Here are 100 books that Good Guys fans have personally recommended if you like
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After spending 25 years building software products and serving as a vice president of engineering at Adobe, I witnessed a sharp decline in the number of women working in tech. Frustrated but galvanized, I knew it was time to switch gears and focus on creating more inclusive workplaces where women and others who are marginalized can thrive. I naively set off to change workplaces around the world! My first step was starting the Twitter handle @BetterAllies to share simple, actionable steps to be more inclusive. That handle became the inspiration for my four books and my popular 5 Ally Actions newsletter, which I send to over 40,000 subscribers every Friday.
Michelle MiJung Kim, a skilled storyteller, has a simple goal: to awaken us, inspire action, and drive change toward more inclusive communities and workplaces. Despite spending most of my professional workday contemplating, writing, and speaking about how we can be better allies, I was deeply moved by her book. Her unique stories and specific guidance to address inequities create a powerful emotional connection, making her message all the more impactful.
Kim’s book is so compelling that I find myself returning to it time and again for inspiration. Her unwavering commitment to doing what’s right for humanity is truly infectious, leaving me and countless others eager to delve back into her work for ongoing motivation.
As we become more aware of various social injustices in the world, many of us want to be part of the movement toward positive change. But sometimes our best intentions cause unintended harm, and we fumble. We might feel afraid to say the wrong thing and feel guilt for not doing or knowing enough. Sometimes we might engage in performative allyship rather than thoughtful solidarity, leaving those already marginalized further burdened and exhausted. The feelings of fear, insecurity, inadequacy are all too common among a wide spectrum of changemakers, and they put many at a crossroads between feeling stuck and…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
After spending 25 years building software products and serving as a vice president of engineering at Adobe, I witnessed a sharp decline in the number of women working in tech. Frustrated but galvanized, I knew it was time to switch gears and focus on creating more inclusive workplaces where women and others who are marginalized can thrive. I naively set off to change workplaces around the world! My first step was starting the Twitter handle @BetterAllies to share simple, actionable steps to be more inclusive. That handle became the inspiration for my four books and my popular 5 Ally Actions newsletter, which I send to over 40,000 subscribers every Friday.
I thought I knew a lot about being an ally for members of the LGBTQ+ community until I read Jeannie Gainsburg's book. As an educator in this field, she has developed deep expertise in discussing the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ people.
Her book is chock-full of advice to help the rest of us navigate what to do in our homes, communities, and workplaces to be more inclusive. Plus, she sprinkles the perfect amount of humor throughout her writing, which adds to the overall enjoyment and impact of the book.
This guide has become my faithful companion on my journey to be a better ally.
The Savvy Ally: A Guide for Becoming a Skilled LGBTQ+ Advocate is an enjoyable, humorous, encouraging, easy to understand guidebook for being an ally to the LGBTQ+ communities. It is chock full of practical and useful tools for LGBTQ+ advocacy, including: *Updated and relevant information on identities and LGBTQ+ language *What to say and what not to say when someone comes out to you *LGBTQ+ etiquette and common bloopers to avoid *Techniques for respectfully and effectively navigating difficult conversations *Addressing common questions and concerns *Suggested actions for creating more inclusive spaces *Sustaining our ally actions and taking care of ourselves…
After spending 25 years building software products and serving as a vice president of engineering at Adobe, I witnessed a sharp decline in the number of women working in tech. Frustrated but galvanized, I knew it was time to switch gears and focus on creating more inclusive workplaces where women and others who are marginalized can thrive. I naively set off to change workplaces around the world! My first step was starting the Twitter handle @BetterAllies to share simple, actionable steps to be more inclusive. That handle became the inspiration for my four books and my popular 5 Ally Actions newsletter, which I send to over 40,000 subscribers every Friday.
I first became a fan of Tiffany Yu because of her viral “Anti-Ableism Series,” a collection of videos about being more inclusive of disabled people. I knew I had to read her book as soon as it was published.
