75 books like Innovators Who Changed the World

By James R. Webb,

Here are 75 books that Innovators Who Changed the World fans have personally recommended if you like Innovators Who Changed the World. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change

Nicolas A. Valcik Author Of Strategic Planning and Decision-Making for Public and Non-Profit Organizations

From my list on showing leadership through someone's own story.

Why am I passionate about this?

Leadership is always the key to success in strategic planning for any organization. Great leaders can drive their organizations to success, while poor leadership can crater the organization and take generations for it to rebuild. A good leader is essential in the aspect of providing good morale for the employees of the organization. Good leadership factors cause the organization to be seen as cutting edge and as an organization that others want to go work for in an effort to be better themselves. An organization with a superior strategic planning process, will have great leaders and employees to not only formulate the plan, but also execute the plan successfully.  

Nicolas' book list on showing leadership through someone's own story

Nicolas A. Valcik Why did Nicolas love this book?

This book is great for leaders who are coming into a new situation, or are currently in an evolving work environment. Any environment is going to have change, and leaders have to recognize and adapt when change occurs.

To be successful, a leader needs to ensure that the operations of their area can adapt and deliver to their clients. William Bridges' book is geared to assist managers and leaders with those changes and assists them with the key issues to be mindful of during a transition. This book is one that every manager and leader should have on their bookshelf.

By William Bridges, Susan Bridges,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Managing Transitions as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The business world is constantly transforming. When restructures, mergers, bankruptcies, and layoffs hit the workplace, employees and managers naturally find the resulting situational shifts to be challenging. But the psychological transitions that accompany them are even more stressful. Organizational transitions affect people it is always people, rather than a company, who have to embrace a new situation and carry out the corresponding change.As veteran business consultant William Bridges explains, transition is successful when employees have a purpose, a plan, and a part to play. This indispensable guide is now updated to reflect the challenges of today's ever-changing, always-on, and globally…


Book cover of Leadership Secrets of Rogue Warrior: A Commando's Guide to Success

Nicolas A. Valcik Author Of Strategic Planning and Decision-Making for Public and Non-Profit Organizations

From my list on showing leadership through someone's own story.

Why am I passionate about this?

Leadership is always the key to success in strategic planning for any organization. Great leaders can drive their organizations to success, while poor leadership can crater the organization and take generations for it to rebuild. A good leader is essential in the aspect of providing good morale for the employees of the organization. Good leadership factors cause the organization to be seen as cutting edge and as an organization that others want to go work for in an effort to be better themselves. An organization with a superior strategic planning process, will have great leaders and employees to not only formulate the plan, but also execute the plan successfully.  

Nicolas' book list on showing leadership through someone's own story

Nicolas A. Valcik Why did Nicolas love this book?

History is full of military men and commanders who have had to possess leadership qualities and decision-making abilities to be successful in the field and in life.

This book has a number of great qualities described throughout the book that public managers should take note of in order to be successful. I love the 10 commandments format for the book. The case studies throughout the book for both warfare and business are very insightful, and I feel beneficial for leaders to understand how the principles described are applied in real-life situations. 

By Richard Marcinko,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Leadership Secrets of Rogue Warrior as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Richard Marcinko's explosive #1 New York Times bestselling autobiography, Rogue Warrior, chronicled the wild, death-defying adventures of his thirty controversial years as a Navy commando and creator of the legendary SEAL TEAM SIX. Three blockbuster Rogue Warrior novels transformed classified information he could never reveal in nonfiction into blistering tales of international warfare and counterterrorism. Now, writing in the tradition of A Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, Japan's greatest samurai, Marcinko blasts other self-help guides out of the water. In LEADERSHIP SECRETS OF THE ROGUE WARRIOR, he shows how anyone can apply the skills he has honed throughout…


Book cover of Push: Breaking through the Barriers

Nicolas A. Valcik Author Of Strategic Planning and Decision-Making for Public and Non-Profit Organizations

From my list on showing leadership through someone's own story.

Why am I passionate about this?

Leadership is always the key to success in strategic planning for any organization. Great leaders can drive their organizations to success, while poor leadership can crater the organization and take generations for it to rebuild. A good leader is essential in the aspect of providing good morale for the employees of the organization. Good leadership factors cause the organization to be seen as cutting edge and as an organization that others want to go work for in an effort to be better themselves. An organization with a superior strategic planning process, will have great leaders and employees to not only formulate the plan, but also execute the plan successfully.  

