Newt Gingrich served 20 years as a member of Congress, and was speaker of the House of Representatives from 1995–99. He is currently a political analyst for Fox News Channel. His official Web site is www.newt.org.
It is impossible for me to pick five all-time favorite books, because there are simply too many possibilities. I will list five favorite books that I would recommend to anyone interested in good reading:
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Naturalist by Edward Osborne Wilson (Island Press, $25). A terrific introduction to how a young person can fall in love with nature and end up as one of the world’s leading biologists.
The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker (HarperCollins, $13). Based on lectures Drucker gave to the Kennedy administration about being effective. It introduced me to George Catlette Marshall, Alfred Sloan, and Theodore Vail back in 1969 and changed my life by orienting me towards effectiveness and away from either efficiency or effort as measurements of activity.
The Unvanquished by Howard Fast (Sharpe M.E. Inc., $25). One of the finest novels of the American Revolution and a vivid portrait of the courage, discipline, and patience it took for Washington to create first an army and then a country.
Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (Random House, $20). Simply the best military novel about the Civil War (thus sidestepping any comparison with Gone With the Wind). It captures the poignant portrayal of Gettysburg as seen from both sides; worth reading for its vivid introduction of Joshua Chamberlain, the most idealistic icon of the Union side.
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Rebrands: Bringing back the War DepartmentFeature Trump revives the Department of Defense’s former name
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Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
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Keith McNally's 6 favorite books that have ambitious charactersFeature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
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Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War IIFeature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more
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Helen Schulman's 6 favorite collections of short storiesFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Raymond Carver, James Baldwin, and more
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Beatriz Williams' 6 timeless books about history and human relationshipsFeature The best-selling author recommends works by Jane Austen, Zora Neale Hurston, and more
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Aysegul Savas' 6 favorite books for readers who love immersive settingsFeature The Paris-based Turkish author recommends works by Hiromi Kawakami, Virginia Woolf, and more
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Geoff Dyer's 6 favorite books about the realities of warFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Ernie Pyle, Michael Herr, and more
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Laura Lippman's 6 favorite books for those who crave a high-stakes adventureFeature The Grand Master recommends works by E.L. Konigsburg, Charles Portis, and more
