John Wood's 6 favorite books
The author and ex-Microsoft executive recommends stories of Rockefeller, Carter, and Roosevelt

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller Sr. by Ron Chernow (Vintage, $20). An epic biography that illustrates how Rockefeller, once deemed a rapacious monopolist, created a legacy late in life that continues to pay dividends today.
The Unfinished Presidency by Douglas G. Brinkley (out of print). Brinkley tells the story of how Jimmy Carter reinvented himself after a crushing electoral defeat. Carter proved that even after having the world's most powerful job, one can still achieve an inspiring second act, and his example helped catalyze my own decision to leave Microsoft and follow my dream.
Permission Marketing by Seth Godin (Simon & Schuster, $26). There's a reason Seth is one of the most widely read business bloggers. His books have pushed me to think creatively and with new audacity. I followed his advice while getting Room to Read off the ground in 1998, and to date we've raised more than $200 million.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Banksy: The Man Behind the Wall by Will Ellsworth-Jones (St. Martin's, $28). How do you write a biography of an artist who isn't there, or perhaps is hiding in plain sight? Ellsworth-Jones brings the chimera to life, and I've never again thought about street art in the same way.
Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris (Random House, $18). Morris's Theodore Roosevelt makes today's politicians seem tepid and paper-thin in comparison. Had Teddy told you he was out walking the Appalachian Trail, that would have been the truth, not subterfuge.
Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Harcourt, $14). Powerful meditations and remembrances of piloting airmail planes across vast, isolated, and dangerous stretches of Africa. In an era of instantaneous and never-ending communication, it's a pleasure to hark back to the days when a long-distance message required weeks of waiting and the risking of lives. I admire how Saint-Exupéry looked past the technology of aviation to embrace the simple love of flying. We could apply that same theory today: It's easy to get caught up in the technology of communicating rather than enjoy the actual experience.
— In his new book, Creating Room to Read, John Wood describes founding a charity that has built nearly 15,000 libraries in the developing world
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 24 September 2023
The Week’s daily digest of the news agenda, published at 8am
By The Week Staff Published
-
Crossword: September 24, 2023
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku hard: September 24, 2023
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published