A Woman Of Independence
The moving story of Sword Gusmao’s meeting with Xanana Gusmao while he was still in prison through to his becoming President of a newly independent East Timor and her becoming First Lady. She portrays their life, the birth of their sons and their commitment to country and people with the same grace and beauty she exhibits in person.
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families
A damning portrayal of the genocide in Rwanda and of the failure of the United Nations and any other country to act to stop the bloodbath. Gourevitch’s is one of the best accounts of what happened and why it still matters today. His has been a constant voice holding those in power to account and to impress on us all the importance of political will to stop such crimes against humanity.
Wild: An Elemental Journey
In Griffith’s journey to reconnect with the wild within herself through throwing herself into wild experiences and spaces, she helps us to re-imagine and reclaim our own connection to wild. Not the least in a new-agey way but in the guttural, essential way that makes way for new life.
Return to the Center
An intimate sharing of a life lived in spiritual service. Griffiths begins by sharing the impact of his time in India and then centres outward to reflections on the vows of religious life and his reconciliation of these with his lived experience.
Woman and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her
Raw, as much as roar, in emotion and intellect. A deeply affecting anthem to women’s connection to the natural world.
Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness
The idea of leaders as servants sparked my attention and has now spared a movement. This lucid book gives life to the theory.
The Quiet American (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
I finally read The Quiet American when I went to Saigon for the first time and of course stayed The Continental Hotel, where Greene himself stayed. Reading the photocopied version of his book in the country he wrote about brought it all home for me. The central character in this book is Pyle, a young and naïve American sent to promote democracy and which instead causes bloodshed. His cynical reporter friend, Fowler, watching from the sidelines is then forced to act himself. It’s a devastating read.
Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America
This book charts the activist life of this amazing woman, whose life’s work is the inspiration for Mother Jones magazine. Jones remains an inspirational icon for many of us in the world today.
An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming
I was one of the first group of Climate Change Messengers trained by Al Gore in Australia and at the end of the course he gave us each a signed copy of An Inconvenient Truth to accompany us as we embarked on our own speaking tours.
Emotional Intelligence
Years ago when I read this book it helped me to name what was not that time so well understood – ways of navigating situations with smart emotion rather than just intellect alone. It remains a classic for its style and substance.
Wood
I first discovered Andy Goldsworthy’s books, reverentially placed on a small alter at Aspen Institute. It seemed appropriate for these books that are themselves visual hymns to nature.
Haunted by the Past
To read this book is to understand more fully some of the challenges facing Aboriginal people in Australia today. Ruby Gangford Ginibi tells a gutsy, gritty story of her family’s survival in all its tragedy and turn-around.