The most recommended books about university

Who picked these books? Meet our 26 experts.

26 authors created a book list connected to university, and here are their favorite university books.
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Book cover of The Adjunct Professor's Complete Guide to Teaching College: How to Be an Effective and Successful Instructor

Susannah C. Richards Author Of A Work of Heart: Connecting with Kids in a Chaotic World

From my list on that are not required in college - but should be.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a young student, my goal was to be invisible. I was the child who hid between the time-honored cracks in the floorboards of the antiquated school where – decades earlier – my mother also attended. I resided between the cracks (BTC); the not-so-fancy term for those students who faintly prick the adult senses that something is amiss. How ironic as I fast-forward to my initial career decision, I actually chose to become a teacher, a daily life path in the very environment I once despised. Yet, former BTC membership caused me to seek out those silent, self-marginalized students to bring them out of the floorboards and into the daylight.

Susannah's book list on that are not required in college - but should be

Susannah C. Richards Why did Susannah love this book?

After more than thirty years of teaching college students, Dr. “Tony” Fredericks put pen to paper to create a practical and solution-based guide for adjunct professors.

First, the reader is guided to establish best teaching practices for this specialized group of students. The author also provides countless tools as he details how to select a textbook and design a syllabus, define first-day teaching expectations, pose effective questions to propel stimulating discussions, and teach diverse populations of students.

Meticulously constructed, the author composes the text in a well-organized and easy-to-read format. As an aside, Dr. Tony Fredericks currently is the author of over one-hundred-seventy books, comprised as adult non-fiction books, children’s books, pre-service teacher books, and teacher resource books. Not too shabby. 

By Anthony Fredericks,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Adjunct Professor's Complete Guide to Teaching College as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Ancillary Army.  Freeway Flyers.  Roads Scholars.  Turnpike Teachers.  These are some of the nicknames given to part-time college teachers.  They may teach one or two courses at a single institution, or, in some cases, they may teach multiple courses at multiple institutions.  Often their office consists of the front seat of their car, and their desk is a cardboard box.  Their lunch is whatever they can grab at McDonalds while zipping through traffic to their next scheduled class.

For many, the thought of teaching one or two courses in their area of specialty is most appealing.  Not only does…


Book cover of Campusland

Andrew Pessin Author Of Nevergreen

From Andrew's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Philosopher Novelist Aghast at the state of today’s campuses

Andrew's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Andrew Pessin Why did Andrew love this book?

I reread this book this past year because (unfortunately) it remains relevant.

Our campuses have become hyper-politicized, ideologically monolithic places of oppression and cancellation rather than places where diverse individuals with diverse perspectives come together to figure out their way to the truth.

Johnston absolutely nails the campus scene in this satire, capturing the sheer craziness of the ideologues (both students and faculty) who run the show, generating plenty of laughs—painful laughs, but laughs—along the way. One reads this book and, while laughing, wants to weep about the state of today’s campuses.

By Scott Johnston,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Eph Russell is an English professor up for tenure. He may look and sound privileged, but Eph is right out of gun-rack, Bible-thumping rural Alabama. His beloved Devon, though, has become a place of warring tribes, and there are landmines waiting for Eph that he is unequipped to see. The cultural rules are changing fast.

Lulu Harris is an entitled freshman - er, first year - from Manhattan. Her singular ambition is to be a prominent socialite - an "It Girl." While most would kill for a place at Devon, to her college is a dreary impediment. She is pleasantly…


Book cover of Job Interviews For Dummies

Tory S. Thorkelson Author Of The Job Interview Workbook: A Workbook for College Students and Jobhunters

From my list on helping you land a good job after university.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an EFL Professor for over 20 years, I have evolved from a language teacher into a generalist who is constantly asked to teach skills-based courses that help my college students learn life skills like presenting or job skills. As the old saying goes, you need to become somewhat of an expert in something to teach it well so I have become a much more proficient interviewer and job skills expert through 10+ years teaching students to excel in these areas. My book is a compilation of the best worksheets and activities compiled and created for my students and I hope others find them as useful and effective as my students have. 

Tory's book list on helping you land a good job after university

Tory S. Thorkelson Why did Tory love this book?

