Tim's Library

Editor’s note: I’ve often wondered how Winston Churchill could be so often quoted, and now I know. He wrote over 15,000,000 million published words – books, speeches, articles, letters and papers. This book contains “only” 350,000 of them. “By Himself” was a gift from my good friend, Rob Falls. It’s a “best of” Churchill – over 4,000 quotes that are attributable and arranged by topic. The author is a leading Churchill scholar which would be a career since another 35,000,000 words have been published about Winston Churchill. Obviously, it’s not a book I read but it’s become a favorite for perusing when I have the time and intention to learn from the ultimate statesman of the 20th century.

Excerpt: “There are no people who are so slow to develop hostile feelings against a foreign country as the Americans, and there are no people who, once estranged, are more difficult to win back.”

Editor’s note:  I went back and forth on featuring this book due to Kagan’s known conservative credentials and the books rambling nature.  But in the end, two ideas, one past and one future, are powerful.  The past is that the United States became “sole world power” somewhat ambivalently.  That is, Kagan says, over history we tend to 1. Resist getting engaged in conflict, 2. Engage only when there appears to be a human cost that we feel can no longer be ignored and then 3. We become uncomfortable with the power we’re given by our engagement.  The second, far more importantly, is Kagan’s future view from past learning which is that we must decide now not later how to act as one of two or three world powers since we will soon no longer be at the top alone.  His conclusion, as noted in the excerpt below, is that this is not a one dimensional issue, as it is so often considered.

Excerpt:“What will this require?  Above all, it would mean working to shore up all three pillars – politics, economics and security – of what has made this American age, with all its brutalities, a golden age for humanity.  We have a tendency to separate politics, economics and security – “ideals” from “interests,” support for democracy from defense of security – but in the American world order they have all been related.”  

Editor’s Note: This irreverent “journey through the new Third World” by Lewis is at once vastly entertaining and concerning. Within the past year or so, he visits Iceland, Ireland, Greece, Germany and California to measure the fallout of the financial crisis. Interviews with many key players in these focal point geographies suggest to the reader that the crisis a. looks obvious in retrospect and b. is not nearly over yet. And while I’d already had this fact drilled into my head in MBA school in 2005-2007, he reminds me that the clearest sign of trouble ahead is our government (all levels) un-fundable benefit commitments to public workers and pensioners.

Excerpt: “It’s not just a coincidence that the debts of cities and states spun out of control at the same time as the debts of individual Americans. Alone in a dark room with a pile of money, Americans knew exactly what they wanted to do, from the top of the society to the bottom. They’d been conditioned to grab as much as they could, without thinking about the long-term consequences. Afterward, the people on Wall Street would privately bemoan the low morals of the American people who walked away from their subprime loans, and the American people would express outrage at the Wall Street people who paid themselves a fortune to design the bad loans.”

Editor's Note: A special highlight of "Encore" is the author's inclusion of stories of people who have chosen not to retire from working itself, but to change careers for work that is personally meaningful and self-satisfying. Certainly this has been my own experience and readers will find practical hints and tips for the transformation that millions of our baby boomers may want to make.

Favorite quote: "One thing about successful encore careerists – they don’t wait around."

Editor’s Note: This book serves as a great reminder that we all have something to give, from the smallest donation to starting a non-profit organization.  It is a comprehensive look into how to make giving really count, and will inspire and motivate you to think more carefully about all you are doing for others.  The book opens with a great quote that guides part of our foundation’s mission of encouraging others to try and make a difference:  “A philanthropist is anyone who gives anything – time, money, experience, skills, and networks – in any amount to create a better world.” 

By Jan Thrope

www.innervisionsofcleveland.org

Editor’s Note:  This book captures the amazing inner strength of some of Cleveland’s most economically disadvantaged residents.  The stories of hope in the face of poverty are both inspiring and humbling to me. 
I admire greatly the work Jan Thrope is doing to help inner-city residents initiate and lead their own community improvement projects.  If you are interested in receiving a complimentary copy of the book, please contact our foundation’s director, Bill Leamon, at bill@thebusinessofgood.org.

by Isabel Wilkerson
Book Link

Editor’s Note: Wilkerson is a first time book writer but a Pulitzer Prize winning feature writer for the New York Times. This epic non-fiction work traces the lives of three southern blacks from three different decades moving north from three different parts of the South. More...

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Leap of Reason
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