100 books like The Bully Pulpit

By Doris Kearns Goodwin,

Here are 100 books that The Bully Pulpit fans have personally recommended if you like The Bully Pulpit. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant

Louis Gump Author Of The Inside Innovator: A Practical Guide to Intrapreneurship

From my list on innovation within larger organizations.

Why am I passionate about this?

How many people have had a great idea and just needed to gain support within a large organization to move ahead? I have, over and over again, along with very accomplished teams. It’s often hard work to create something new. It requires both art and science. When people understand how it works, they elevate their craft and achieve more while lifting others up. Some of them even change the world. I’ve found great wisdom and amazing stories of courage and adventure from people who have already been there, done that, and written about their experiences. I hope these book recommendations broaden your perspective and inspire your imagination!

Louis' book list on innovation within larger organizations

Louis Gump Why did Louis love this book?

This book provides actionable guidance for those who want to identify and assess new strategic growth opportunities for their companies. I found it especially valuable since my research has highlighted how much groundbreaking intrapreneurial success depends on strong alignment with the broader organization’s strategy.

A basic premise is that red oceans are already filled with lots of competition, and blue oceans offer a broader range of motion to define new categories and establish a sustainable leadership position. Readers will find a powerful framework and tools for those who commit to world-class strategy as they assess where to focus- and how to do it.

This book is a valuable primary reference, especially for a deep dive into strategy as part of the overall intrapreneurial journey. 

By W. Chan Kim, Renée Mauborgne,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

OVER 4 MILLION COPIES SOLD
WALL STREET JOURNAL AND BUSINESSWEEK BESTSELLER
RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC AND IMPACTFUL STRATEGY BOOKS EVER WRITTEN

The global phenomenon that has sold over 4 million copies, is published in a record-breaking 46 languages and is a bestseller across five continents--now updated and expanded with new content. Named by Fast Company as one of the most influential leadership books in its Leadership Hall of Fame. A strategy classic.

In this perennial bestseller, embraced by organizations and industries worldwide, globally preeminent management thinkers W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne challenge everything you thought you…


Book cover of The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail

Louis Gump Author Of The Inside Innovator: A Practical Guide to Intrapreneurship

From my list on innovation within larger organizations.

Why am I passionate about this?

How many people have had a great idea and just needed to gain support within a large organization to move ahead? I have, over and over again, along with very accomplished teams. It’s often hard work to create something new. It requires both art and science. When people understand how it works, they elevate their craft and achieve more while lifting others up. Some of them even change the world. I’ve found great wisdom and amazing stories of courage and adventure from people who have already been there, done that, and written about their experiences. I hope these book recommendations broaden your perspective and inspire your imagination!

Louis' book list on innovation within larger organizations

Louis Gump Why did Louis love this book?

This is perhaps the best-known book on innovation inside large companies. When discussing technological change, people have mentioned it to me more than any other book—by a large margin! It includes examples from industries ranging from hard disks to excavators and even offers an earlier look at the prospects for electric vehicles.

It is especially interesting to see how past success can lead to complacency that hinders sustained growth and financial health. In the process, Christensen underscores how important it is for companies to continue innovating within—even when business is going well and even when acquisitions seem alluring and less difficult. This is a must-read because it establishes foundational knowledge on the importance of continued investment to sustain success.

By Clayton M. Christensen,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Innovator's Dilemma as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Named one of 100 Leadership & Success Books to Read in a Lifetime by Amazon Editors A Wall Street Journal and Businessweek bestseller. Named by Fast Company as one of the most influential leadership books in its Leadership Hall of Fame. An innovation classic. From Steve Jobs to Jeff Bezos, Clay Christensen's work continues to underpin today's most innovative leaders and organizations. The bestselling classic on disruptive innovation, by renowned author Clayton M. Christensen. His work is cited by the world's best-known thought leaders, from Steve Jobs to Malcolm Gladwell. In this classic bestseller--one of the most influential business books…


Book cover of Intrapreneuring: Why You Don't Have to Leave the Corporation to Become an Entrepreneur

Louis Gump Author Of The Inside Innovator: A Practical Guide to Intrapreneurship

From my list on innovation within larger organizations.

Why am I passionate about this?

How many people have had a great idea and just needed to gain support within a large organization to move ahead? I have, over and over again, along with very accomplished teams. It’s often hard work to create something new. It requires both art and science. When people understand how it works, they elevate their craft and achieve more while lifting others up. Some of them even change the world. I’ve found great wisdom and amazing stories of courage and adventure from people who have already been there, done that, and written about their experiences. I hope these book recommendations broaden your perspective and inspire your imagination!

