World Book Day recommendations from x+why members in East London

If you have children you will know about World Book Day, and will have probably been up late for the past three nights making some kind of character costume for school celebrations!  But for those who don’t know, World Book Day is a registered charity on a mission to give every child and young person a book of their own.

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It is also a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and reading in general, and is marked in over 100 countries all over the world.

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To celebrate this fantastic initiative, we asked some of the members here at x+why, what their favourite books are - because let’s face it, we are all continuously on the hunt for a good book recommendation

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Why We’re Polorized by Ezra Klein

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Digby Vollrath, Feast It

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Discover how American politics became a toxic system, why we participate in it, and what it means for our future--from journalist, political commentator, and cofounder of Vox, Ezra Klein.  Neither a polemic nor a lament, Klein offers a clear framework for understanding everything from Trump's rise to the Democratic Party's leftward shift to the politicization of everyday culture. A revelatory book that will change how you look at politics, and perhaps at yourself.

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“It’s an assessment of everything from Trump to Johnson and the more staunch parts of political allegiances, as well as recent demographic and theological shifts. I finished it in 2 sittings.”  Digby

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Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed

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Adam Rimmer, Floodflash

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An eye-opening, Gladwellian look at the power of a positive attitude toward failure and its profound impact on our success in any field.  Using a cornucopia of interviews, gripping stories, and sharp-edged science, Syed explores the intimate relationship between failure and success, and shows why we need to transport black box thinking into our own lives. If we wish to unleash our potential, we must diagnose and break free of our failures. Part manifesto for change, part intellectual adventure, this groundbreaking book reveals how to do both

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Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre

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Jasper Joyce, London Interdisciplinary School

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A modern classic in which John le Carré expertly creates a total vision of a secret world, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy begins George Smiley's chess match of wills and wits with Karla, his Soviet counterpart.

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“It’s a classic spy novel, beautifully written. But really it taught me a huge amount about organisational life. The different personalities that organisations attract, what motivates them, how they interact, how organisational dysfunction manifests, and how achievements are realised. Great works of fiction like this have given me a much more powerful education about organisations than any mainstream management book I’ve ever read.”  Jasper

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Our Final Warning: Six degrees of Climate Emergency by Mark Lynas

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Miranda Essex, Plantera

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Mark Lynas delivers a vital account of the future of our earth, and our civilisation, if current rates of global warming persist. And it’s only looking worse.  We are living in a climate emergency. But how much worse could it get? Will civilisation collapse? Are we already past the point of no return? What kind of future can our children expect? Rigorously cataloguing the very latest climate science, Mark Lynas explores the course we have set for Earth over the next century and beyond. Degree by terrifying degree, he charts the likely consequences of global heating and the ensuing climate catastrophe.

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These escalating consequences can still be avoided, but time is running out. We must largely stop burning fossil fuels within a decade if we are to save the coral reefs and the Arctic. If we fail, then we risk crossing tipping points that could push global climate chaos out of humanity’s control.

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This book must not be ignored. It really is our final warning.

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Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

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Richard Johnson, Ashoka

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In this candid and riveting memoir, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.

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Knight details the many risks and daunting setbacks - along with his early triumphs. Above all, he recalls the formative relationships with his first partners and employees, who became a tight-knit band of brothers. Together, harnessing the transcendent power of a shared mission, and a deep belief in the spirit of sport, they built a brand that changed everything.

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“I found it fascinating to see how a company can really transform culture. It also demonstrates that this thing around purpose is nothing new. Nike’s company’s purpose was to build products which sportspeople loved that’s what made it so successful.” Richard  

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Purpose by Jessica Huie

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Daniela Flores, Purpose Union

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From teenage mother, expelled from school to a glittering career in public relations and an MBE from the Queen, Jessica shares the lessons she learned as she went from being an individual who felt purposeless and unhappy, to someone who recognizes her complete power to design and create a successful, meaningful and limitless life built from an authentic foundation.

