millions of livesAfter decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this brilliant book, she shows how success in school,...
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THE INFINITE GAME

Simon Sinek
Format: Book

No holdings.
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What It Is Like to Go to War

Karl Marlantes - Atlantic Monthly Press
Format: Print book

From the author of the award-winning, best-selling novel Matterhorn, comes a brilliant nonfiction book about warIn 1968, at the age of twenty-three, Karl Marlantes was dropped into the highland jungle of Vietnam, an inexperienced lieutenant in command of a platoon of forty Marines...
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Capabilities
Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War

Paul Scharre - W. W. Norton & Company
Format: Paperback

"A tour de force of the future of war technology. ... A highly readable journey through the world of robots on the battlefield and beyond." -- P.W. Singer, author of Wired for War and Ghost FleetThe era of autonomous weapons has arrived. Today around the globe, at least thirty...
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BASICS

Tom Taulli
Format: Book

No holdings.
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Burn-In: A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution

P. W. Singer - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Format: Hardcover

An FBI agent teams up with the first police robot to hunt a shadowy terrorist in this gripping technothriller - and fact-based tour of tomorrow - from the authors of Ghost Fleet America is on the brink of a revolution. AI and robotics have realized science fiction's dreams, but have...
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The Future of War: A History

Lawrence Freedman - PublicAffairs
Format: Hardcover

Questions about the future of war are a regular feature of political debate, strategic analysis, and popular fiction. Where should we look for new dangers? What cunning plans might an aggressor have in mind? What are the best forms of defense? How might peace be preserved or conflict resolved?From...
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The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century

George Friedman - Doubleday
Format: Print book

"Conventional analysis suffers from a profound failure of imagination. It imagines passing clouds to be permanent and is blind to powerful, long-term shifts taking place in full view of the world." - George Friedman In his long-awaited and provocative new book, George Friedman...
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HUMAN COMPATIBLE: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control

Stuart Russell
Format: Book

No holdings.
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The Fifth Domain: Defending Our Country, Our Companies, and Ourselves in the Age of Cyber Threats

Richard A. Clarke - Penguin Books
Format: Paperback

There is much to fear in the dark corners of cyberspace: we have entered an age in which online threats carry real-world consequences. But we do not have to let autocrats and criminals run amok in the digital realm. We now know a great deal about how to make cyberspace far less dangerous--and...
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The New Rules of War: Victory in the Age of Durable Disorder

- William Morrow
Format: Hardcover

"Stunning. Sean McFate is a new Sun Tzu." -Admiral James Stavridis (retired) , former Supreme Allied Commander at NATOAn urgent, fascinating exploration of warfare - past, present and future - and what we must do if we want to win today from an 82nd Airborne veteran, former...
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The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age

DAVID E SANGER - Crown
Format: Hardcover

The Perfect Weapon is the startling inside story of how the rise of cyberweapons transformed geopolitics like nothing since the invention of the atomic bomb. Cheap to acquire, easy to deny, and usable for a variety of malicious purposes, cyber is now the weapon of choice for democracies,...
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Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins

Garry Kasparov - PublicAffairs
Format: Print book

In May 1997, the world watched as Garry Kasparov, the greatest chess player in the world, was defeated for the first time by the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue. It was a watershed moment in the history of technology: machine intelligence had arrived at the point where it could best human intellect....
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Genius Weapons: Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Weaponry, and the Future of Warfare

Louis A. Del Monte - Prometheus Books
Format: Paperback

A technology expert describes the ever-increasing role of artificial intelligence in weapons development, the ethical dilemmas these weapons pose, and the potential threat to humanity.Artificial intelligence is playing an ever-increasing role in military weapon systems. Going beyond the bomb-carrying...
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No Ordinary Disruption : The Four Global Forces Breaking All the Trends

Dobbs, Richard
Format: Book

Offers an analysis of four forces that are transforming the global economy, including the rise of emerging markets, accelerating technological change, an aging world population, and increased global flows of trade, people, and capital.
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The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future

Kevin Kelly - Penguin Books
Format: Paperback

A New York Times BestsellerFrom one of our leading technology thinkers and writers, a guide through the twelve technological imperatives that will shape the next thirty years and transform our livesMuch of what will happen in the next thirty years is inevitable, driven by technological...
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Capacity 2021

Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown

Eric Blehm - ‎WaterBrook; 1st edition
Format: Hardcover

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *  ECPA BESTSELLER, GOLD AWARD - Over 500,000 copies sold! Fearless takes...