Louis' book list on innovation within larger organizations

Louis Gump Why did Louis love this book?

This pioneering work shows how it is possible to innovate in a big company and introduces the term “intrapreneurship” to a broader audience. Pinchot describes intrapreneurs as “dreamers who do” and provides a wealth of specific hands-on guidance for an internal leader.

I love this book because it really ushered in a new era of thinking on the topic and laid the foundation for so many people to learn—and deliver—based on its findings. It highlights the importance of intrapreneurs and conveys a sense of possibility at the intersection of imagination and practical, tangible action.

It also includes specific stories about people and companies that remain relevant today. This book inspired me in my writing journey and conveys timeless ideas in powerful ways.

By Gifford Pinchot III,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Explains how innovative employees can obtain the resources--within the framework of their corporate jobs--to develop promising ideas to benefit both the company and the employee and details how to make the concept work, with examples of the experiences of major corporations


Book cover of The Weather Channel: The Improbable Rise of a Media Phenomenon

Louis Gump Author Of The Inside Innovator: A Practical Guide to Intrapreneurship

From my list on innovation within larger organizations.

Why am I passionate about this?

How many people have had a great idea and just needed to gain support within a large organization to move ahead? I have, over and over again, along with very accomplished teams. It’s often hard work to create something new. It requires both art and science. When people understand how it works, they elevate their craft and achieve more while lifting others up. Some of them even change the world. I’ve found great wisdom and amazing stories of courage and adventure from people who have already been there, done that, and written about their experiences. I hope these book recommendations broaden your perspective and inspire your imagination!

Louis' book list on innovation within larger organizations

Louis Gump Why did Louis love this book?

This book tells the story of how a local media company created one of the most trusted brands in the world. It has special meaning to me because of my experiences working at The Weather Channel. I know many of the people who contributed to the company’s success, and I respect them even more because of their sincere dedication.

This book also shows how to participate in successive waves of innovation over time—with vision, risk tolerance, and sound judgment. It shows a group of leaders who really saw the future and then dared to create new content, technology, and business models to serve customers in new ways. They also enabled team members to have freedom, create new value, and still stay true to the company's core values.

By Frank Batten, Jeffrey L. Cruikshank,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Twenty years ago, who'd have believed that millions of viewers would follow the twists and turns of storms developing across the globe with the rapt attention once reserved for thriller movies? And that a single television channel could simultaneously inform and entertain us, enrich our lives and, at times, help save them? This is the remarkable story of The Weather Channel, a cable network that succeeded when almost all the experts predicted it would fail. Told by one of the key figures in the network's success, former Chairman and CEO Frank Batten, this is at once a deeply personal account…


Book cover of Theodore Rex

David Tindell Author Of The Heights of Valor

From my list on most charismatic President in U.S. History.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by our 26th president for a long time. Most of us would be content with being known for one or two good things in our lifetime; TR was many things, and his work still impacts us over a century after his death. I wondered, who was this guy? He is relatively short, stocky, near-sighted, and not your typical action hero, yet he accomplished so much in a life that barely got through 60 years. I found so much more than I expected, and you will, too. Roll up your sleeves, get in the arena with TR, and, as he often said, “Get action!”

David's book list on most charismatic President in U.S. History

David Tindell Why did David love this book?

The middle book of Morris’ definitive biography of Roosevelt (following The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and preceding Colonel Roosevelt) brought me into the White House along with 42-year-old TR as he was thrust into the presidency after William McKinley’s assassination in 1901.

Thus begins an administration like nothing the country had ever seen or likely will ever see again. Morris takes what could be simply a dry accounting of Roosevelt’s accomplishments—and failures—in office and makes them into a story that’s almost like a novel. If you’ve ever wondered why Roosevelt is on Mount Rushmore, this book will tell you why.

Over a century later, his accomplishments still greatly impact American life, and not just in the area of conservation, for which he is perhaps most remembered. Way ahead of his time on things like civil rights and women’s suffrage, TR was not afraid to take on the entrenched political…

By Edmund Morris,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A shining portrait of a presciently modern political genius maneuvering in a gilded age of wealth, optimism, excess and American global ascension.”—San Francisco Chronicle

WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY • “[Theodore Rex] is one of the great histories of the American presidency, worthy of being on a shelf alongside Henry Adams’s volumes on Jefferson and Madison.”—Times Literary Supplement

Theodore Rex is the story—never fully told before—of Theodore Roosevelt’s two world-changing terms as President of the United States. A hundred years before the catastrophe of September 11, 2001, “TR” succeeded to…


Book cover of The Jungle

Patrick Kanouse Author Of The Shattered Bull

From my list on Chicago as a main character.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up in Indiana and Illinois meant that Chicago has always been, for me, the city—the place where people went to make a name for themselves and took the world by storm. From my local Carnegie Library, I read voraciously across genres—history, science, literature. They transported me out of my small town—across the universe sometimes. I learned that setting in fiction was for me a major feature of my enjoyment, and Chicago was where I set my own mystery series. These books, when I read them, explored that grand metropolis—and brought Chicago to life on and off the page. I hope you enjoy these books as much as I have.

