Here are 100 books that The Heart of Power fans have personally recommended if you like The Heart of Power. 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 Who Shall Live? Health, Economics And Social Choice

Joseph P. Newhouse Author Of Pricing the Priceless: A Health Care Conundrum

From my list on the economics and history of American health insurance.

Why am I passionate about this?

My mother wanted me to be a physician, but as a child I was very squeamish about human biology and knew that wasn't for me. In college I was exposed to economics and found it, and the policy debates about national health insurance, fascinating. So, maybe with my mother’s wishes in the back of my mind, I became a health economist. I was privileged to direct a large randomized trial called the RAND Health Insurance Experiment, which varied the cost of medical care to families. This project lasted more than a decade and got me so deep into the economics of health and medical care that I became a professor of health policy and management.


Joseph's book list on the economics and history of American health insurance

Joseph P. Newhouse Why Joseph loves this book

Eminently readable, this is a classic book by the doyen of American health economics that explains in non-technical terms the economics of health and medical care. It has been updated with several essays that Fuchs has published in the almost five decades since the book was first published.  

By Victor R Fuchs ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Who Shall Live? Health, Economics And Social Choice as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Since the first edition of Who Shall Live? (1974), over 100,000 students, teachers, physicians, and general readers from more than a dozen fields have found this book to be a reader-friendly, authoritative introduction to economic concepts applied to health and medical care.Health care is by far the largest industry in the United States. It is three times larger than education and five times as large as national defense. In 2001, Americans spent over $12,500 per person for hospitals, physicians, drugs and other health care services and goods. Other high-income democracies spend one third less, enjoy three more years of life…


If you love The Heart of Power...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

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…

Book cover of The Social Transformation of American Medicine: The Rise of a Sovereign Profession and the Making of a Vast Industry

Joseph P. Newhouse Author Of Pricing the Priceless: A Health Care Conundrum

From my list on the economics and history of American health insurance.

Why am I passionate about this?

My mother wanted me to be a physician, but as a child I was very squeamish about human biology and knew that wasn't for me. In college I was exposed to economics and found it, and the policy debates about national health insurance, fascinating. So, maybe with my mother’s wishes in the back of my mind, I became a health economist. I was privileged to direct a large randomized trial called the RAND Health Insurance Experiment, which varied the cost of medical care to families. This project lasted more than a decade and got me so deep into the economics of health and medical care that I became a professor of health policy and management.


Joseph's book list on the economics and history of American health insurance

Joseph P. Newhouse Why Joseph loves this book

Another classic book that describes the history of American medicine and organized medicine’s interactions with the political process. 

It is necessary background to understand the predominance of employment-based health insurance and why the 2010 Affordable Care Act was such a breakthrough. Starr is a Princeton sociologist who participated in the 1990s debate on the failed Clinton health insurance plan.

By Paul Starr ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Social Transformation of American Medicine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Bancroft Prize in American History, The Social Transformation of American Medicine is a landmark history of the American health care system, examining how the roles of doctors, hospitals, health plans, and government programs has evolved over the last two centuries. Beginning in 1730 and coming up to the present day, renowned sociologist Paul Starr traces the transformation of our national health care system into a private corporate medical institution that dominates the field and threatens the sovereignty of the medical profession. In this new and revised edition, Paul Starr will bring his research…


Book cover of Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail and What to Do About It

Joseph P. Newhouse Author Of Pricing the Priceless: A Health Care Conundrum

From my list on the economics and history of American health insurance.

Why am I passionate about this?

My mother wanted me to be a physician, but as a child I was very squeamish about human biology and knew that wasn't for me. In college I was exposed to economics and found it, and the policy debates about national health insurance, fascinating. So, maybe with my mother’s wishes in the back of my mind, I became a health economist. I was privileged to direct a large randomized trial called the RAND Health Insurance Experiment, which varied the cost of medical care to families. This project lasted more than a decade and got me so deep into the economics of health and medical care that I became a professor of health policy and management.


Joseph's book list on the economics and history of American health insurance

Joseph P. Newhouse Why Joseph loves this book

This book, by three eminent economists who themselves have advanced the theory of insurance markets, describes in non-technical terms exactly what its title promises, why insurance markets fail. 

In other words, it describes why public intervention is necessary to make insurance function well. The public intervention can take many forms, ranging from subsidies to national health services, but no industrialized country leaves health insurance entirely to a private market.

By Liran Einav , Amy Finkelstein , Ray Fisman

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An engaging and accessible examination of what ails insurance markets-and what to do about it-by three leading economists

Why is dental insurance so crummy? Why is pet insurance so expensive? Why does your auto insurer ask for your credit score? The answer to these questions lies in understanding how insurance works. Unlike the market for other goods and services-for instance, a grocer who doesn't care who buys the store's broccoli or carrots-insurance providers are more careful in choosing their customers, because some are more expensive than others.

