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In the Arena’s podcast interviews have included many good book recommendations, often more than one, from government officials all over the country. The officials have suggested books for all kinds of reasons; some have enchanted them as a child, others have inspired them to pursue their current career of public service. Sometimes all the officials can manage is to list the three most recent books they have enjoyed because, as Blair Milo, Indiana’s secretary for Career Connections and Talent, explained, “I could no sooner pick a favorite star in the heavens,” than pick a single best book to read.
Books often become favorites if they provide some sense of nostalgia or wonder. They can be an escape into an alternate reality or a world that satiates the present moment’s wanderlust. During the coronavirus pandemic, this can also act as a form of stress relief, an escape from the confines of the shelter-in-place orders. Los Angeles, Calif., Mayor Eric Garcetti turns to Jorge Luis Borges’ Ficciones, a book of short stories “and many of them are these beautiful fantastical metaphors for the universe.” But he also turns to books for hope, which can act as an escape from the fear and uncertainty of this global pandemic. He discusses how Marge Pearcy’s book of poetry, Stone, Paper, Knife, which gets its title from a poem that is “all about how, in the midst of struggle, do we still stay idealistic and hang on to hope, and hope rests in each one of us.”
For others, a favorite book can be a connection to a cherished moment in time. For Kristen Cox, executive director of the Utah Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, it also happens to be a moment of triumph. “Because I had some vision growing up, they didn’t teach me braille. But then as I went more and more blind, I had no way to read,” Cox explains. After having her first son, she taught herself to read braille, learning a letter a day, so that she could read to her son. Eventually, she was proficient enough to read her first book in braille: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. “I love The Hobbit anyway, but to read that in braille was a huge accomplishment for me.”
Other times, a favorite book can create a cherished moment and connection between two people despite physical separation. For "In the Arena" host, Cathilea Robinett, and senior advisor to the California Office of Emergency Services, Karen Baker, this unity was fostered over a mutual favorite children’s book: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. “I just don’t know what secret garden is around the corner for me,” Baker explains. “The good is about to happen.”
Books can offer us many things during these unprecedented times, whether that is escaping to a different land or building connection between two people and the public officials who have spoken with us “In the Arena” have read it all.
Here is a complete list of the recommendations.*
Beth Niblock, CIO of Detroit, Mich. |
Good to Great by Jim Collins |
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The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson |
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The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein |
Blair Milo, Ind.'s first secretary of Career Connections and Talent |
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho |
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Talking to Strangers by Malcom Gladwell |
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Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal |
Bruce Bond, co-founder of Common Ground Committee |
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky |
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In Search of Excellence by Robert H. Waterman Jr. and Tom Peters |
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The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman |
Chris Cabaldon, mayor of West Sacramento, Calif. |
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman |
Chris Castro, director of Sustainability for Orlando, Fla. |
Reinventing Fire by Amory Lovins |
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Drawdown by Paul Hawken |
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The Willing World by James Bacchus |
Clay Jenkinson, Governing's editor-at-large and humanities scholar |
The Stand by Stephen King |
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A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe |
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The Plague by Albert Camus |
Doug Burgum, governor of N.D. |
Return on Courage by Ryan Berman |
Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles, Calif. |
Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges |
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Stone, Paper, Knife by Marge Piercy |
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Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson |
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What It Takes by Stephen Schwarzman |
Greg Fischer, mayor of Louisville, Ky. |
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey |
Harry Black, city manager of Stockton, Calif. |
Churchill: Walking with Destiny by Andrew Roberts |
Harry LaRosiliere, mayor of Plano, Texas |
Path of Least Resistance by Robert Fritz |
Heather Repenning, executive officer of sustainability policy for Los Angeles Metro |
Beloved by Toni Morrison |
Jabari Simama, former president of Georgia Piedmont Technical College |
Race After Technology by Ruha Benjamin |
Karen Baker, senior advisor to the California Offices of Emergency Services |
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett |
Kim Foxx, state's attorney for Cook County, Ill. |
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath |
Kristen Cox, executive director of Utah Office of Management and Budget |
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien |
Lydia Mihalik, director of Ohio's Development Services Agency |
The Pioneers by David McCullough |
Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University |
The Glory and the Dream by William Manchester |
Miles K. Davis, president of Linfield College |
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie |
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Becoming by Michelle Obama |
Nan Whaley, mayor of Dayton, Ohio |
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen |
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Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Montgomery |
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Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling |
Rebecca Rhynhart, city controller of Philadelphia, Pa. |
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson |
Serena DiMaso, New Jersey assemblymember |
The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt by Eleanor Roosevelt |
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Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon |
Sharon Greenberger, president and CEO of N.Y. YMCA |
The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagan |
Steve Benjamin, mayor of Columbia, S.C. |
Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis |
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South Carolina: A History by Walter Edgar |
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Blessed Experiences by James Clyburn |
Themis Klarides, minority leader of the Conn. House |
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger |
*Part of the proceeds from the books purchased from links within this article will be used to support Governing.
Previous Guests:
- Karen Baker, Senior Adviser to the California Offices of Emergency Services
- Jabari Simama, Former President of Georgia Piedmont Technical College
- Sheila Oliver, Lieutenant Governor of N.J.
- Bruce Bond, Co-Founder of Common Ground Committee
- Heather Repenning, Executive Officer of Sustainability Policy for Los Angeles Metro
- Cathilea Robinett, President of e.Republic: Special Episode
- Miles K. Davis, President of Linfield College
- Sharon Greenberger, President and CEO of N.Y. YMCA
- Toni Carter, County Commissioner for Ramsey County, Minn.
- Harry Black, City Manager of Stockton, Calif.
- John Wetzel, Secretary of Corrections for Pa.
- Alisha Bell, Commission Chair of Wayne County, Mich.
- Mary Ann Borgeson, County Commissioner of Douglas County, Neb.
- Betty Yee, State Controller of Calif.
- Serena DiMaso, New Jersey Assembly Member
- Clay Jenkinson, Governing's Editor-at-Large and Humanities Scholar
- Bryan Barnett, Mayor of Rochester Hills, Mich. and President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors
- Ryan Coonerty, County Supervisor of Santa Cruz, Calif.
- Lydia Mihalik, Director of Ohio's Development Services Agency
- Chris Cabaldon, Mayor of West Sacramento, Calif.
- Affie Ellis, State Senator, Wyo.
- Beth Niblock, CIO of Detroit, Mich.
- Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles, Calif.
- Ed O’Keefe, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation
- Blair Milo, Ind.'s first Secretary of Career Connections and Talent
- Phil Bertolini, Co-Director, Center for Digital Government
- Jo Ann Davidson, Ohio State Representative
- Dow Constantine, Executive of King County, Wash.
- Harry LaRosiliere, Mayor of Plano, Texas
- Rebecca Rhynhart, City Controller of Philadelphia
- Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University
- Mayors Melvin Carter of St. Paul, Minn.; Jenn Daniels of Gilbert, Ariz.; Jacob Frey of Minneapolis; and Francis Suarez of Miami, Fla.
- Chris Castro, Director of Sustainability for Orlando, Fla.
- Kim Foxx, State's Attorney for Cook County, Ill.
- Doug Burgum, Governor of N.D.
- Nan Whaley, Mayor of Dayton, Ohio
- Steve Benjamin, Mayor of Columbia, S.C.
- Kristen Cox, Executive Director of Utah Office of Management and Budget
- Acquanetta Warren, Mayor of Fontana, Calif.
- Greg Fischer, Mayor of Louisville, Ky.
- Themis Klarides, Minority Leader of the Conn. House
Governing is a division of e.Republic
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