John's Picks

This is most relevant book I have read in the last year. Amar, a Yale Law professor, shows the uniqueness and magnitude of the framers achievement in the larger historical context. This book is difficult and verges at times in being referential, but exponentially repays attention with an enlarged and through understanding of our nation’s most essential text.

I rarely read poetry but have found Mary Oliver to be an engaging poet of compassion, understanding, and, at times, ferocious power. “Wild Geese” and the “Buddha’s last instruction” are two of my favorites in this volume. Her connection to, and understanding of, nature makes her poetry deeply resonate in a place like Steamboat.

Lincoln was the greatest writer to ever occupy the oval office and penned some of the nation’s most lasting speeches, notably second inaugural and Gettysburg address, both included here. But the real value of this book is found in the little telegrams to his cabinet, generals, bereaved citizens and soldiers. If I were to teach a course on leadership, this would be a central text for its effective, emphatic and varied communication. You’ll learn more about real leadership from this book than all the recent business bestsellers combined.