Unraveling the mysteries of insurance markets, Liran Einav, Amy Finkelstein, and Ray Fisman…


If you love David Blumenthal...

Book cover of Dark Fae Outcast

Dark Fae Outcast by Autumn M. Birt,

Trapped in our world, the fae are dying from drugs, contaminants, and hopelessness. Kicked out of the dark fae court for tainting his body and magic, Riasg only wants one thing: to die a bit faster. It’s already the end of his world, after all.

But while scoring his last…

Book cover of The Quality Cure: How Focusing on Health Care Quality Can Save Your Life and Lower Spending Too

Joseph P. Newhouse Author Of Pricing the Priceless: A Health Care Conundrum

From my list on the economics and history of American health insurance.

Why am I passionate about this?

My mother wanted me to be a physician, but as a child I was very squeamish about human biology and knew that wasn't for me. In college I was exposed to economics and found it, and the policy debates about national health insurance, fascinating. So, maybe with my mother’s wishes in the back of my mind, I became a health economist. I was privileged to direct a large randomized trial called the RAND Health Insurance Experiment, which varied the cost of medical care to families. This project lasted more than a decade and got me so deep into the economics of health and medical care that I became a professor of health policy and management.


Joseph's book list on the economics and history of American health insurance

Joseph P. Newhouse Why Joseph loves this book

Almost all Americans think the high cost of health care is a major problem and a large number think access to services is also a problem. 

Many, however, think that if a person has access to medical care and good insurance, quality of care is excellent. That’s sometimes true, but often not as this book describes.

By David Cutler ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In the United States, the soaring cost of health care has become an economic drag and a political flashpoint. Moreover, although the country's medical spending is higher than that of any other nation, health outcomes are no better than elsewhere, and in some cases are even worse. In The Quality Cure, renowned health care economist and former Obama advisor David Cutler offers an accessible and incisive account of the issues and their causes, as well as a road map for the future of health care reform--one that shows how information technology, realigned payment systems, and value-focused organizations together have the…


Book cover of Raising Body Positive Teens: A Parent's Guide to Diet-Free Living, Exercise, and Body Image

Charlotte Markey Author Of Adultish: The Body Image Book for Life

From my list on raising body positive kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Rutgers professor of psychology and a body image scientist. Growing up, I was a dancer and learned to be dissatisfied with my body at a young age. These concerns inhabited so much mental space during my adolescence that I ultimately began to study these issues in college as a way to better understand myself and others who had similar experiences. I’ve been doing research on body image and eating behaviors for over 25 years now and write books about these topics to help other kids and adults who may be struggling with these issues. Can you imagine what we could accomplish if we all felt comfortable in our own skin?

Charlotte's book list on raising body positive kids

Charlotte Markey Why Charlotte loves this book

I love that this book is written by a psychologist, registered dietitian, and physician. This combination of expertise provides the basis for a well-researched and multifaceted approach for any adult interested in helping kids develop positive body images.

I especially appreciate that this book takes a strong anti-diet stance while offering strategies for families to develop a peaceful relationship with food.  

By Signe Darpinian , Wendy Sterling , Shelley Aggarwal

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Raising Body Positive Teens as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In a world fraught with diet-culture and weight stigma, many parents worry about their child's relationship with their body and food. This down-to-earth guide is an invaluable resource allowing parents to take proactive actions in promoting a friendship with food, and preventative actions to minimize the risk factors for the development of eating disorders, particularly when early signs of disordered eating, excessive exercise, or body dissatisfaction have been noticed. It provides clear strategies and tools with a practical focus to gently encourage parents and teens to have a healthy relationship with food and exercise by centralizing joy and health. Coming…


Book cover of Body Toxic

Stacy Alaimo Author Of Bodily Natures: Science, Environment, and the Material Self

From my list on thinking of ourselves as the environment.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been passionate about animals, the environment, and social justice since I was a child. As an adult I have been frustrated—even enragedthat so many products and practices are considered safe and “normal” even though they harm wildlife, pets, and people. I think it's bizarre that people imagine themselves as separate from the chemicals they spray in their homes and their yards, even as they breathe in the toxins. I hope that the concept of “transcorporeality,” which urges us to see our own bodies as literally part of the environment, will convince people that environmentalism isn’t optional but is a vital part of human health and social justice.

