Here are 100 books that Jesus and the Disinherited fans have personally recommended if you like Jesus and the Disinherited. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization

William Donaldson Author Of Simple_Complexity

From my list on books on Systems Thinking.

Why am I passionate about this?

The World Economic Forum has identified systems thinking as one of the most important skills humankind must adopt to manage the complex global challenges we are facing. Peter Senge (one of the recommended authors) said systems thinking is the discipline that integrates the disciplines. I love systems thinking because it explains so much about the world. In the 1960s, my father gave me all of the early systems thinking literature, and I have been on a mission to educate people about systems thinking ever since. I know it has helped me immeasurably. 

William's book list on books on Systems Thinking

William Donaldson Why William loves this book

Quite honestly, I have a love/hate relationship with the book! I love it because it is so inciteful in how and why organizations and managers struggle with clarity.

Senge reveals why the system is so powerful and directs so much of the behavior, good and bad. However, it is dense, and you really have to pay attention, but it is worth it.

By Peter M. Senge ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

One of the seminal management books of the past 75 years, The Fifth Discipline is an international multi-million-copy bestseller. Written in an engaging and accessible way, with diagrams and illustrations, it will change the way you think and therefore way you and your team grows and develop. In the long run, the only sustainable source of competitive advantage is your organisation's ability to learn faster than its competitors....

'Senge explains why the learning organization matters, provides an unvarnished summary of his management principals, offers some basic tools for practicing it, and shows what it's like to operate under this system.…


If you love Jesus and the Disinherited...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Book cover of Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds

Jess Rimington Author Of Beloved Economies

From my list on reimagining business from the ground up.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since a young age, I’ve been focused on how we can build a more just economy that restores and repairs versus extracts from our communities. My expertise is in the micro-economies of alternative, emerging economic solutions—in other words, how businesses and organizations can transform how they work to become pieces of an economy that works for all. 

Jess' book list on reimagining business from the ground up

Jess Rimington Why Jess loves this book

I adore this book because it offers such practical, grounded strategies for navigating and facilitating change, drawing deep inspiration from the natural world.

Its insights feel both wise and usable, and they speak to a worldview and way of being that are profoundly dear to my heart.

It’s a touchstone for me—so much so that it permanently lives on my office bookshelf.

By Adrienne Maree Brown ,

Why should I read it?

13 authors picked Emergent Strategy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the tradition of Octavia Butler, radical self-help, society-help, and planet-help to shape the futures we want.

Inspired by Octavia Butler's explorations of our human relationship to change, Emergent Strategy is radical self-help, society-help, and planet-help designed to shape the futures we want to live. Change is constant. The world is in a continual state of flux. It is a stream of ever-mutating, emergent patterns. Rather than steel ourselves against such change, this book invites us to feel, map, assess, and learn from the swirling patterns around us in order to better understand and influence them as they happen. This…


Book cover of How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work: Seven Languages for Transformation

Decoteau J. Irby Author Of Stuck Improving: Racial Equity and School Leadership

From my list on equity-focused school reform for educators.

Why am I passionate about this?

Every teacher from pre-Kindergarten to higher education, who has experienced and understands what it means to be committed to equity and to practice transformation but still not see the kinds of outcomes expected, needed, or deserved among students of color. These students of color, particularly Black and Brown students, tend to be grossly underserved in and through the educational system. Decoteau Irby amplifies the humanity of those young people and situates them in the context of suburbia, an understudied place and space among Black and Brown communities. 

Decoteau's book list on equity-focused school reform for educators

Decoteau J. Irby Why Decoteau loves this book

The most valuable and practical part of the book is their “mapping your immunity to change” process.

This process asks people to understand the things that they do, how they do the things that they do, and how the way they think can keep people from actually being able to change.

The book moves from an individual level to how organizations talk, and how people and organizations talk together. It changes how people can work together. 

