The best books to help you make the world a better place

Why am I passionate about this?

When I lost a baby late in my pregnancy, I was overwhelmed by grief. And then I learned that tens of thousands of babies died every day from preventable causes. I couldn’t save my own baby, but I wanted to know how to help others. I joined the board of World Vision and then other groups, including Opportunity International, MAP International, and International Justice Mission. I took numerous trips to developing countries and eventually headed a foundation dedicated to maternal health. I listened to the stories of women and tried to tell them to the world through a variety of international publications. I'm forever grateful to those who changed the way I see the world.


I wrote...

Strong Girls, Strong World: A Practical Guide to Helping Them Soar--and Creating a Better Future for Us All

By Dale Hanson Bourke,

Book cover of Strong Girls, Strong World: A Practical Guide to Helping Them Soar--and Creating a Better Future for Us All

What is my book about?

Girls face enormous challenges around the world, but there are tangible ways we can all make a difference. This very practical book offers dozens of ways to invest in girls by taking simple steps individually or in a group. Everyone can bring about change by investing even a few minutes.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World

Dale Hanson Bourke Why did I love this book?

Jacqueline Novogratz was a successful young woman with a promising career in banking who wanted to truly understand global poverty and find ways to tackle it.

This book tells not only the remarkable story of a favorite hand-knit blue sweater she donated in Virginia and saw again in Rwanda, but her own sometimes fumbling ways to connect her experiences to women living in poverty.

I love this book for its honesty and how the author shares her own mistakes as well as understandings.

By Jacqueline Novogratz,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Blue Sweater as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A book of hope written by a practical idealist who won’t take ‘no’ for an answer when it comes to building a better world.”—Former U.S. senator Bill Bradley
 
Jacqueline Novogratz left a career in international banking to spend her life on a quest to understand global poverty and find powerful new ways of tackling it. From her first stumbling efforts as a young idealist venturing forth in Africa to the creation of the trailblazing organization she runs today, Novogratz tells gripping stories with unforgettable characters. She shows how traditional charity often fails, but how a…


Book cover of The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change

Dale Hanson Bourke Why did I love this book?

When Adam Braun asked a young boy begging on the streets of India what he wanted most in the world, he said, “A pencil.”

That simple request changed the path of the author from a career on Wall Street to a grassroots effort to build schools in some of the poorest places on earth. This very practical and inspirational book shows how anyone can help change the world. It’s especially good for young people who want to find meaning in their careers.

By Adam Braun,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Promise of a Pencil as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Adam Braun began working summers at hedge funds when he was just sixteen years old, sprinting down the path to a successful Wall Street career. But while traveling as a college student, he met a young boy begging on the streets of India who would change his life. When Braun asked the boy what he wanted most in the world, he simply answered, "a pencil."

This small request became the inspiration for the organisation Braun would one day start, taking him on a journey through more than fifty countries and into the heart of self-discovery. His unique "for-purpose" approach reversed…


Book cover of A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity

Dale Hanson Bourke Why did I love this book?

The award-winning journalists team tells dozens of inspiring stories of individuals who have created organizations, implemented simple solutions, stopped destruction, and made a difference through often simple interventions.

The stories are inspiring but so are the very practical descriptions of what you can do and the organizations offering resources. I keep this book on my shelf as a regular resource.

By Nicholas Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Path Appears as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An exploration of how altruism affects us, what are the markers for success, and how to avoid the pitfalls—with scrupulous research and on-the-ground reporting from the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists and bestselling authors of Half a Sky and Tightrope

Kristof and WuDunn will inspire you to "change lives for the better, including your own (The New York Times Book Review). 

In their recounting of astonishing stories from the front lines of social progress, we see the compelling, inspiring truth of how real people have changed the world, underscoring that one person can make a difference.
 
A Path Appears offers practical, results-driven…


Book cover of Impact: A Step-by-Step Plan to Create the World You Want to Live In

Dale Hanson Bourke Why did I love this book?

Whenever anyone tells me they want to change the world but don’t know where to start, I recommend this book.

It’s a step-by-step plan to help find your calling and then focus on the difference you want to make. With very helpful questions and guided exercises, it helps you understand the essentials of your goal and then create a truly actionable plan for moving forward.

The authors include their own experiences and offer very helpful cautions as well.

By Christen Brandt, Tammy Tibbetts,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Impact as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When you feel that pull to be part of social change, where do you start? How can you ensure that your good intentions create a positive impact? How do you focus your scattered efforts? And how do you sustain yourself throughout?

Impact brings you the answers. Drawing on their network and experience as founders of She's the First, Christen Brandt and Tammy Tibbetts show you how to create your own impact strategy, one that fits into your life and allows you to match what you have with what the world needs.

Their guidance, paired with interactive activities, will lead you…


Book cover of Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade--and How We Can Fight It

Dale Hanson Bourke Why did I love this book?

Human trafficking is a difficult subject to write about, yet the author makes the topic approachable and manages to offer both inspiration and hope in this book about the heroes fighting trafficking at the grassroots.

Whenever someone tells me it would be “too upsetting” to learn about trafficking, I urge them to read this book.

By David Batstone,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Not for Sale as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Award-winning journalist David Batstone reveals the story of a new generation of 21st century abolitionists and their heroic campaign to put an end to human bondage. In his accessible and inspiring book "Not for Sale", Batstone carefully weaves the narratives of activists and those in bondage in a way that not only raises awareness of the modern-day slave trade, but also serves as a call to action. 2007 brought the 200th anniversary of the climax of the 19th century abolitionist movement, and inspired the world to pay tribute to great visionary figures such as William Wilberforce of the United Kingdom…


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Book cover of The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

Michael Bungay Stanier Author Of The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Coaching is a wonderful technology that can help people be a force for change… and is often wrapped up in mystic and woo-woo and privilege that makes it inaccessible and/or unattractive to too many. I want being more coach-like—by which I mean staying curious a little longer, and rushing to action and advice-giving—to be an everyday way of being with one another. Driven by this, I’ve written the best-selling book on coaching this century (The Coaching Habit) and have created training that’s been used around the world by more than a quarter of a million people. I’m on a mission to unweird coaching.

Michael's book list on unexpectedly useful books about coaching

What is my book about?

The coaching book that's for all of us, not just coaches.

It's the best-selling book on coaching this century, with 15k+ online reviews. Brené Brown calls it "a classic". Dan Pink said it was "essential".

It is practical, funny, and short, and "unweirds" coaching. Whether you're a parent, a teacher, a leader, or even a coach, you can stay curious longer.

By Michael Bungay Stanier,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Coaching Habit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Look for Michael's new book, The Advice Trap, which focuses on taming your Advice Monster so you can stay curious a little longer and change the way you lead forever.

In Michael Bungay Stanier's The Coaching Habit, coaching becomes a regular, informal part of your day so managers and their teams can work less hard and have more impact.

Drawing on years of experience training more than 10,000 busy managers from around the globe in practical, everyday coaching skills, Bungay Stanier reveals how to unlock your peoples' potential. He unpacks seven essential coaching questions to demonstrate how-by saying less and…


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Interested in poverty, change, and nonprofits?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about poverty, change, and nonprofits.

Poverty Explore 93 books about poverty
Change Explore 39 books about change
Nonprofits Explore 21 books about nonprofits