Stacy's book list on thinking of ourselves as the environment

Stacy Alaimo Why Stacy loves this book

Suzanne Antonetta’s Body Toxic epitomizes what I call the “material memoir,” a mode of writing autobiography that seeks to understand the self through connections to places and substances. Antonetta bravely examines her own physical and mental health, grappling with scientific data: “I choked facts and they choked me back, they stuck like Legos—clingy but hard to build into anything real.” Recalling the nuclear warhead that caught fire nearby her childhood home, spraying radioactive particles, she notes that her entire family, bizarrely, has somehow forgotten this incident. Body Toxic is fascinating, chilling, and unnerving, but also beautifully written in unflinching yet poetic prose. Body Toxic convinced me that our life stories are incomplete if they ignore how places and substances have affected us.

By Susanne Antonetta ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A thought-provoking and dramatic account two families who hope to start a new life in the boglands of New Jersey only to discover, much too late, that their new living environment was riddled with radiation and toxic waste.

Two immigrant families drawn together from wildly different parts of the world, Italy on one side and Barbados on the other, pursued their vision of the American dream by building a summer escape in the boglands of New Jersey, where the rural and industrial collide. They picked gooseberries on hot afternoons and spent lazy days rowing dinghies down creeks. But the gooseberry…


If you love The Heart of Power...

Book cover of Everyday Medical Miracles: True Stories from the Frontlines in Women’s Health Care

Everyday Medical Miracles by Joseph S. Sanfilippo (editor),

Frontiers of Women from the healthcare perspective. A compilation of 60 true short stories written by an extensive array of healthcare providers, physicians, and advanced practice providers.

All designed to give you, the reader, a glimpse into the day-to-day activities of all of us who provide your health care. Come…

Book cover of Crystal Healing for Women: A Modern Guide to the Power of Crystals for Renewed Energy, Strength, and Wellness

Alyson Charles Author Of Animal Power: 100 Animals to Energize Your Life and Awaken Your Soul

From my list on supporting your spiritual awakening.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a shaman, seer, and spiritual teacher who lives in Austin, Texas with my husband Luke Storey, black cat Jelly Bean and dog Cookie. I’m devoted to being of service by living by the calls of inner wisdom, mysticism, energy medicine, and shamanic practices I’ve mastered through studies with spiritual teachers, both of and beyond this world. I lead global courses, events, and talks to reconnect people to their fullest power and confidence through sacred practices. My book was named “a top meditation to try” by O, The Oprah Magazine, and I’ve been called "a leading shaman for expanding others into their full gifts and power" by Forbes.

Alyson's book list on supporting your spiritual awakening

Alyson Charles Why Alyson loves this book

If the healing power of crystals has ever drawn you in, I recommend having this book as a staple in your life. I personally know the author and she teaches from a truly pure, embodied, and reverent space. With this book you will learn everything from how to ethically source, care for and collect crystals, how to work with them for different purposes, the 10 crystals every woman needs, and specific crystal rituals for love, fertility, and more. Beautifully put together with breathtaking photos and integrity-filled practices, this book will elevate the power of nature in your life, health, and heart!

By Mariah K. Lyons ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Crystal Healing for Women as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Crystal Healing for Women
A Modern Guide to the Power of Crystals for Renewed Energy, Strength, and Wellness

Discover the physical, mental, and spiritual healing power of crystals and awaken the healer within.

     Believed to hold restorative powers over our health, crystals have served humanity for millennia. With Crystal Healing for Women, you can unlock the ancient secrets of healing and wisdom held within these stones. Crystal healer and Reiki Master Mariah K. Lyons shares her knowledge in this beautifully-illustrated, practical guide that helps women awaken to their feminine divinity and healing powers, and rekindle their instinctual relationship with nature.…


Book cover of Better Sex Through Mindfulness: How Women Can Cultivate Desire

Laurie Mintz Author Of Becoming Cliterate: Why Orgasm Equality Matters--And How to Get It

From my list on improving your sex life.

Why am I passionate about this?

Before children, I had a robust sex drive. When my second daughter was born, poof—it disappeared. Upon asking, I discovered that my friends were also struggling. I immersed myself in the research literature and found solutions—yet was dismayed that this information wasn’t readily available to women. So, I translated the scientific literature into an accessible self-help book. My passion was ignited. I immersed myself in sex education and therapy, publishing my second book based on the experiences of students in a university-level human sexuality course I teach. I find deep meaning translating sexual science for the lay public and helping people gain knowledge and comfort with sex.

Laurie's book list on improving your sex life

Laurie Mintz Why Laurie loves this book

Mindfulness is a powerful practice, proven to decrease stress and help us live more in the present moment. Acclaimed psychologist and researcher Dr. Lori Brotto is the brilliant pioneer to apply mindfulness to sexuality.

Dr. Brotto had been using mindfulness with great success to help her patients and she thus wrote a book to spread the word more broadly. In this book, she explains the reasons people have sexual problems and provides easy, effective exercises to help them. And, even if a reader doesn’t have a sexual problem, mindfulness can simply enhance sexual pleasure and satisfaction.