Patrick's book list on Chicago as a main character

Patrick Kanouse Why did Patrick love this book?

This book is really a call to action, and even today, it is hard to read this novel and not feel anger on behalf of Jurgis and Ona. Perhaps that is why I like this book so much. It is visceral. I get angry at money-grubbing management who care nothing about their employees.

I swore off meat for a while, disgusted with the factory conditions of the time. I mourn Jurgis and Ona's inability to achieve the American dream. In this book, I am brought into the Chicago immigrant experience at the turn of the 20th Century.

By Upton Sinclair,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Jungle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

First serialized in a newspaper in 1905, The Jungle is a classic of American literature that led to the creation of food-safety standards.

While investigating the meatpacking industry in Chicago, author and novelist Upton Sinclair discovered the brutal conditions that immigrant families faced. While his original intention was to bring this to the attention of the American public, his book was instead hailed for bringing food safety to the forefront of people's consciousness.

With its inspired plot and vivid descriptions, Upton Sinclair's classic tale of immigrant woe is now available as an elegantly designed clothbound edition with an elastic closure…


Book cover of The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America

Nate Schweber Author Of This America of Ours: Bernard and Avis Devoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild

From my list on public lands and conservation.

Why am I passionate about this?

By lucky lottery of birth, Missoula, Montana, nestled between forested mountains and sliced through by trout-filled rivers, is where I was born and raised. Public land conservation came into my consciousness naturally as clean, pine-scented air. But when I moved to overcrowded New York City in 2001 to try a career in journalism, homesickness made me begin researching conservation. Why are there public lands in the West? What forces prompted their creation? Who wants public lands, and who opposes them? Can their history teach us about our present and our future? These books began answering my questions. 

Nate's book list on public lands and conservation

Nate Schweber Why did Nate love this book?

When historian Douglas Brinkley said he intended to write a trilogy of thick environmental books, comedian Jon Stewart quipped, "How many trees will you kill to do it?" But Brinkley's gift is no joke. He did our world a remarkable service by writing this encyclopedia of American conservation.

Despite profiling great presidents, a lesson I learned repeatedly from Brinkley is how much conservation history has been driven by everyday Americans caring about a part of the country and acting. 

By Douglas Brinkley,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From New York Times bestselling historian Douglas Brinkley comes a sweeping historical narrative and eye-opening look at the pioneering environmental policies of President Theodore Roosevelt, avid bird-watcher, naturalist, and the founding father of America’s conservation movement.

In this groundbreaking epic biography, Douglas Brinkley draws on never-before-published materials to examine the life and achievements of our “naturalist president.” By setting aside more than 230 million acres of wild America for posterity between 1901 and 1909, Theodore Roosevelt made conservation a universal endeavor. This crusade for the American wilderness was perhaps the greatest U.S. presidential initiative between the Civil War and World…


Book cover of Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership: Executive Lessons from the Bully Pulpit

David Tindell Author Of The Heights of Valor

From my list on most charismatic President in U.S. History.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by our 26th president for a long time. Most of us would be content with being known for one or two good things in our lifetime; TR was many things, and his work still impacts us over a century after his death. I wondered, who was this guy? He is relatively short, stocky, near-sighted, and not your typical action hero, yet he accomplished so much in a life that barely got through 60 years. I found so much more than I expected, and you will, too. Roll up your sleeves, get in the arena with TR, and, as he often said, “Get action!”

David's book list on most charismatic President in U.S. History

David Tindell Why did David love this book?

“Far and away, life's best prize is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” I loved this book because it tells us exactly what we should be doing now: rolling up our sleeves and getting into the arena. The federal bureaucracy of the early 20th century was smaller but no less entrenched than it is here in the 21st. And Congress was, if anything, even harder to deal with then than it is now (despite the lack of TV cameras).