As someone who has lived with a permanent arm injury sustained at age nine, Yu explores the world of biases against people with disabilities. In her book, she shares both personal stories and those of others. I felt like I had a front-row seat to learn about the issues and the role we can and should play to be more inclusive. Along the way, she lays out practical actions we can take.
Yu’s book is my must-have companion for being more inclusive for people with disabilities at work and in everyday life.
'I defy anyone who reads this powerful and urgently needed manifesto not to be galvanised into action' Sophie Morgan, TV host and author of Driving Forwards
'A call to arms, not just for the disabled community, but for every single one of us' Dr Shani Dhanda, broadcaster and author
'An actionable antidote to fear and misconceptions' Service95
In The Anti-Ableist Manifesto, Tiffany Yu highlights the myriad ways in which our society discriminates against people with disabilities - and what we can do about it. Foregrounding disabled identities that have too often been rendered invisible, she demonstrates how ending discrimination begins…
Stealing technology from parallel Earths was supposed to make Declan rich. Instead, it might destroy everything.
Declan is a self-proclaimed interdimensional interloper, travelling to parallel Earths to retrieve futuristic cutting-edge technology for his employer. It's profitable work, and he doesn't ask questions. But when he befriends an amazing humanoid robot,…
After spending 25 years building software products and serving as a vice president of engineering at Adobe, I witnessed a sharp decline in the number of women working in tech. Frustrated but galvanized, I knew it was time to switch gears and focus on creating more inclusive workplaces where women and others who are marginalized can thrive. I naively set off to change workplaces around the world! My first step was starting the Twitter handle @BetterAllies to share simple, actionable steps to be more inclusive. That handle became the inspiration for my four books and my popular 5 Ally Actions newsletter, which I send to over 40,000 subscribers every Friday.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve mistakenly used non-inclusive words. I often don’t realize it until someone points it out. Then, I add it to my ever-growing list of terms to avoid and what I should say instead. Now, after reading this book by inclusive language expert Dr. Suzanne Wertheim, I have six principles to follow to help me evaluate my language choices before I make a mistake. They’re so helpful that I’ve put them on a sticky note and reference them frequently.
Her book is filled with real-world stories and examples that bring the principles to life, along with suggestions for how we can all get better.
Avoid inadvertently offending or alienating anyone by following six straightforward communication guidelines developed by a no-nonsense linguistic anthropologist and business consultant.
In today's fast-moving and combative culture, language can feel like a minefield. Terms around gender, disability, race, sexuality and more are constantly evolving. Words that used to be acceptable can now get you “cancelled.” People are afraid of making embarrassing mistakes. Or sounding outdated or out of touch. Or not being as respectful as they intended.
But it's not as complicated as it might seem. Linguistic anthropologist Suzanne Wertheim offers six easy-to-understand principles to guide any communication—written or spoken—with…
Born in Budapest, Hungary, Susan Rubin Suleiman emigrated to the U.S. as a child with her parents. She has had a distinguished career as a professor of French and comparative literature at Harvard, publishing more than a dozen books and over 100 scholarly articles. Her acclaimed memoir about returning to Budapest, Budapest Diary: In Search of the Motherbook, appeared in 1996; in 2023, she published Daughter of History: Traces of an Immigrant Girlhood, a memoir of immigration which was a finalist for a 2024 National Jewish Book Award. She has been awarded many honors, including the Radcliffe Medal for Distinguished Achievement in 1990 and France’s highest honor, the Légion d’Honneur, in 2018.
This is another classic, published in 1999. Novick shows how the memory of the Holocaust evolved in the U.S. to the point where, in his opinion, it has come to dominate public consciousness in a way that may prevent people from paying attention to present problems. I think things have changed since he wrote his book, but he presents an argument that remains challenging.
