Exclusive recommendations just for you
To celebrate your commitment as a Loyalty Society member, we’re delighted to share a special HKS reading experience created just for Loyalty Society members: an annual recommended reading list featuring book selections from HKS faculty. These titles offer a window into the ideas and conversations that inspire their teaching, research, and leadership.
We hope you’ll discover a new title to explore, or be reminded of a favorite you’ve always meant to revisit. Donors like you are the heart of HKS’s ongoing success, and we are deeply grateful for your continued support, curiosity, and loyalty. Thank you for standing with HKS and for being such a vital part of this community!
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity
- Authors: David Graebar and David Wengrow
- Recommended by: Randall Akee, Julie Johnson Kidd Professor of Indigenous Governance and Development
- Why Randall loved it: "This is a book that examines the establishment of various societies in human history and questions the assumptions of linear progression over time (hunter-gatherers to farming to cities to nations). I appreciate the book for providing a novel perspective on the growth and development of these societies and whether we should judge them hierarchically in any sense. Many have criticized the book for not having sufficient economic research to back up these claims, however, I see this as an important stimulus for new research projects and ideas."
The Origins of Inequality, & Policies to Contain It
- Author: Joseph E. Stiglitz
- Recommended by: Julie Battilana, Alan L. Gleitsman Professor of Social Innovation, HKS; Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Business Administration, HBS
- Why Julie loved it: "What I value most about Stiglitz’s work is his insistence that inequality is not destiny. He clearly and convincingly shows how smarter, fairer policies can both strengthen our democracy and promote shared prosperity."
The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource
- Author: Chris Hayes
- Recommended by: Nancy Gibbs, Lombard Director of the Shorenstein Center; Edward R. Murrow Professor of the Practice of Press, Politics and Public Policy
- Why Nancy loved it: "This book made me think differently both about what I study … and how I live."
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
- Author: Ocean Vuong
- Recommended by: Kim Leary, Emma Bloomberg Lecturer in Public Policy and Management
- Why Kim loved it: "I work on family well-being, child thriving, and the leadership and policy choices it takes to ensure them. This story, about the act of discovery at the heart of growing up, is among the most beautifully written books I have encountered in a while. It foregrounds both the impossibility and the necessity of fully telling one’s story – and the aching need for our stories to be received."
Trapped in America's Safety Net: One Family's Struggle
- Author: Andrea Campbell
- Recommended by: Christopher Norio Avery, Roy E. Larsen Professor of Public Policy
- Why Christopher loved it: "This book uses personal experience to show the administrative burdens required to navigate the US health benefit system, making the point that if this is difficult for an MIT Political Science professor like the author, it can’t be a workable system for the population at large."
Fans Have More Friends
- Authors: Ben Valenta and David Sikorjak
- Recommended by: Todd Rogers, Weatherhead Professor of Public Policy
- Why Todd loved it: "We are in a connection recession: too many are isolated, lonely, and alienated. Sports fandom can help. This book convincingly argues that fandom is not a frivolity; it’s an engine of community."
Questions? Contact Caitlin Santacroce at caitlin_santacroce@hks.harvard.edu or 617-495-5240.