What to Read

The Peacemaker: Nixon: The Man, President, and My Friend
Ben Stein
Humanix Books, 246 pages

Ben Stein is a brilliant and accomplished thinker and writer but is perhaps best known for his bit part as a monotone economics teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (“Bueller… Bueller… Bueller…”). Richard Nixon brings to mind the Watergate scandal and his resignation as U.S. president. Stein here — to be sure, he’s a Watergate denier, referring to a “phony” media-driven scandal pursued by Nixon’s enemies and a “lynch mob” — reminds readers that Nixon was a remarkable man whose presidency was marked by a brilliant foreign policy, a true peacemaker on the world scene. It’s an entertaining and very personal account of Nixon as a man, 
a side few really knew.

Leading with the Heart: Coach K’s Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life
Mike Krzyzewski with Donald T. Phillips
Grand Central Publishing, 318 pages

With the NCAA’s March Madness basketball tournament just weeks away, this reissue of a book on leadership by Duke University’s legendary “Coach K” bears fresh relevance for business executives and sports fans alike. Krzyzewski deftly weaves in stories from his coaching career and family life with pointers on the key talking points of what makes leaders great — things like communication, discipline, trust, commitment, mentoring, dealing with adversity, team building, and inspiring by example. It’s not a magic formula — that doesn’t exist, he says — but so much of success rides on personal character, forming positive relationships, and creating a positive culture. That’s Leadership 101, and with a record of on-court success that proves it works. 

Building a Civilization of Love: A Catholic Response to Racism
Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers
Ignatius Press, 252 pages

Concern over racism has been a driving force in politics and public policy for some years now, sometimes spilling over into social unrest and violence whenever racial bias is perceived in law enforcement or other institutions. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers takes a good hard look at what true racism entails, distinguishing it from mere prejudice, and subjectively examines movements like Black Lives Matters and Critical Race Theory for what they get right and wrong. He crafts a reasoned — but challenging — response the faithful can undertake to help heal racial divisions.