Prize-winning historian Peter Novick illuminates the reasons Americans ignored the Holocaust for so long -- how dwelling on German crimes interfered with Cold War mobilization; how American Jews, not wanting to be thought of as victims, avoided the subject. He explores in absorbing detail the decisions that later moved the Holocaust to the center of American life: Jewish leaders invoking its memory to muster support for Israel and to come out on top in a sordid competition over what group had suffered most; politicians using it to score points with Jewish voters. With insight and sensitivity, Novick raises searching questions…
As both an author and a teacher, I’ve been using Howard Zinn’s iconic book for over 20 years. I have found it to be an effective counterweight to more orthodox texts, as well as a credible platform for stimulating discussion. In writing my own “guide” to U.S. history, I always kept Zinn in mind. While we may not always agree, the dissonance is something I’m certain Howard Zinn would appreciate. He was unafraid to "engage" with his subject matter and his readers. This is an inspiration.
Coates’s semi-autobiographical examination of life for black men in American society, and more broadly in American history, is an education. Like Zinn, Coates calls America on the hypocrisy inherent in its highest ideals and its most cherished conceits.
As Coates himself later said about Zinn, "He knocked me on my ass." The two - while not always on the same page in their critical examinations of the American experiment, are clearly kindred spirits. They both want America to do better and clearly believe it can do better if it is honest about itself - but will it be? This is the question left ominously dangling by both Zinn and Coates.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NAMED ONE OF TIME’S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF OPRAH’S “BOOKS THAT HELP ME THROUGH” • NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SPECIAL EVENT
Hailed by Toni Morrison as “required reading,” a bold and personal literary exploration of America’s racial history by “the most important essayist in a generation and a writer who changed the national political conversation about race” (Rolling Stone)
NAMED ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOKS OF THE DECADE BY CNN •…
Nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife—mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice—near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. She guides readers through the basics of identifying tracks and signs, revealing a landscape filled with the marks…
Life well-being has many domains beyond finances, including family, friends, health, work, education, religion, and more. I know that financial well-being is necessary for life well being but it is not sufficient. Our older daughter lives with bipolar illness. Our life well-being was decimated years ago when my daughter’s illness was diagnosed. But we’ve learned to alleviate well-being injuries in one domain from well-being medicine from the same domain and from other domains. Our younger daughter loves her sister and cares for her, and our ample finances domain lets us support our older daughter without constraining our own budget.
Natasha Warikoo’s book made me understand why so many people in my Silicon Valley neighborhood drive their children so hard to get into Ivy League and other prestigious colleges.
Graduating from prestigious colleges adds little financial well-being over graduating from less prestigious colleges, but it adds much life well-being in high social status. In the past, white upper-middle-class and wealthy families were almost always successful in placing their children into prestigious colleges, but in the last few decades, their children encountered competition from children of families who immigrated from China and India.
A white woman said that her children are very bright and very motivated but feel like average students because there were so many children of Chinese and Indian families who are even brighter and more motivated.
An illuminating, in-depth look at competition in diverse suburban high schools, where parents are often determined to ensure that their children remain at the head of the class.
The American suburb conjures an image of picturesque privilege: manicured lawns, quiet streets, and-most important to parents-high-quality schools. These elite enclaves are also historically white, allowing many white Americans to safeguard their privileges by using public schools to help their children enter top colleges. That's changing, however, as Asian professionals increasingly move into wealthy suburban areas to give their kids that same leg up for their college applications and future careers.
I have been researching and writing about the era of the American Civil War for something over half a century. My passion for the subject remains strong today, having just published my seventh book. Given the seemingly endless amounts of material from soldiers and civilians alike, I have enjoyed deeply researching neglected subjects and writing about them in a way that appeals to both historians and general readers. For me the Civil War never grows stale, there are always little-used sources to research and fresh ideas to consider. The American Civil is omnipresent in my life—not excluding weekends and holidays!
As the title states, Elizabeth Varon’s book rests on the theme of deliverance, in this case the deliverance of the seceding states from slaveholder domination.
