Barbara Kellerman, The End of Leadership. From an industry insider who teaches leadership at Harvard comes a devastating critique of the leadership industry—both in universities and in corporate America. The book argues that the explosion of leadership training, instead of improving things, may actually be making matters worse. It also suggests that some versions of traditional liberal education may be a better starting point for educating leaders.
Michael Zantovsky, Havel: A Life. A gripping biography of the life of the great Czech dissident and politician, whose notion of "living in truth," a way of resisting the ideological distortions of communism, is remarkably germane to our own time.
Johann Hari, Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression—And the Unexpected Solutions. A controversial book for its dismissive attitude toward the current practice of treating depression, the book's strength consists in its directing our attention to the ways in which depression can have roots in the absence of basic human connections—disconnections from meaningful work, from friends and family, from nature, and from a hopeful future.
Paul Shrimpton, The "Making of Men." The Idea and Reality of Newman's University in Oxford and Dublin. An important book on what Newman has to teach us about the education of young adults, Shrimpton's book focuses on Newman's work as the first rector of the Catholic University of Dublin. It is especially strong on Newman's vision of character and faith formation in the area of what we today would call student life.