From a highly respected series and publisher, this book explains how to go about searching for your first job, changing careers, or looking for advancement in your current line of work, Job Interviews For Dummies shows you how to use your skills and experiences to your advantage and land that job.

This updated edition explores the new realities of the job market with scenarios that you can expect to encounter, an updated sample question and answer section, coverage of how you can harness social media in your job search, information on preparing for a Web-based interview, and the best ways to keep your credibility when applying for several jobs at once.

It is a great resource book for every level of applicant but is still 12 years behind the curve for a modern job seeker. 

By Joyce Lain Kennedy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Job Interviews For Dummies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Deliver a show-stopping interview performance Does the thought of interviewing for a new job send shivers down your spine? It doesn't have to! Whether you're searching for your first job, changing careers, or looking for advancement in your current line of work, Job Interviews For Dummies shows you how to use your skills and experiences to your advantage and land that job. Following a half-decade characterized by an explosion of economic crises, global expansion, and technological innovation in the job market, today's job seekers vie for employment in a tough era of new realities where few have gone before. In…


Book cover of Bad City: Peril and Power in the City of Angels

Jean E. Rhodes Author Of Older and Wiser: New Ideas for Youth Mentoring in the 21st Century

From my list on understanding the psychology of deception.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm clinical psychology professor at UMass Boston and expert on mentoring relationships. When I was a senior in high school, my dad left behind thirty years of marriage, four kids, and a complicated legal and financial history to start a new life. I couldn't fully comprehend the FBI investigation that forced his departure—any more than I could've fathomed the fact that my classmate Jim Comey would eventually lead that agency. I was also reeling from a discovery that my dad had “shortened” his name from Rosenzweig to Rhodes, a common response to anti-Semitism. It was during that period that I experienced the benefits of mentors and the joy of books about hidden agendas and subtexts.

Jean's book list on understanding the psychology of deception

Jean E. Rhodes Why did Jean love this book?

Bad City: Peril and Power in the City of Angels, written by investigative reporter Paul Pringle is another gem of this literary genre.

What began as Pringle’s investigation of a young woman’s overdose, led him to the prominent dean of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC). Once on this trail, he uncovered the corruption at USC, the incompetence of the Pasadena Police Department, and a coverup at the Los Angeles Times.

After reading the first few pages, I was forced to cancel all meetings and plans. Pringle investigative reporting not only helped to uncover the toxic mix of money and power, but the mechanics and drudgery of getting to the bottom of things.

By Paul Pringle,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"Pringle’s fast-paced book is a master class in investigative journalism... when institutions collude to protect one another, reporting may be our last best hope for accountability."
―The New York Times

For fans of Spotlight and Catch and Kill comes a nonfiction thriller about corruption and betrayal radiating across Los Angeles from one of the region's most powerful institutions, a riveting tale from a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist who investigated the shocking events and helped bring justice in the face of formidable odds.

On a cool, overcast afternoon in April 2016, a salacious tip arrived at the L.A. Times that reporter Paul…


Book cover of Queens of Academe: Beauty Pageantry, Student Bodies, and College Life

Margot Mifflin Author Of Looking for Miss America: A Pageant's 100-Year Quest to Define Womanhood

From my list on how the Miss America pageant was born.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write about pop culture and women’s history, often as it relates to the body and beauty. I’m intrigued by the ways women claim unconventional means of expression for their own beautification (such as tattooing) and how they harness beauty in the service of social and economic mobility (as in pageant culture). These books offer insight into the varied ways pageantry, from campus pageants to the Miss America stage, inform American identity and ratify the historian Rosalyn Baxandall’s belief that “every day in a woman’s life is a walking Miss America contest.”

Margot's book list on how the Miss America pageant was born

Margot Mifflin Why did Margot love this book?