I have recommended this book to countless clients and students. I meditate each morning and practice mindfulness myself, inside and outside of the bedroom, and I’ve learned a lot from Dr. Brotto’s work.

By Lori A. Brotto ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Better Sex Through Mindfulness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

AS SEEN IN "THE PRINCIPLES OF PLEASURE" ON NETFLIX

ALSO FEATURED IN BUSTLE * DAN SAVAGE LOVECAST * JEZEBEL * NEW YORK TIMES

Find out how mindfulness is the key to cultivating desire, increasing sexual pleasure, and finding joy in intimacy.

Studies show that approximately half of all women experience some kind of sexual difficulty at one point in their lives, with lack of interest in sex being by far the most common and the most distressing. And when sex suffers, so do all other areas of life.

But it doesn't have to be that way. In Better Sex through…


Book cover of Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation

Ericka Johnson Author Of A Cultural Biography of the Prostate

From my list on think twice about your doctor’s advice.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have an annoying habit of figuring out why someone says or believes what they do—and think that is more interesting than their actual ‘truth’. I try to keep this in check during social events (it can make for painful dinner table conversations if I go too far). Still, it means the general take on the medical humanities (and I’d put all the books below in that wide category) is something I’m passionate about. Why do we believe what we do about health? About disease? About the body? And why do we think medical doctors have the truth for us? 

Ericka's book list on think twice about your doctor’s advice

Ericka Johnson Why Ericka loves this book

I love this book for two reasons. 1. The content: It is so well researched and clearly shows how unequal access to medical care is only part of the reason health levels and outcomes are unequal. We need to consider many other layers, like how medical studies are done, where people live, and what they are exposed to in their physical and social environments. 2. The writing: Villarosa is a genius! She writes so well and compellingly about complex things; I totally get her arguments, even when they deal with academic topics.

By Linda Villarosa ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF 2022 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES

The first book to tell the full story of race and health in America today, showing the toll racism takes on individuals and the health of the nation.

In the US, Black people have poorer health outcomes than white people at every stage of their lives: Black babies are more than twice as likely as white babies to die at birth or in the first year of life; Blacks in every age-group under sixty-five have significantly higher death rates than whites. Racial disparities in healthcare are…


If you love David Blumenthal...

Book cover of Karl's War

Karl's War by Neil Spark,

Karl's War is a coming-of-age-meets-thriller set in Germany on the eve of Hitler coming to power. Karl – a reluctant poster boy for the Nazis – meets Jewish Ben and his world is up-turned.

Ben and his family flee to France. Karl joins the German army but deserts and finds…

Book cover of I Knew a Woman: Four Women Patients and Their Female Caregiver

Cheryl Dellasega Author Of Toxic Nursing: Managing Bullying, Bad Attitudes, and Total Turmoil

From my list on wellbeing for nurses.

Why am I passionate about this?

Juggling roles as a professor, nurse practitioner, author, mother, and grandmother would seem to limit my reading time but instead, I always have a book in my car, on my phone, or in my hands. I read broadly and enjoy all genres, from fiction to nonfiction, poetry to medical comics, as well as the creative essay columns nursing journals are beginning to embrace. In particular, I gravitate toward resources that help nurses create a positive relational workplace where their best efforts can be even more effective. Whether it’s ending the RN-RA (relational aggression) Rut, using poetry to express feelings about caregiving, or writing creatively about the many aspects of nursing, I am ready to read! And of course, the best part of reading is having a discussion with colleagues or friends about what exactly that book was about…

Cheryl's book list on wellbeing for nurses

Cheryl Dellasega Why Cheryl loves this book

This story about four patients cared for by nurse practitioner and acclaimed poet Cortney Davis reminds me a bit of pandemic narratives in that she works in a public clinic with individuals whose financial, emotional, or social situation puts them at risk. Since her patients are all female, their needs are related to gynecology, but the bigger story is Cortney’s ability to connect with them on a humanistic level and share their hopes, concerns, and fears.

By Cortney Davis ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I Knew a Woman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"I cannot ignore the reality of the body, its glorious beginnings and its subtle endings," writes Cortney Davis in this intimate and startlingly original account of her work at a women's clinic. A poet and nurse-practitioner with twenty five years' experience, Davis reveals the beauty of the body's workings by unfolding the lives of four patients who struggle with its natural cycles and unexpected surprises: pregnancy and childbirth, illness and recovery, sexual dysfunction and sexual joy. An abundance of solid medical information imbues every graceful line.

Davis's eternal question to herself is: How do you help someone to not merely…


Book cover of Who Shall Live? Health, Economics And Social Choice
Book cover of The Social Transformation of American Medicine: The Rise of a Sovereign Profession and the Making of a Vast Industry
Book cover of Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail and What to Do About It

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Interested in health, George W. Bush, and Richard Nixon?

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