Book List / Recommendations

I've read all of these (maybe not *too* recently) and found them quite useful (by degree). Some are for skimming (like the subtle issues of 501 corporations....) but others have good staying power.


This list was first prepared by me as volunteer staff work for a "Main Street" community in May 2006.

To describe work with them as informing me of the issues in change management and organizational development... that experience rather resembles finding gravel in the salad.

Gresham's Law of Organizations as Restated by Me: Bad management drives out good.

Ok. Totally useless opinion but I'm feeling better now.

Clicking any of the links will take you to Amazon.com where you can read 3rd party reviews.

Executive, Board, and Administrative

Starting & Building A Nonprofit: A Practical Guide by Peri Pakroo
Very good basic information in the formation and management of non profits. I found the pieces discussing roles and responsibilities(e.g, what board members do, legal complications, common sense) quite applicable.

Peopleware : Productive Projects and Teams, 2nd Ed. by Tom Demarco and Timothy Lister
While written for engineering (software) projects, this has universal application in managing and creating effective teams.

The One Minute Manager Anniversary Ed : The World's Most Popular Management Method by Kenneth H. Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
I trained with one of Blanchard's disciples in the mid-80s. Good common sense on communications and leadership skills.


Development and Historic Preservation


The Death and Life of Great American Cities (Modern Library Series) by Jane Jacobs (Marion Library System has)

The Experience of Place : A New Way of Looking at and Dealing With our Radically Changing Cities and Countryside (Vintage) by Tony Hiss

Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape by James Howard Kunstler (Paperback - Jul 26, 1994)

Edge City : Life on the New Frontier by Joel Garreau

Boomtown USA: The 7-1/2 Keys to Big Success in Small Towns by John M. Schultz

A Pattern Language : Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series) -- by Christopher Alexander (One of my personal favorites; I used it for training new hires in how to think about design and planning).