How can any president hope to get anything important accomplished? TR shows us how. His instructions to his cabinet secretaries often include three words: “I want results.” He also shows us how to work with, and sometimes around or even through, the titans of industry to build the economy and avoid labor strife. This book should be a must-read for anybody who wants to lead anything, be it…

By James M. Strock,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Harness the Power of TR's Charisma
Theodore Roosevelt was a leader of uncommon strength who, through the sheer force of his extraordinary will, turned America into a modern world power. Thrown headfirst into the presidency by the assassination of his predecessor, he led with courage, character, and vision in the face of overwhelming challenges, whether busting corporate trusts or building the Panama Canal. Roosevelt has been a hero to millions of Americans for over a century and is a splendid model to help you master today's turbulent marketplace and be a hero and a leader in your own organization.


Book cover of The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America

Nate Schweber Author Of This America of Ours: Bernard and Avis Devoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild

From my list on public lands and conservation.

Why am I passionate about this?

By lucky lottery of birth, Missoula, Montana, nestled between forested mountains and sliced through by trout-filled rivers, is where I was born and raised. Public land conservation came into my consciousness naturally as clean, pine-scented air. But when I moved to overcrowded New York City in 2001 to try a career in journalism, homesickness made me begin researching conservation. Why are there public lands in the West? What forces prompted their creation? Who wants public lands, and who opposes them? Can their history teach us about our present and our future? These books began answering my questions. 

Nate's book list on public lands and conservation

Nate Schweber Why did Nate love this book?

I regularly reread this book because, in blazing prose, Egan tells a history of our public lands via President Theodore Roosevelt's historic partnership with Gifford Pinchot.

Pinchot, the peculiar first chief of the U.S. Forest Service, defined conservation as: "the greatest good to the greatest number for the longest time." I learned not only that definition of conservation but also Roosevelt and Pinchot's epic challenge: To save land, wildlife, and democratic opportunity while standing up to the political power of wealthy Robber Barons and the elemental force of fire. 

By Timothy Egan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Big Burn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

On the afternoon of August 20, 1910, a battering ram of wind moved through the drought-stricken national forests of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, whipping the hundreds of small blazes burning across the forest floor into a roaring inferno. Forest rangers had assembled nearly ten thousand men - college boys, day workers, immigrants from mining camps - to fight the fire. But no living person had seen anything like those flames, and neither the rangers nor anyone else knew how to subdue them. Egan narrates the struggles of the overmatched rangers against the implacable fire with unstoppable dramatic force. Equally dramatic…


Book cover of Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, from White House Princess to Washington Power Broker

Jason Emerson Author Of Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln

From my list on presidential children.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm an independent historian and journalist who has spent over 25 years studying Abraham Lincoln and his family. My fascination with the Great Emancipator began when I worked first as a student volunteer and then as a park ranger at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois. As I writer who has always loved history, I decided I should start writing about history. I've authored or edited eight books (seven on Lincoln and his family) as well as numerous articles. My big break came when I discovered a cache of Mary Lincoln’s missing letters, written during her time in a sanitarium in 1875, which had been missing for nearly 100 years.

Jason's book list on presidential children

Jason Emerson Why did Jason love this book?

Many people may know the legend of Alice Roosevelt as the headstrong daughter of Teddy Roosevelt who flouted social conventions in the 1920s and made a lasting mark on Washington, D.C. in later life, but few people have actually read her biography. And anyone interested in the history of the presidency and American politics should. Alice Roosevelt Longworth was more than just America’s most memorable first daughter. She was a legend in her own time, loved and feared by the most powerful men in the capital, the doyenne of D.C. for eighty years (and known for her famous quip, “If you haven’t got have anything nice to say, come sit by me”). Her story is utterly incredible, and in her book Alice, historian Cordery offers a page-turning, compelling portrait of one of the most influential women in 20th century American politics.

By Stacy A. Cordery,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An entertaining and eye-opening biography of America's most memorable first daughter

From the moment Teddy Roosevelt's outrageous and charming teenage daughter strode into the White House-carrying a snake and dangling a cigarette-the outspoken Alice began to put her imprint on the whole of the twentieth-century political scene. Her barbed tongue was as infamous as her scandalous personal life, but whenever she talked, powerful people listened, and she reigned for eight decades as the social doyenne in a town where socializing was state business. Historian Stacy Cordery's unprecedented access to personal papers and family archives enlivens and informs this richly entertaining…


Book cover of Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant
Book cover of The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail
Book cover of Intrapreneuring: Why You Don't Have to Leave the Corporation to Become an Entrepreneur

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Interested in Teddy Roosevelt, politics, and presidential biography?

Teddy Roosevelt 47 books
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