This week, we feature a motivational guide connecting good leaders with reading and an in-depth analysis that sheds new light on World War I.
Nonfiction
‘Read to Lead: The Simple Habit That Expands Your Influence and Boosts Your Career’
By Jeff Brown and Jesse Wisnewski
Host of the popular podcast “Read to Lead” Brown and marketing executive Wisnewski argue that reading changes lives, builds talent, and boosts careers. They share motivational stories to inspire a love of books, offer advice on how to read quickly while absorbing information, and delve into ways you can make that reading a part of your everyday life. Suggested genres run from novels to skill-builders. “All leaders are readers,” Harry Truman said, and these authors want you to join that crew.
Baker Books, 2021, 240 pages
Texas History
‘Santa Anna’s Army in the Texas Revolution, 1835’
By Gregg J. Dimmick
The Texian side of the Texas Revolution is well known. The Mexican side, especially with regard to official documents, is less known, especially to those who only read English. This book is the first of a three-volume set providing English translations of the official records of the Mexican Army during the conflict. It runs from the establishment of the Austin Colony to the fall of Bexar to the Texians in December 1835. It provides a fascinating and detailed look at the Mexican side of the war.
Texas A&M University Press, 2025, 352 pages
Military History
‘The Pity of War: Explaining World War I’
By Niall Ferguson
Ferguson dissects many traditionally held beliefs about World War I. Was Germany the threat it has long been made out to have been? Were soldiers across the globe truly enthusiastic about fighting? And, ultimately, was war actually worth fighting? One of the great living historians presents the dark period of WWI in a new light, altering many perspectives with its trove of information and in-depth analysis. A worthy addition to The Great War’s chronicles.
Basic Books, 2000, 608 pages
Science-Fiction
‘The Luminous Fairies and Mothra’
By Takehiko Fukunaga, Yoshie Hotta, and Shin’ichiro Nakamura
“Mothra” is second only to “Godzilla” in Japanese monster-movie popularity. This book contains a new English translation of the novella which inspired the movie. Co-written by three award-winning mid-20th century literary authors, it is part mythology, part satire, and part political commentary. The novella is followed by an essay that tells how the movie was made, puts the story into cultural context, and explains how it was written and the references that American readers might miss.
University Of Minnesota Press, 2026, 120 pages
Classics
‘Cimarron’
By Edna Ferber
Ferber, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, published this novel nearly a century ago and it was twice featured in movies. It’s set during the Oklahoma Land Rush and its aftermath as seen through the eyes of Sabra and Yancey Cravat. Yancey is an adventurer, a lawyer and newspaper man who chases after dreams while his wife, Sabra, aims to impose civic order on the territory, eventually becoming a member of Congress. Labor disputes, oil booms, and other pieces of the past provide the background for this look at the West.
Vintage, 2014, 336 pages
For Kids
By Demi
“A long time ago in China, there was a boy named Ping who loved flowers.” Thus begins this captivating retelling of this classic Chinese folktale depicting the story of the Emperor searching for his successor by means of judging the flowers planted by the children of the land. It centers on themes of courage and honesty and is perfect for spring.
Henry Holt and Co., 1990, 32 pages
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