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One Nation Under Drones: Legality, Morality, and Utility of Unmanned Combat Systems

John E. Jackson - Naval Institute Press
Format: Book

No holdings.  One Nation Under Drones is an interesting and informative review of how robotic and unmanned systems are impacting every aspect of American life, from how we fight our wars to how we play to how we grow our food. Edited by John Jackson, this highly readable book...
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The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945

James Hornfischer - Bantam Books
Format: Print book

The extraordinary story of the World War II air, land, and sea campaign that brought the U. S. Navy to the apex of its strength and marked the rise of the United States as a global superpower One of America s preeminent military historians, James D. Hornfischer has written his most expansive...
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The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour

James D Hornfischer - Bantam Books
Format: Print book

"This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."With these words, Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland addressed the crew of the destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts on the morning of October 25, 1944,...
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Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat, 3rd ed.

Hughes, Wayne P., Jr - Naval Institute Press
Format: Book

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Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations

Michael Walzer - Basic Books
Format: Print book

Just and Unjust Wars forever changed the way we think about the ethics of conflict. First published in 1977 and now brought up to the present with a new preface and postscript, this classic work by political philosopher Michael Walzer examines the moral issues that arise before, during,...
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Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World's Oceans

JIM STAVRIDIS - Penguin Press
Format: Hardcover

From one of the most admired admirals of his generation - and the only admiral to serve as Supreme Allied Commander at NATO - comes a remarkable voyage through all of the world's most important bodies of water, providing the story of naval power as a driver of human history and a crucial...
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Toward a New Maritime Strategy: American Naval Thinking in the Post-cold War Era

Haynes, Peter D. - Naval Institute Press
Format: Book

No holdings.
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Our Robots, Ourselves: Robotics and the Myths of Autonomy

David A Mindell - Viking
Format: Print book

"[An] essential book ... it is required reading as we seriously engage one of the most important debates of our time." - Sherry Turkle, author of Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital AgeFrom drones to Mars rovers - an exploration of the most innovative...
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The End of Grand Strategy: US Maritime Operations in the Twenty-First Century

Reich, Simon/ Dombrowski, Peter - Cornell University Press
Format: Book

No holdings. In The End of Grand Strategy, Simon Reich and Peter Dombrowski challenge the common view of grand strategy as unitary. They eschew prescription of any one specific approach, chosen from a spectrum that stretches from global primacy to restraint and isolationism, in favor...
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The Future of Violence: Robots and Germs, Hackers and Drones—Confronting A New Age of Threat

Benjamin Wittes - Basic Books
Format: Hardcover

From drone warfare in the Middle East to digital spying by the National Security Agency, the U.S. government has harnessed the power of cutting-edge technology to awesome effect. But what happens when ordinary people have the same tools at their fingertips? Advances in cybertechnology,...
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The Second Most Powerful Man in the World: The Life of Admiral William D. Leahy, Roosevelt's Chief of Staff

Phillips Payson O'Brien - Dutton
Format: Hardcover

The life of Franklin Roosevelt's most trusted and powerful advisor, Admiral William D. Leahy, Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-ChiefAside from FDR, no American did more to shape World War II than Admiral William D. Leahy--not Douglas MacArthur, not Dwight Eisenhower, and not even the legendary...
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Sailors 2021

Ego Is the Enemy

Ryan Holiday - Portfolio Penguin
Format: Print book

"While the history books are filled with tales of obsessive visionary geniuses who remade the world in their image with sheer, almost irrational force, I've found that history is also made by individuals who fought their egos at every turn, who eschewed the spotlight, and who put their...
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How to Be an Antiracist

Ibram X. Kendi - One World
Format: Hardcover

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning comes a "groundbreaking" (Time) approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society...
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The Dichotomy of Leadership: Balancing the Challenges of Extreme Ownership to Lead and Win

