Books for stimulating conversation about service-learning, civic engagement and community development.

Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, By Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell considers the elements needed to make a particular idea take hold. The tipping point occurs when something that begins as small turns into something very large. Gladwell's premise rests on three rules: the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey

Good to Great and the Social Sector: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great, by Jim Collins
This monograph is a response to questions raised by readers in the social sector, and it is not a new book. The author wanted to avoid any confusion about the monograph being a book by limiting its distribution to online retailers. This monograph is based on interviews and workshops with over 100 social sector leaders.

Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High Impact Nonprofits  by Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant
What makes great nonprofits great? Not large budgets. Not snazzy marketing. Not perfect management. Great nonprofits spend as much time working with institutions outside their four walls as they do managing their internal operations. They use the power of leverage to become greater forces for good. This reveals the six powerful practices of twelve high-impact nonprofits and tells their compelling stories. Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant spent four years surveying thousands of nonprofit leaders, conducting hundreds of interviews, and studying in-depth a dozen high-impact organizations to uncover their secrets to success. Their quest took them from the well-known, Habitat for Humanity; to the less well-known, YouthBuild USA; and to the unexpected, the Exploratorium. What the authors discovered surprised them.

Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable...About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business, by Patrick M. Lencioni
Lencioni uses a parable to frame his advice on how to get value from time spent in meetings. Meetings are like movies in that they need conflict and resolution to hold people's attention. They also require seriousness of purpose, diligent preparation, and a persistent focus on stated goals. He then offers explicit advice about providing drama and structure.

The Complete Guide to Service Learning: Proven, Practical Ways to Engage Students in Civic Responsibility, Academic Curriculum, & Social Action, by Cathryn Berger Kaye

Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age by Duncan J. Watts

The Civically Engaged Reader: A Diverse Collection of Short Provocative Readings on Civic Activity
Make service meaningful with The Civically Engaged Reader: A Diverse Collection of Short Provocative Readings on Civic Activity. Published by the Great Books Foundation, with support from the Project on Civic Reflection, this ready-to-use resource for service-learning and volunteer programs offers 47 readings that range across literature, philosophy, and religion, as well as discussion questions and tips to help groups read and reflect on their civic activity. The first anthology created specifically for civic reflection, The Civically Engaged Reader helps participants to better understand the vital connections between thought and service. Visit [link] www.greatbooks.org/civics for more information.

Citizens of the World: Readings in Human Rights
The concept of human rights is a revolutionary idea still in the making today. In Citizens of the World: Readings in Human Rights, the Great Books Foundation brings together 34 readings--from memoir and fiction to legal and historical documents--in order to help readers discuss the abstract concepts of law, freedom, and dignity. Visit [link] www.greatbooks.org/citizens for more information.

Will of the People: Readings in American Democracy
This Great Books Foundation anthology brings together 14 of the most important texts from the history of American democracy in a format that invites discussion of their meaning and continuing significance. Visit www.greatbooks.org/will for more information.

Talking Service: Readings for Civic Reflection
This book is the ultimate resource for service-learning programs that want their reflection component to work. Developed by the Great Books Foundation and the Project on Civic Reflection, and used in Chicago Public Schools' service-learning curriculum, Talking Service contains seven brief readings on service that span a range of reading ability yet are complex enough to provoke real thought and conversation. The book also includes reflection exercises and questions for discussion that will help students think more deeply about their service. Available August 1, 2008. Contact [e-mail link: smithj@greatbooks.org] Jason A. Smith for more information.

How to Change the World by David Bornstein
This book tells the stories of people who have both changed their lives and found ways to change the world. It tell stories of people who have discovered how to use their talents and energy to advance deeply meaningful changes -- defiant people who refuse to accept the status quo, who simply cannot sit still in the face of injustice, suffering or wastefulness. The book shows (and analyzes) how innovators advance new models to solve social and economic problems -- how they make headway against the odds. Full of hope and energy, pragmatic solutions and compelling characters, this book will be practical and inspiring reading for individuals who seek to understand the fast growing field of "social entrepreneurship" and discover opportunities to enrich their work and their lives. Whether they are teachers or management consultants, bankers or doctors, nurses or social workers, writers or engineers, the people in this book are successfully demonstrating that one person with initiative and the courage to try out a new idea, along with a determination to seek out and connect with other changemakers, can advance changes that improve the lives and unleash the potential of thousands or even millions of others.

The Call to Service, by Robert Coles

Leading from Within, by Nancy S. Huber

Soul of a Citizen by Paul R. Loeb

The Impossible Will Take a Little While by Paul R. Loeb

Finding Your Voice by Lorraine R. Matusak