1. The Black Jacobins, C.L.R. James
The 1937 classic book on the Haitian Revolution provides an incredible story of leadership and how to change a culture.
2. Writing My Wrongs, Shaka Senghor
The memoir of a man who went to prison for 19 years, then became an author and MIT fellow.
3. Lenin: The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror, Victor Sebestyen
A thrilling biography that provides great insight into how Communism works in practice.
4. Skin in the Game, Nicholas Nassim Taleb
A book about the dynamics of how large-scale, highly random systems behave.
5. Made in Harlem: A Memoir, Daniel R. Day
An amazing entrepreneurial story covering everything from dice to fashion.
A version of this article appeared in the March/April 2020 issue of Fast Company magazine.