By Robert Kegan , Lisa Laskow Lahey ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Why is the gap so great between our hopes, our intentions, even our decisions-and what we are actually able to bring about? Even when we are able to make important changes-in our own lives or the groups we lead at work-why are the changes are so frequently short-lived and we are soon back to business as usual? What can we do to transform this troubling reality?

In this intensely practical book, Harvard psychologists Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey take us on a carefully guided journey designed to help us answer these very questions. And not just generally, or in…


If you love Howard Thurman...

Book cover of Coyote Weather

Coyote Weather by Amanda Cockrell,

Coyote weather is the feral, hungry season, drought-stricken, and ready to catch fire. It’s 1967, and the American culture is violently remaking itself while the country is forcibly sending its young men to fight in a deeply unpopular war.

Jerry has stubbornly made no plans for the future because he…

Book cover of Five Practices for Equity-Focused School Leadership

Decoteau J. Irby Author Of Stuck Improving: Racial Equity and School Leadership

From my list on equity-focused school reform for educators.

Why am I passionate about this?

Every teacher from pre-Kindergarten to higher education, who has experienced and understands what it means to be committed to equity and to practice transformation but still not see the kinds of outcomes expected, needed, or deserved among students of color. These students of color, particularly Black and Brown students, tend to be grossly underserved in and through the educational system. Decoteau Irby amplifies the humanity of those young people and situates them in the context of suburbia, an understudied place and space among Black and Brown communities. 

Decoteau's book list on equity-focused school reform for educators

Decoteau J. Irby Why Decoteau loves this book

This book provides the most comprehensive but succinct explanation of all the key elements that are required to lead to equity in a school.

It has everything from the beginning key concepts that someone would need to understand in the beginning to concrete practices that someone should be doing. 


By Sharon I. Radd , Gretchen Givens Generett , Mark Anthony Gooden , George Theoharis

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Five Practices for Equity-Focused School Leadership as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This timely and essential book provides a comprehensive guide for school leaders who desire to engage their school communities in transformative systemic change. Sharon I. Radd, Gretchen Givens Generett, Mark Anthony Gooden, and George Theoharis offer five practices to increase educational equity and eliminate marginalization based on race, disability, socioeconomics, language, gender and sexual identity, and religion. For each dimension of diversity, the authors provide background information for understanding the current realities in schools and beyond, and they suggest "disruptive practices" to replace the status quo in order to achieve full inclusion and educational excellence for every child.

Assuming that…


Book cover of Black Rights/White Wrongs: The Critique of Racial Liberalism

Dillon S. Tatum Author Of Liberalism and Transformation: The Global Politics of Violence and Intervention

From my list on liberalism and politics.

Why am I passionate about this?

Dillon Stone Tatum is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Francis Marion University. His research interests are on the history, development, and politics of liberal internationalism, international political theory, and critical security studies.

Dillon's book list on liberalism and politics

Dillon S. Tatum Why Dillon loves this book

Charles Mills was a giant in contemporary political theory and is perhaps best known for his book The Racial Contract. In his most recent book, Black Rights/White Wrongs, Mills interrogates what he calls “racial liberalism” and the racist underpinnings of modern liberal theory. What I think is most remarkable about this book, though, is its further attempt to reconstruct a “radical liberalism” meant to address issues of racial justice. This book has been a major influence on me in the way I think about and imagine the limits and possibilities of liberalism as a tradition.

By Charles W. Mills ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Black Rights/White Wrongs as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Liberalism is the political philosophy of equal persons - yet liberalism has denied equality to those it saw as sub-persons. Liberalism is the creed of fairness - yet liberalism has been complicit with European imperialism and African slavery. Liberalism is the classic ideology of Enlightenment and political transparency - yet liberalism has cast a dark veil over its actual racist past and present. In sum, liberalism's promise of equal rights has historically been
denied to blacks and other people of color.

