We aim to inspire in you a lifetime pursuit of learning. In an effort to do so, TWR is exclusively collecting top book list recommendations and a personal reason why it was recommended by famous, interesting and influential people.
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Actor/Entertainer known for his roles in Roots, Star Trek: The Next Generation and as the hose and executive producer of PBS children's series, Reading Rainbow
Reading for me is the best entertainment money can buy. It allows me to transport myself to worlds of experience far beyond my own in my imagination. -Levar Burton
To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee
"Through Atticus Finch and the telling of his story through his son’s eyes, I learned about the humanity of the Southern Gentleman, and the values of fairness and the duty of all to champion the disempowered."
The Prophet Kahil Gibran
"Quintessential book of poetry, Gibran muses on life and love, devotion and God. A most eloquent meditation on the more esoteric aspects of life."
Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior Dan Millman
"The book had a huge impact on me in my late 20’s. A classic coming of age autobiography in the traditional of Joseph Campbell’s “A Hero’s Journey.”"
The Road Less Traveled M. Scott Peck, M.D.
"The first book of psychobabble I ever enjoyed. If you are willing to listen, Dr. Peck tells you the truth about what keeps us from being real in every moment."
Parable of the Talents Octavia Butler
"Octavia Butler is my favorite science fiction author of all time, period. God rest her soul."
United States Military Academy, West Point Class of 1975
59th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy, West Point
Schools That Can, an educational organization, commented that "he [Caslen] understands education quality effects not only our students, but also the entire nation and our relationship in the world."
Once An Eagle Anton Myer
"Sam Damon - the selfless warrior leader we all want to aspire to be. Particularly when compared to the opposite self seeking user Courtney Massengale"
We Were Soldiers Once… And Young Hal Moore and Joseph Galloway
"The power of discipline, training and leadership when a unit not only survives, but defeats its vastly outnumbered foe. Inclusive in the chemistry which makes the 1/7 Cav a great unit, is the comparison of its sister unit’s defeat as a result of the opposite of what 1/7 Cav stands for."
Band Of Brothers Stephen Ambrose
"The brotherhood that builds, molds, defines and sustains a team in preparation for combat and in combat itself. It is why we fight – for the love and respect of our brothers and sisters in arms."
The Starfish And The Spider Ori Broufman and Rob Beckstrom
"How flattened, power down organizations leverage the strength of the masses, and how to cultivate this strength into your mission and your own organization."
Learning To Eat Soup With A Knife John Nagl
"Becoming an effective leader, leading an effective organization in tremendously complex environments."
Author of Perfect Health Diet and host of blog, Perfect Health Diet
The Road to Serfdom Friedrich Hayek
"Addresses the question of how and why the Nazis came to power in Germany, and why democracies are vulnerable to loss of their liberty. America’s founding fathers knew that democracies had always been prone to spectacular rises and collapses, and the greatest ancient philosophers, including Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates, were concerned with how the ancient Greek democracies became powerful societies thanks to a virtuous citizenry and then became corrupt and destroyed themselves in calamitous wars and tyrannies. Hayek provides an intriguing view of how something similar can happen in modern, contemporary society – and a warning that we might suffer a similar fate."
Man’s Search for Meaning Viktor Frankl
"Frankl was a great psychologist and a survivor of the Holocaust during World War II – he survived Dachau, but his wife died in Bergen-Belsen and his mother and brother died in Auschwitz. Frankl believed that even in the most absurd or desperate situations, life has an intrinsic meaning, and that therefore even the greatest suffering can be meaningful and nourishing to the soul. A profoundly optimistic and moving book."
David Copperfield Charles Dickens
"The story of a boy who suffers under the premature deaths of his father and mother and the oppression of a vicious stepfather, but is beloved by his aunt and his mother’s old housekeeper, and matures into a fine and loving man. Many twists and turns in the plot and characters will leave you alternately joyful and sorrowful, but you’ll be captivated. This book is what made me fall in love with literature."
The Bible Revised Standard Version
"Not only is it the Christian Scripture, it’s also a compilation of books chronicling ancient history, human nature, and the accumulated wisdom of our ancestors. No book has as much food for thought, or has had as much influence on mankind’s development of civilization. I like the RSV (revised standard version) translation."
Perfect Health Diet Paul and Shou-Ching Jaminet.
"My wife and I spent decades trying to understand and fix our health problems. When we finally realized that our diet and lifestyle were both the problem and the potential cure, we also realized that there were no really good books out there on how to eat or live. We decided to write the book we wish we could have had, the one that would have taught us how to be healthy and explained the reasons why its advice was sound. All the research we did is still paying dividends for our personal health, and I believe our advice can add decades to most people’s lives."
Fmr. Commanding General of the U.S. Army JAG Corps
19th Clerk of the U.S. Supreme Court
Reading stimulates my mind and helps me deal with life and work.
American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880 - 1964 William Manchester (Author)
"This is a fine biography of General Douglas McArthur, one of our nation’s greatest military leaders. The book discloses McArthur’s brilliance and faults. It is balanced and objective work."
Nineteen Stars Edgar F. “Beau” Puryear, Jr.
"This is an excellent study of the leadership styles of Generals Eisenhower, Bradley, Marshall, and Patton – four 5-stars generals and one 4-star general. Their different styles make it clear that there is no one definition of leadership."
American Generalship Edgar F. “Beau” Puryear, Jr.
"This is a study of what it takes to become a successful military leader. The author interviewed more than one hundred senior general officers. This is a brilliant lessons learned work."
Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. John C. Jeffries, Jr.
"Justice Powell was reluctant to join the Supreme Court. He was a soft-spoken, mild-mannered, brilliant Southern lawyer who wanted to enjoy his private life. Our Nation is better off because Justice Powell put his Nation first and made significant contributions to the Court’s jurisprudence."
The Tempting of America Robert H. Bork
"Judge Bork makes a strong argument that current liberal constitutional theory is not legal theory at all, but an egalitarian political agenda whereby the political minority displaces democratic choice by imposing its moral philosophy."
12th Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University
Chairman of the U.S. Naval Institute
U.S. Navy Admiral (Ret.)
Commander of NATO Europe, U.S. Army Europe
Talking on how to achieve true global security. On numerous occasions, Admiral Stavridis relates a peaceful and secure world to a literate one, and at 7:00 in his 2012 TED talk, he speaks specifically to literate Afghanistan forces.
The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemingway
"The Sun Also rises is a timeless study of the lost American post-WWI generation in Europe in the 1920s."
Moby Dick Herman Melville
"The complex themes explored in Moby Dick have many important insights that are still relevant today."
Gates of Fire Steven Pressfield
"Important lessons learned from the Greek’s heroic stand against the Persians at Thermopylae."
Master and Commander Patrick O’brian
"First volume of 20 in an incredible series about a 19th century British naval Captain and his embarked surgeon."
The Odyssey Homer
"Foundational reading for all of the Western tradition."