JOCKO WILLINK - St. Martin's Press
Format: Hardcover

THE INSTANT #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLERFrom the #1 New York Times bestselling authors of Extreme Ownership comes a new and revolutionary approach to help leaders recognize and attain the leadership balance crucial to victory. With their first book, Extreme Ownership (published...
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Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything

BJ Fogg Ph.D - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Format: Hardcover

The world's leading expert on habit formation shows how you can have a happier, healthier life: by starting small. Myth: Change is hard. Reality: Change can be easy if you know the simple steps of Behavior Design. Myth: It's all about willpower. Reality: Willpower...
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We Can't Talk about That at Work!: How to Talk about Race, Religion, Politics, and Other Polarizing Topics

Mary-Frances Winters - Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Format: Paperback

We Need to Talk!Conversations about taboo topics happen at work every day. And if they aren't handled effectively, they can become polarizing and divisive, impacting productivity, engagement, retention, teamwork, and even employees' sense of safety in the workplace. In this concise...
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A Tactical Ethic: Moral Conduct in the Insurgent Battlespace

Couch, Dick - Naval Institute Press
Format: Book

No holdings. Following the success of his recent book on Navy SEALs in Iraq, The Sheriff of Ramadi, bestselling author and combat veteran Dick Couch now examines the importance of battlefield ethics in effectively combating terrorists without losing the battle for the hearts of the local...
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Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward

GEMMA HARTLEY - HarperOne
Format: Hardcover

A rousing call to arms, packed with surprising insights, that explores how carrying "the mental load" - the thankless day-to-day anticipating of needs and solving of problems large and small - is adversely affecting women's lives and feeding gender inequality, and shows the way forward...
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Military Ethics: What Everyone Needs to Know

George R Lucas - Oxford University Press
Format: Print book

What significance does "ethics" have for the men and women serving in the military forces of nations around the world? What core values and moral principles collectively guide the members of this "military profession?" This book explains these essential moral foundations,...
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Sexual Minorities and Politics: An Introduction

Jason Pierceson - Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
Format: Print book

The political representation and involvement of sexual minorities in the United States has been highly contested and fiercely debated. As recent legislative and judicial victories create inroads towards equality for this growing population, members and advocates of these minorities navigate...
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Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

Simon Sinek
Format: Book

The inspiring, life-changing bestseller by the author of LEADERS EAT LAST and TOGETHER IS BETTER.

In 2009, Simon Sinek started a movement to help people become more inspired at work, and in turn inspire their colleagues and customers. Since then, millions have been touched...
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The Character Gap : How Good Are We?

Miller, Christian - Oxford University Press
Format: Book

No holdings. We like to think of ourselves, our friends, and our families as decent people. We may not be saints, but we are still honest, relatively kind, and mostly trustworthy. Miller argues here that we are badly mistaken in thinking this. Hundreds of recent studies in psychology tell...
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Fortune Favors Boldness: The Story of Naval Valor During Operation Iraqi Freedom

Barry M Costello - Fortis
Format: Book

Documents the incredible professionalism of the Sailors and Marines who operated in harm's way in the dangerous waters of the Northern Arabian Gulf, on the ground in Iraq and in the air over the country in 2003. It tells a story of epic events and bravery from the perspective of retired...

Read More check catalog
 
 
No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement

Joseph P. Shapiro - Crown
Format: Paperback

People with disabilities forging the newest and last human rights movement of the century.
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The Road to Character

David Brooks - Random House
Format: Print book

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST * "I wrote this book not sure I could follow the road to character, but I wanted at least to know what the road looks like and how other people have trodden it." - David Brooks With the wisdom,...
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The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone--Especially Ourselves

Dan Ariely - Harper
Format: Paperback

Dan Ariely, behavioral economist and the New York Times bestselling author of The Upside of Irrationality and Predictably Irrational, examines the contradictory forces that drive us to cheat and keep us honest, in this groundbreaking look at the way we behave: The (Honest) Truth About...
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The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

Michelle Alexander - The New Press
Format: Hardcover

A tenth-anniversary edition of the iconic bestseller - "one of the most influential books of the past decade," according to the Chronicle of Higher Education - with a new preface by the author Seldom does a book have the impact of Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow.Since...
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