A history of campus pageants going back to the 1920s, Queens of Academe considers not only their “calibrations of class and femininity,” but also their racial and (overwhelmingly Christian) religious underpinnings. Tice chronicles how campus competitions (many of which are feeder pageants for Miss America) allayed fears that educated women would renounce home and hearth, and traces the ways they’ve evolved to reflect social progress. Two chapters—“We are Here: Pageants as Racial ‘Homeplaces’ and Ethnic Combat Zones” and “Flesh and Spirit: Bibles, Beauty and Bikinis”—examine neglected aspects of pageant scholarship, showing how Black swimsuit contestants faced a unique challenge in deflecting the pernicious Jezebel trope by proving their worth through demonstrations of etiquette, grooming, and racial progress. Even male contestants swagger through these pages—including a Mr. Harvard hopeful who competed in see-through tape and rose-petal pasties. 

By Karen W. Tice,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Universities are unlikely venues for grading, branding, and marketing beauty, bodies, poise, and style. Nonetheless, thousands of college women have sought not only college diplomas but campus beauty titles and tiaras throughout the twentieth century. The cultural power of beauty pageants continues today as campus beauty pageants, especially racial and ethnic pageants and pageants for men, have soared in popularity.

In Queens of Academe, Karen W. Tice asks how, and why, does higher education remain in the beauty and body business and with what effects on student bodies and identities. She explores why students compete in and attend pageants such…


Book cover of We Are Okay

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a YA contemporary author that enjoys falling back into the realm of the teenager with all its newness, awkwardness, and angst. I grew up with the Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles, the genre that encapsulated and empowered the young adult voice. The coming-of-age story is so important because it molds the future of that character which in turn can mold the reader as well. What happens to a young person in their developing years will set the tone for their entire life. As a writer and a mother, I want to share stories that not only entertain but help young adults navigate difficult situations.

Gabi's book list on books that capture the tender moments while growing up under difficult circumstances

Gabi Justice Why did Gabi love this book?

The narrator of We Are Okay was like a siren for me. Jorjeana Marie’s voice holds the pain of the main character Marin like a tiny secret clutched in her fist and hidden from view. You want to see it so badly, but you only get glimpses as she unfolds one finger at a time.

I love the delicate unraveling of this tragic story and how Marin’s loneliness gets under your skin, so you really feel it and feel for her. Like in What to Say Next, a death is a catalyst, but how the death is used in the two stories is entirely different. As an author, I enjoy studying these plot points to see how each author uses them to mold their style and voice. 

By Nina LaCour,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked We Are Okay 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?

Winner of the 2018 Michael L. Printz Award - An achingly beautiful novel about grief and the enduring power of friendship.

"Short, poetic and gorgeously written." -The New York Times Book Review

"A beautiful, devastating piece of art." -Bookpage

You go through life thinking there's so much you need. . . . Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother. Marin hasn't spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend Mabel. But even…


Book cover of Spy Schools: How the CIA, FBI, and Foreign Intelligence Secretly Exploit America's Universities

Jim Popkin Author Of Code Name Blue Wren: The True Story of America's Most Dangerous Female Spy--And the Sister She Betrayed

From my list on nonfiction spy books to read in one day.

Why am I passionate about this?

I covered the FBI and CIA for years, first as a print reporter in Washington and then as the head of the NBC News investigative unit. So I have covered my fair share of spy scandals, and with my colleague Pete Williams helped NBC break the story of Robert Hanssen’s arrest. I was immediately drawn to the Ana Montes Cuba spy story when it broke and then learned that Montes had bought her condo from my close friend and college roommate, John. That meant I had spent hours inside Ana’s DC apartment, and that odd connection rooted me in her story in a deeper way.  

Jim's book list on nonfiction spy books to read in one day

Jim Popkin Why did Jim love this book?

Dan Golden is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who exposes how enemies of the United States are using our universities and graduate schools as recruitment centers for a new generation of spies.

Russian, Chinese, and of course, Cuban intelligence services are having a field day exploiting our open system to identify and turn their newest recruits (yes, our government returns the favor abroad.)

Spy Schools has an excellent chapter on Ana Montes, the Cuban agent who is the subject of my book. There’s also juicy information on the American woman who recruited Ana as a spy when they both were attending SAIS, the Johns Hopkins graduate school in Washington. 

