87 books like Rage

I love any book that gives me insight into the mind, and this book taught me so much about the tricks of how our minds tackle big and everyday decisions; I recommend it to people on the street.

Kahneman was the first and probably only psychologist to win a Nobel Prize in economics, and it was for this book.

I really love this book because it’s a pure case study of why things often go wrong at the street level.

While it’s set in the mid-60s, a lot of the social and political themes are still relevant, so it begs the question of how much government has changed in the last half-century.

I really like that the authors explore this case without being too heavy-handed in why things went wrong; they just try to tell the story and work through it along with the reader. And you got to love that title!

The thing I love about this book is that it illustrates how difficult the jobs of street-level bureaucrats (i.e., public servants working directly with the public at the street level) are.

Being a cop, teacher, social worker, etc. is a lot more complex than what it looks like from the outside because it’s not just about helping citizens; it’s also about navigating all the rules and policies that govern how public services are delivered.

It’s impossible to read this book and not walk away with a respect for how hard those jobs are.

I like that this book makes Winston Churchill’s powerful oratory style and poetic words easily accessible. Churchill was a master at speaking in a way that ignited the passion of others and focused them on common goals.

To be able to see and study those words really provides insights into how to shape the way others think about the world. It also opens the door to many historical issues that often get buried in some of the grander narratives about Churchill’s time.

Leadership and decision-making philosophy straight from the battlefield.

Jim Mattis has a wealth of experience spanning multiple wars. What’s unique about this book is that the reader learns lessons from every echelon of leadership—from a new recruit to a 4-star general.

I enjoyed listening to Mattis’ first-hand experiences, both his successes and failures. He also has distilled his lessons into an actionable format.

It’s a highly insightful book that’s worth your time.

Ricks unpacks the educational origins of the "Founding Generation’s" ideological orientation in this highly readable volume.

The classical underpinnings of American representative democracy and its notions of public virtue in ancient Greece and Rome are examined very carefully. He makes a compelling case for classical rather than English or Enlightenment political influence as the determining factor in our political development. He also implies an unfavorable comparison with the present and the lack of virtue he sees as evident in our public life. The book is a tonic for our political times.

One irritating element, however, is Ricks’s insistence on including the college class of each of the Founding Generation’s members beside their name, which, of course, excludes George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Not to mention Abraham Lincoln in the following century. This gives the book an elitist tint that no doubt would have alienated Zinn.

Vice Admiral Stosz’s extraordinary career as a US Coast Guard leader culminated in her being the first (and so far only) woman to head a major service academy. I came away from her memoir hugely inspired by her honesty and courage. I also loved her vivid descriptions of long stints on the icebreakers that ply Arctic and Antarctic waters in order to prepare the way for scientific teams, often as the only woman. Her grace and goodwill in those adventure-filled situations come shining through– and sea narratives by women are very rare.

Lark Chadwick is my kind of protagonist – gutsy, smart, and burdened with a past that won’t let go.

When the aunt who raised her dies, Chadwick refuses to believe that suicide was the cause. Digging into the circumstances surrounding one death she discovers the truth about the deaths of her parents who were killed in an accident that only she survived.

A fledgling journalist, Chadwick talks herself into a job with the local paper, a first step in the many adventures that follow her in an exciting series that takes her all the way to the White House. Author John DeDakis, a former veteran CNN journalist, infuses the award-winning series with real-life drama and authenticity.

When I heard Ginny Dent Brant interviewed about her books, I couldn’t wait to purchase them for myself. Finding True Freedom recounts Ginny’s uncertain days of watching her father’s passion for politics. (Lots of well-documented info about his and others’ involvement in Watergate.) But Harry Dent experienced a conversion and left politics for the mission field of Romania. I wouldn’t normally read a book about politics; however, I highly recommend Finding True Freedom as it was a page-turner for me and taught me that true freedom is not the easiest to find, especially in highly charged Washington politics.

To say moving to Panama was life-changing is an understatement. Only as an expat would I have met my medical mentor, a former White House physician. His boss was Dr. Mariano, and he recommended her book to give more of the backstory on caring for the world’s most demanding patient. Before Dr. Connie, White House care was almost informal. After President Clinton appointed her, she launched a massive care uplift to the world’s finest executive health program. So many facets of the White House Medical Unit’s procedures and thinking made even more sense when Dr. Robert Darling taught me about the thinking behind President Clinton’s care. Between these two physicians, I learned the correct answer to: How do you know you have outstanding care? (Hint: It’s not insurance.)