Nicolas' book list on showing leadership through someone's own story

Nicolas A. Valcik Why did Nicolas love this book?

There are all types of different leaders throughout life. Some in large organizations and some in small groups.

A leader in my mind is one who motivates his or her colleagues to accomplish great feats either in the workplace or in life. In his book Push, Johnny Quinn reminds us all what it takes to be a leader, not just in sports, but in life itself.

Facing adversity is what life is all about, and Push made me feel great and motivated by how one person overcame adversity to achieve a series of goals, even if they were not in Quinn’s linear path of what he thought he was going to achieve. This is how real leaders operate, they have a great work ethic and a high degree of integrity to achieve great things. 

By Johnny Quinn,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

JOHNNY QUINN shares his “wild dream” of playing in the NFL, being crushed after getting cut three times, losing 2.6 million dollars in contracts and blowing out his knee. At age 30, when most professional athletes are considered “over the hill,” Johnny was competing for Team USA in the sport of bobsled at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

This book ushers readers through the valleys of life to the thrills of rocketing down icy mountains at 80+ mph with no seat belt. Discover how the author overcame failure on the road to achieving greatness.

From an NFL failure…


Book cover of The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell

Nicolas A. Valcik Author Of Strategic Planning and Decision-Making for Public and Non-Profit Organizations

From my list on showing leadership through someone's own story.

Why am I passionate about this?

Leadership is always the key to success in strategic planning for any organization. Great leaders can drive their organizations to success, while poor leadership can crater the organization and take generations for it to rebuild. A good leader is essential in the aspect of providing good morale for the employees of the organization. Good leadership factors cause the organization to be seen as cutting edge and as an organization that others want to go work for in an effort to be better themselves. An organization with a superior strategic planning process, will have great leaders and employees to not only formulate the plan, but also execute the plan successfully.  

Nicolas' book list on showing leadership through someone's own story

Nicolas A. Valcik Why did Nicolas love this book?

Harari’s book is both insightful and inspirational for leaders in public service.

As were many commanders during that era, Powell was a Vietnam Veteran and learned much from the public policy debacle where he served valiantly. This helped him formulate the Powell Doctrine which provided strategic framework for the military operating in an American Foreign Policy environment.

Strategic planning was key in how Colin Powell dealt successfully with a very complex military operation (e.g. Desert Storm) by having overwhelming force as well as stakeholder support. The book discusses the different aspects of leadership as seen through Powell’s eyes, which is very insightful on what his vision of what characteristics a leader should possess.  

By Oren Harari,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is the "New York Times", "Business Week", "Wall Street Journal" and "USA Today Bestseller" - Now in Paperback! "The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell" goes beyond other books to take an honest look into the foundations of Colin Powell's compelling leadership style. Sparked with insights and observations that are as refreshingly honest as they are grittily realistic, it provides a blueprint for inspiring anyone - including yourself - to achieve extraordinary levels of performance.Praise for "The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell" include: "Management professor Oren Harari adopts Colin Powell's rise into the upper ranks of American power as a…


Book cover of A Tempest at Sea

Bob Burnett Author Of Death is Potential: A Kate Swift Mystery

From my list on mysteries featuring steamy romance.

Why am I passionate about this?

At one time, it was commonplace for male mystery writers to devote a substantial amount of plot to romance; for example, Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White or Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon. In recent years, this tradition has eroded to the point where romantic mysteries are primarily written by women. I think romance spices up mysteries. In Death is Potential, Kate Swift is more invested in solving the murder mystery because she is protecting her lover.

Bob's book list on mysteries featuring steamy romance

Bob Burnett Why did Bob love this book?

I love this series because I treasure the original Sherlock Holmes books.

Sherry Thomas reinvents Holmes as a smart and passionate young woman. Down on her luck, Charlotte Holmes sets up a detective consulting business using her imaginary brother, Sherlock. She fools everyone except her longtime friend, Lord Ingram.

After a period of tortured adjustment, Charlotte and Ingram become lovers. Sadly, they cannot spend much time together, because they are pursued by the evil Moriarity.

By Sherry Thomas,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Charlotte Holmes's life is in peril when her brilliant deductive skills are put to the test in her most dangerous investigation yet, locked aboard a ship at sea.