In Black Rights/White Wrongs: The Critique of Racial Liberalism, political philosopher Charles Mills challenges mainstream accounts that ignore this…


Book cover of On the Storm/In the Struggle: Poets on Survival

Penn Kemp Author Of Poems in Response to Peril: An Anthology in Support of Ukraine

From my list on Canadian anthologies for social justice, women, and the environment.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love gathering poets together to celebrate different causes. In fact, I hosted a weekly literary radio show, Gathering Voices, for seven years and published a book/cd collection, Gathering Voice. Since 1972, I have been publishing poetry as well as editing anthologies that collect differing voices, as an activist and poet/editor: gathering voices for women, nature, and social justice is my passion. Given the immensity of suffering in the war on Ukraine, I was galvanized to gather together poems in solidarity with Ukrainians. The anthology, co-edited with Richard-Yves Sitoski, was launched 3 months after the invasion began: a huge endeavor that included 48 activist poets.

Penn's book list on Canadian anthologies for social justice, women, and the environment

Penn Kemp Why Penn loves this book

This anthology attempts to answer ongoing questions about struggle in poems that engaged, challenged, and comforted me. What might survival sound or look like to us in our daily lives? Is it loud, refusing silence, demanding action? Or quiet, interior? What does surviving feel like in the body, this long into the pandemic? What techniques have helped us exist, continue to bear witness, learn to live with illness, grief, and pain? Is survival the continual interrogation of inequity and oppressive structures? What happens when we get tired of fighting?

Survival may very well be a composite of things; both a tending to one’s inner life and to the processing of life events, as well as the will to act, retrieve momentum. It is also a plurality/multiplicity of practices that serve to keep us well—as persons and with respect to our communities, the ongoing project of social justice/civil rights, which involves…

If you love Jesus and the Disinherited...

Book cover of Temple of Dreams: A Novel of Now and Then

Temple of Dreams by Carolyn Mathews,

Homeless following the death of his adoptive parents in a car crash and the subsequent loss of their farm tenancy, Seb decides to enrol as a residential student at the Asklepios Foundation, a College of Natural Medicine, boasting a sanctuary modelled on an ancient Greek healing temple. Spending a night…

Book cover of Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement

Roxanna Asgarian Author Of We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America

From my list on how our systems are failing vulnerable children.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an investigative journalist and author, and a decade ago I began digging into the child welfare system—what we call the patchwork web of child protection agencies around the country. The more I learned, the more I realized how this system, which is ostensibly to help children in need, is actually perpetrating deep and lasting harm on generations of children and families. These books have helped me understand how we punish poor people instead of helping them, and how our racist systems harm Black and Indigenous children. They’ve also helped me to sit with the reality of child abuse, and begin to see a different way of preventing harm and healing those who’ve been hurt. 

Roxanna's book list on how our systems are failing vulnerable children

Roxanna Asgarian Why Roxanna loves this book

Two high-profile activists have edited this anthology, which tackles the problem of how to address harm without incarcerating people.

A lot of people get stuck on abolition because they see it as a tearing down of a system, without understanding what new structures we’d need to build in its place. These brilliant thinkers grapple with what a more humane and accountable process would look like.

I particularly recommend the chapter on the transformative justice approach to ending child sexual abuse.

By Ejeris Dixon , Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Transformative justice seeks to solve the problem of violence at the grassroots level, without relying on punishment, incarceration, or policing. Community-based approaches to preventing crime and repairing its damage have existed for centuries. However, in the punative atmosphere of contemporary criminal justice systems, they are often marginalized and operate under the radar. Beyond Survival puts these strategies front and center as real alternatives to today’s failed models of confinement and “correction.”

In this collection, a diverse group of authors focuses on concrete and practical forms of redress and accountability, assessing existing practices and marking paths forward. They use a variety…


Book cover of The Wake Up: Closing the Gap Between Good Intentions and Real Change

Karen Catlin Author Of Better Allies: Everyday Actions to Create Inclusive, Engaging Workplaces

From my list on be a better ally at work starting today.

Why am I passionate about this?

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.