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Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez

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Daniela Flores, Purpose Union

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Award-winning campaigner and writer Caroline Criado Perez brings together an impressive range of case studies, stories and new research from across the world that illustrate the hidden ways in which women are forgotten, and the impact this has on their health and well-being. From government policy and medical research, to technology, workplaces, urban planning and the media, Invisible Women reveals the biased data that excludes women. In making the case for change, this powerful and provocative book will make you see the world anew.

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Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life by James Kerr

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Riya Pabari, Founders Academy

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In Legacy, James Kerr goes deep into the heart of the world’s most successful sporting team, the legendary All Blacks of New Zealand, to reveal 15 powerful and practical lessons for leadership and business.  Legacy is a unique, inspiring handbook for leaders in all fields, and asks: What are the secrets of success – sustained success? How do you achieve world-class standards, day after day, week after week, year after year? How do you handle pressure? How do you train to win at the highest level? What do you leave behind you after you’re gone?

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“One of my favourite books of all time is Legacy. It’s basically a book about the All Blacks - one of the most successful sports team in history. It centres around the first time they let an external journalist into their inner circle, and distils everything down to 15 core lessons.” Riya

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Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

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Paul Miller, BGV

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The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of a multibillion-dollar startup, Theranos, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end in the face of pressure and threats from the CEO and her lawyers. Here is the riveting story of the biggest corporate fraud since Enron, a disturbing cautionary tale set amid the bold promises and gold-rush frenzy of Silicon Valley

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“It’s a good story of how not to do this stuff, and seeing, learning and understanding what can go wrong in this world.” Paul

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David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants - Malcolm Gladwell

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John Higginson, Higginson Strategy

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Malcolm Gladwell looks at the complex and surprising ways the weak can defeat the strong, the small can match up against the giant, and how our goals (often culturally determined) can make a huge difference in our ultimate sense of success. Drawing upon examples from the world of business, sports, culture, cutting-edge psychology, and an array of unforgettable characters around the world, David and Goliath is in many ways the most practical and provocative book Malcolm Gladwell has ever written.

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The Un-inhabitable Earth: Life after global warming by David Wallace-Wells

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Phil Nevin, x+why

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In his travelogue of our near future, David Wallace-Wells brings into stark relief the climate troubles that await - food shortages, refugee emergencies, and other crises that will reshape the globe.

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The Uninhabitable Earth is both a meditation on the devastation we have brought upon ourselves and an impassioned call to action.

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Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard

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Jemma McQueen, x+why

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Yvon Chouinard-legendary climber, businessman, environmentalist, and founder of Patagonia, Inc. shares the persistence and courage that have gone into being head of one of the most respected and environmentally responsible companies on earth. From his youth as the son of a French Canadian blacksmith, to the thrilling, ambitious climbing expeditions that inspired his innovative designs for the sport's equipment, Let My People Go Surfing is the story of a man who brought doing good and having grand adventures into the heart of his business life.

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Plus we have the books which have been written by our very own members Sarah Corbett and Deborah Coughlin

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How to be a Craftivist: The Art of Gentle Protest by Sarah Corbett

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How to Be a Craftivist is a manifesto for quiet activism: how to tackle issues not with shouting and aggression but with gentle protest, using the process of ‘making’ to engage thoughtfully in the issues we are about, to influence and effect change.  In today’s world it’s easy to feel helpless, but here is a book to initiate debates rather than shouting matches, to enable collaboration in place of confrontation. Gentleness can be a great strength, and quiet action can sometimes speak as powerfully amid the noise as the loudest voice. And if we want a world that is beautiful, kind and fair… shouldn’t our activism be beautiful, kind and fair?

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Outspoken: 50 Speeches by Incredible Women from Boudicca to Michelle Obama by Deborah Coughlin

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A lot of history is made up of speeches. Speeches about big ideas, celebratory speeches, rousing speeches to inspire soldiers to fight to the death, comic speeches to help us see the funny side to life. From Jesus to Winston Churchill to Martin Luther King Jr. and even Donald Trump, we’ve been raised with the words of important men ringing in our ears …But where are all the women? From Joan of Arc and Virginia Woolf, to Oprah Winfrey and Greta Thunberg, this is a celebration of outstanding and outspoken women everywhere.

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