After feigning her own death in Cornwall to escape from Moriarty’s perilous attention, Charlotte Holmes goes into hiding. But then she receives a tempting offer: Find a dossier the crown is desperately seeking, and she might be able to go back to a normal life.
 
Her search leads her aboard the RMS Provence. But on the night Charlotte makes her move to retrieve the dossier, in the midst of a terrifying storm…


Book cover of Mary Finch and the Thief

Feather Chelle Author Of Stranded

From my list on children's series that are undercover educators.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been in love with the ocean, since I first visited Galveston at the age of five. The cadence of the waves and tide called to me in a way that is hard to explain, and every creature within simply mesmerized me. I read everything about the ocean that I could find, and I haven’t stopped to this day. My book is fact-checked by two marine biologists as well, just to ensure that all of the information is accurate.

Feather's book list on children's series that are undercover educators

Feather Chelle Why did Feather love this book?

This is an enthralling new mystery series for middle grades and older readers. The main character is reminiscent of a young, female Sherlock Holmes, and she has lots of fun, if dangerous, adventures. My kids love the action, and I love that they teach a lot about history. These books have sparked a lot of conversation about the class system, in particular, which I believe is a very important topic.

By S S Saywack,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mary Finch and the Thief as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Meet thirteen-year-old Mary Finch – a bold, determined heroine, and the star of a stylish new detective series. Perfect for fans of classic crime fiction.

Mary Finch and the Thief is the first in the Mary Finch Mystery series. It is 1893 and Mary Finch finds herself on the gritty and violent streets of Victorian London trying to clear her name.

When wrongfully accused of theft, Mary Finch is determined to track down the thief and prove her innocence. Her journey takes her from Baker Street, where her friends, the famous detective Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, live, to the…


Book cover of The Hound of the Baskervilles

Hugh Greene Author Of Murder and Malice

From my list on puzzling murder mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an academic who has written medical textbooks and medical research papers, but I also have an enduring passion for murder mysteries. As Hugh Greene I have written the bestselling Dr. Power mystery series which follows forensic psychiatrist Dr. Power and Detective Lynch solving murders and exploring the minds that executed these crimes.

Hugh's book list on puzzling murder mysteries

Hugh Greene Why did Hugh love this book?

I love the supernatural element to this much-loved murder mystery.

This mystery pushes against the constraints of Knox’s Ten Commandments for detective fiction by involving the supernatural, but the Commandments are never wholly transgressed. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle drew on the folklore of Devon where the book is set.

He drew on the legend of the cursed squire of Buckfastleigh and a hellhound, a variant of the local Yeth hound, a spectral black dog. The folklore infuses the mystery with a ghostly and altogether wonderful hinterland. Dartmoor becomes a liminal space where the living and the dead are mingled. Conan Doyle used this otherworldly backstory to return his classic detective Sherlock Holmes to the living.

Conan Doyle’s many readers had recently mourned the death of Holmes in The Final Problem. Conan Doyle chooses to set this novel in 1899, preceding events in The Final Problem. The Hound of the Baskervilles…

By Arthur Conan Doyle,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Hound of the Baskervilles as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead, his face distorted with shock and horror, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are faced with a sinister and difficult puzzle. A fearsome creature stalks the wild and barren hills of Dartmoor. Is it a demon from the spirit world? Will it defeat their skill and courage? Who is the tall, mysterious figure seen lurking on the moor at night? Can Holmes save Sir Henry, the new owner of Baskerville Hall, from the ancient family curse? Or will the terrifying hound claim yet another victim?


Book cover of The Tower Treasure

Jonathan Thomas Stratman Author Of Cheechako

From my list on making me feel like I’m someone else somewhere else.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was invited to travel to Africa and the Mid East on a job and I started to say, “I’m not that kind of guy.” Then I realized I am. I‘d already traveled around the world and even off it, reading. I’ve been happy and sad in books, victorious, scared, in love, survived storms and fierce wars, mourned valiant friends, and even space traveled. Books add dimension to life. What is dimension? Simply more. Like frosting on cake, hot sauce on fries, ice cubes in soda... fudge sauce on ice cream...  I read daily, get great ideas and feelings from books, still make new friends asking, “Have you read this?” Well, have you?