Karen's book list on be a better ally at work starting today

Karen Catlin Why Karen loves this book

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.

By Michelle MiJung Kim ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Wake Up as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

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…


Book cover of Rage

Lise Pearlman Author Of Call Me Phaedra: The Life and Times of Movement Lawyer Fay Stender

From my list on trail-blazing lawyers passionately fighting for social justice.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a retired lawyer and judge with a long-held concern about access to justice, especially as we face the need for stepped-up activism to protect minority rights today. I first became fascinated by Fay Stender’s pioneering career as a board member of California Women Lawyers, which she helped found in 1974. I related to her passion for justice, which led me to research and write her biography and two books on “the trial of the century” of Black Panther Party co-founder Huey Newton. That trial took place in my home city of Oakland over half a century ago, yet its focus on systemic racism remains just as important now.

Lise's book list on trail-blazing lawyers passionately fighting for social justice

Lise Pearlman Why Lise loves this book

I contacted Gilbert Moore in 2014 to share how valuable his book Rage was to my perspective as an author writing about the ground-breaking defense in the 1968 “trial of the century”, People v. Newton. Moore covered that headliner for LIFE magazine as its first black reporter. He agreed to be interviewed for our documentary project American Justice on Trial. Tragically, he died before the interview occurred. Watching that extraordinary trial caused Moore to engage in soul-searching, quit his plum job, and write his critically acclaimed book about the epiphany he experienced. Rage is considered a classic in African-American literature – an unparalleled window into the impact of that unprecedented Movement trial on pioneering black professionals in a white supremacist environment – through the eyes and pen of a firsthand observer.   

By Gilbert Moore ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A Black reporter's contemporary account of his personal and professional reactions to Huey Newton's trial for murder is accompanied by new material setting the case in its historical context


If you love Howard Thurman...

Book cover of Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS

Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS by Amy Carney,

When I was writing this book, several of my friends jokingly called it the Nazi baby book, with one insisting it would make a great title. Nazi Babies – admittedly, that is a catchy title, but that’s not exactly what my book is about. SS babies would be slightly more…

Book cover of The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time

Lisa Marchiano Author Of When Kids Say They're Trans: A Guide for Parents

From my list on understanding the increase in transgender identification and adolescent mental health.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a therapist and Jungian analyst who has been writing and speaking about the transgender phenomenon since 2016. Across the Anglosphere, teen girls have begun identifying as transgender in significant numbers since around 2011. Many are quickly accessing medical interventions. When I became aware of these trends, I got curious about them. I’m especially fascinated by the way that social and psychological factors can shape our understanding of mental health and mental illness, and I’ve been exploring these topics as they relate to trans adolescents. I’ve worked with trans-identifying young people and their parents, as well as detransitioners. 

Lisa's book list on understanding the increase in transgender identification and adolescent mental health

Lisa Marchiano Why Lisa loves this book

Mounk’s book is not about mental health per se, but I found that he provided a clear, compassionate framework for understanding the current obsession with identity politics – which, in my experience, relates to our current mental health crisis.

Prioritizing race, gender, and other aspects of identity means that we focus less on universal aspects of the human experience. As a therapist, I know that understanding our suffering from a universal perspective brings healing and transformation. We lose so much when we lose this.

Mounk’s book helped clarify my thinking about identity politics, and I didn’t find it narrow or polemical. 

By Yascha Mounk ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Identity Trap as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Brought to you by Penguin.

The origins, consequences and limitations of an ideology that has quickly become highly influential around the world.

For much of their history, societies have violently oppressed ethnic, religious and sexual minorities. It is no surprise then that many who passionately believe in social justice have come to believe that members of marginalized groups need to take pride in their identity if they are to resist injustice.

But over the past decades, a healthy appreciation for the culture and heritage of minorities has transformed into an obsession with group identity in all its forms. A new…


Book cover of The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization
Book cover of Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds
Book cover of How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work: Seven Languages for Transformation

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