By Daniel Golden,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Grounded in extensive research and reporting, Spy Schools reveals how academia has emerged as a frontline in the global spy game. In a knowledge based economy, universities are repositories of valuable information and research, where brilliant minds of all nationalities mingle freely with few questions asked. Intelligence agencies have always recruited bright undergraduates but now, in an era when espionage increasingly requires specialized scientific ortechnological expertise, they"re wooing higher-level academics, not just as analysts but also for clandestine operations. Deterred by student protests and faculty hostility during the Vietnam era, the ClAand other security agencies are back - driven by…


Book cover of Good Girl Complex

Lexi Kingston Author Of Forever June

From my list on vacation romance to get you into a summer state of mind.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a contemporary romance author who writes in paranormal romance on the side, but everything I write always comes down to one thing, and that’s the romance between characters. I love books that make me connect to and root for the main protagonists, no matter their flaws or situation. I specifically love romance novels that take place during the summer or in places that are warm year-round because no matter what season it is when you read them, you’re immediately transported to a warm, sunny, swoon-worthy world.

Lexi's book list on vacation romance to get you into a summer state of mind

Lexi Kingston Why did Lexi love this book?

This beachside romance features a female entrepreneur who started her business at a young age, which I related to immediately, having started self-publishing books as a freshman in college.

She’s a go-getter with a knack for business and fights for her passions despite the people in her life telling her she shouldn’t. I adored the enemies-to-lovers romance between Cooper and Mac, as well as the message that not everyone is what they initially seem. 

Book cover of The Academic Deanship: Individual Careers and Institutional Roles

Mark William Roche Author Of Realizing the Distinctive University: Vision and Values, Strategy and Culture

From my list on faculty who find themselves in administration.

Why am I passionate about this?

The year after I got tenure, I became a chairperson, overseeing more than twenty faculty members in my department at Ohio State University. I continued in administration for the next seventeen years, serving as a dean at Notre Dame for more then a decade. I am convinced that the best books on higher education interweave ideas, anecdotes, and data. I pursued that genre here, engaging the questions, what makes a university distinctive and how can one best flourish as an administrator.

Mark's book list on faculty who find themselves in administration

Mark William Roche Why did Mark love this book?

When I became a dean, I bought a few books on being a dean, and for some time, even after my term ended, continued to follow the literature.

Most such advice is commonsensical, but one needs to be reminded of common sense. The Academic Deanship offers a thoughtful and often wise account of the broader responsibilities and daily work of deans. Chairpersons, who work closely with deans, might also benefit from its perspectives.

By David F. Bright, Mary P. Richards,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A deanship is now seen as more of a phase in an overall academic career than as a permanent shift from teaching to administration. In fact, the nature of the job itself has changed, as has the range of likely options at the end of a dean's tenure. This book serves as a guide for the aspiring or new dean, offering practical advice on how to approach the interview process and the new job, as well as providing a thoughtful assessment of the deanship in its wider context. The authors-both experienced academic deans at a variety of institutions-encourage the new…


Book cover of Constructing Economic Science: The Invention of a Discipline 1850-1950

Emily Erikson Author Of Trade and Nation: How Companies and Politics Reshaped Economic Thought

From my list on economic theory by non-economists.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m fascinated by systems of thought and very interested in understanding how we can improve our ability to create a better society for all. I think the past makes a good laboratory for investigating these kinds of questions. I got interested in early modern economic theory while researching the English East India Company for my dissertation in the sociology department of Columbia University, which was a great place for historical and computational sociology. I now teach economic sociology and theory as a professor at Yale University, another institution with amazing strengths in history, data science, and computational methods.

Emily's book list on economic theory by non-economists

Emily Erikson Why did Emily love this book?

Tribe is a master of his subject, and this book has the feel of a magnum opus. It is densely packed and full of interesting tidbits, and you will be amazed at just how recent economics really is. The added bonus is all the insight into the development of the modern research university. I am in the middle of this book as it just came out, but the scale of the contribution (large) is already clear.

By Keith Tribe,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An accessible account of the role of the modern university in the creation of economics

During the late nineteenth century concerns about international commercial rivalry were often expressed in terms of national provision for training and education, and the role of universities in such provision. It was in this context that the modern university discipline of economics emerged. The first undergraduate economics program was inaugurated in Cambridge in 1903; but this was merely a starting point.

Constructing Economic Science charts the path through commercial education to the discipline of economics and the creation of an economics curriculum that could then…