Jonathan's book list on making me feel like I’m someone else somewhere else

Jonathan Thomas Stratman Why did Jonathan love this book?

Okay, I’ll just say it: I’m a sucker for mysteries. Probably one of the reasons I write my own. But here’s the thing. Before I could drive, Frank and Joe could... cars, motorcycles, motorboats, and they put me behind the wheel. They turned me into a short-wave and citizen’s band radio nut, for a while, and first introduced me to girls who could be adventure buddies, when I couldn’t even talk to one. Truth: I’ve read about fifty of them, Nancy Drew, too. They do begin to repeat. But the first ten felt like a fresh, new adventure. As my other favorite, Sherlock Holmes might have said: “Come Watson, Frank, and Joe, make all haste, the game is afoot.” And I am right behind them. 

By Franklin W. Dixon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Tower Treasure as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

A dying criminal confesses that his loot has been stored "in the tower." Both towers of the looted mansion are searched in vain. It remains for the Hardy boys to make an astonishing discovery that clears up the mystery and clears the name of a friend’s father.


Book cover of The Beekeeper's Apprentice

Bruce Stachenfeld Author Of Faythe of North Hinkapee: The Saga of a Young Woman’s Quest for Justice and Love in Colonial America

From my list on irrepressible, exciting and heroic female lead characters that you will never forget.

Why am I passionate about this?

I made up Faythe of North Hinkapee by being a jerk! I was ranting about how bad a "best seller" book I had read was. My wife looked at me and said, "So, could you write a bestseller?" I was challenged, and then, somehow, this book just tumbled out. It was about a girl in Colonial Timesher family burned as witchesvowing vengeance and how she gets it. My wife looked at me and said: “My God, that could be a bestseller!’ My kids also loved the story. For about twenty years, I planned to write it, and after a ton of work, I finally finished.

Bruce's book list on irrepressible, exciting and heroic female lead characters that you will never forget

Bruce Stachenfeld Why did Bruce love this book?

I was hooked in the first chapter when the protagonist, Mary Russell, meets Sherlock Holmes, who is retired. There – do I have to say more?

She is a young woman and Sherlock is, well, Sherlock, and yet she matches wits with him while they end up in the middle of a creative and a bit scary Sherlock Holmes-ish tale. I couldn’t wait to get and read the sequels.

By Laurie R. King,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Beekeeper's Apprentice as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees when a young woman literally stumbles into him on the Sussex Downs. Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes--and match him wit for wit. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern twentieth-century woman proves a deft protegee and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective. But even in their first case together, the pair face a truly cunning adversary who will stop at nothing to put an end to their partnership.


Book cover of Mycroft and Sherlock: The Empty Birdcage

Naching T. Kassa Author Of Sherlock Holmes and the Arcana of Madness: A Horror Mystery

From my list on extraordinary Sherlock Holmes stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a lifelong Sherlockian, I have always enjoyed writing and reading about Sherlock Holmes. My favorite pastiches are the ones that are most faithful to the characters of Holmes and Watson, even if the story borders on the fantastic. I adore Sherlock Holmes and am a member of the Sound of the Baskervilles, The Sherlock Holmes Society of London, The Crew of the Barque Lone Star, The Beacon Society, The ACD Society, and The John H. Watson Society. I’ve written over 20 published stories about the Great Detective and plan to write many more.

Naching's book list on extraordinary Sherlock Holmes stories

Naching T. Kassa Why did Naching love this book?

You may know Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for his basketball prowess, but did you know he was also an author and admirer of Sherlock Holmes? Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse have created a very entertaining series starring Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes.

In this second book, the Holmes brothers must solve a mystery involving opium and Mycroft’s best friend, Cyrus Douglas. I really enjoyed the backstory presented for both Mycroft and Sherlock, though I have to say that Sherlock was very annoying.

By Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Anna Waterhouse,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The new novel by NBA All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, starring brothers Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes. It is 1873, and as the economies of Europe threaten to crumble, Mycroft Holmes finds himself in service to the Crown once again. A distant relative of Queen Victoria has been slain by the Fire Four Eleven killer, a serial murderer who leaves no mark upon his victims, only a mysterious calling card. Meanwhile, Sherlock has already taken it upon himself to solve the case, as his interest in the criminal mind grows into an obsession.

Mycroft begrudgingly allows Sherlock to investigate, as Ai Lin--the woman…


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