In an innovative, provocative, and utterly convincing fashion, Armies of Deliverance literally delivers on its promise to present a new history of the Civil War. With fresh material throughout, and careful attention to usually neglected moderate voices, Varon deftly weaves together military, political, and social history into a brilliantly conceived and highly original approach that will please a wide variety of readers.
Loyal Americans marched off to war in 1861 not to conquer the South but to liberate it. In Armies of Deliverance, Elizabeth Varon offers both a sweeping narrative of the Civil War and a bold new interpretation of Union and Confederate war aims. Lincoln's Union coalition sought to deliver the South from slaveholder tyranny and deliver to it the blessings of modern civilization. Over the course of the war, supporters of black freedom built the case that slavery was the obstacle to national reunion and that emancipation would secure military victory and benefit Northern and Southern whites alike. To sustain…
Also known as “Margaret Mead among the Starfleet,” I’m a Princeton professor who has been embedded with NASA missions for two decades as a social scientist. I’ve observed missions to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto, and beyond; consulted with NASA as a sociological expert; and written two books, with a third on the way. Growing up, I always loved science and technology, but not just for the ideas: for the people behind the findings, the passion they bring to their work, and the ways in which culture and politics play a role in how science gets done. Writing about this, I hope to humanize science and make it accessible for everyday readers.
“A rat done bit my sister Nell, but Whitey’s on the moon,” quipped Gil Scott Heron in 1970.
As the Apollo missions blasted into space one by one, they took off from an America rocked by the Vietnam War, a growing environmentalist lobby, and the transformative civil rights movement. We often forget about this overlap, but historian Maher recovers what was a rich exchange between members of these social movements and NASA.
After reading this book, I can’t think about JFK’s famous moonshot without thinking about the 1960’s culture wars and how this vibrant backdrop also brought America to the moon.
Winner of the Eugene M. Emme Astronautical Literature Award A Bloomberg View Must-Read Book of the Year A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year
"A substance-rich, original on every page exploration of how the space program interacted with the environmental movement, and also with the peace and 'Whole Earth' movements of the 1960s." -Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution
The summer of 1969 saw astronauts land on the moon for the first time and hippie hordes descend on Woodstock. This lively and original account of the space race makes the case that the conjunction of these two era-defining events was not…
The Bridge provides a compassionate and well researched window into the worlds of linear and circular thinking. A core pattern to the inner workings of these two thinking styles is revealed, and most importantly, insight into how to cross the distance between them. Some fascinating features emerged such as, circular…
I grew up in the 1960s when the Supreme Court was widely praised in liberal circles for its path-breaking decisions protecting rights. Inspired by this vision of rights through law, I went to law school and then to graduate school, including a couple of years in England where I was confronted with skepticism about the role of courts. Are liberal beliefs about the role of the Supreme Court correct? Can courts really produce progressive social change, not just on paper, but in practice? Most of my research and scholarship addresses these questions that go to the heart of the belief that Supreme Court decisions protecting and furthering rights matter.
In this majestic study Friedman explores the relationship between public opinion and Supreme Court decisions over American history.
Friedman’s central argument is that the Supreme Court does not stand apart from the rest of the society in which it operates. Building on the work of Robert McCloskey and Robert Dahl, Friedman argues that over time the Supreme Court reflects the views of society at large.
The book is very well-researched and filled with fascinating, sometimes delightful, historical tidbits. It is written for an educated general audience.
In recent years, the justices of the Supreme Court have ruled definitively on such issues as abortion, school prayer, and military tribunals in the war on terror. They decided one of American history’s most contested presidential elections. Yet for all their power, the justices never face election and hold their offices for life. This combination of influence and apparent unaccountability has led many to complain that there is something illegitimate—even undemocratic—about judicial authority.
In The Will of the People, Barry Friedman challenges that claim by showing that the Court has always been subject to a higher power: the American public.…
