What senior leaders in government are reading in 2020
Not everyone makes New Year’s resolutions -- but those who do often aim to spend a little more time reading. Before you go and restock your shelves, we thought we’d ask leaders from across government to share some of the books they look forward to reading or revisiting in the weeks and months ahead.
Catherine Blewett, Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council & Associate Secretary to the Cabinet, Government of Canada
This gave me pause, because as I reflected on my book list, it was clear I spend far more time reading work-related material! So here goes with the three books at the top of my list to read:
Girl, Woman, Other (2019) by Bernardine Evaristo
Slow Camino: My Adventure on the Camino de Santiago (2017) by Terence Callery
Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive (2019) by Stephanie Land
Sara Filbee, Regional ADM, Service Canada
Given that I am just finishing up my Doctorate, I’m looking forward to reading some fiction. That being said, I have just ordered the following three books and will be reading them:
Scatterbrain: How the Mind’s Mistakes Make Humans Creatilve, Innovative, and Successful (2019) by Henning Beck – written by a neuroscientist who explains why perfectionism is pointless and mistakes are the key to success.
The Strange Order of Things: Life, Feeling, and the Making of Cultures (2017) by Antonio Damasio – again written by a neuroscientist on his unified thesis of the mind and the brain.
Change Your World: The Science of Resilience and the True Path to Success (2019) by Dalhousie Professor Michael Ungar – on how resilience is a question of social support networks versus an individual competence.
Paul Lafleche, Deputy Minister, TIR, Government of Nova Scotia
The Perfect Horse (2016) by Elisabeth Letts. It’s about the daring US mission to save the priceless stallions kidnapped by the Nazis.
Against the Grain: A Biography of Dr. John Savage (2019) by Lindsay Ruck.
One Summer: America 1927 (2013) by Bill Bryson. The book focuses on the great events on that year such as Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight to Paris and Babe Ruth’s 60 home run season. Other events of the roaring 1920s are woven into the book.
Bernie Miller, Deputy Minister, Department of Business; Office of Strategy Management
David Landes, The Unbound Prometheus: Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to Present (2003 ed.).
Landes is a Harvard Economic Historian who set out to find what causes economic growth to occur and why it occurs in some regions and not others. I have read it but occasionally re-read and refer to it. He quotes a 17th Century observer who said “The money of the King brings bad luck to those who receive loans and advances,” of businesses that rely on Government financing. After a thorough examination of the data he articulates some common sources and dynamics of growth: Comparative Advantage, science and technological change, demographics and skills, trading in high value goods and cluster dynamics.
The World We Create: From God to Market (2019) by Thomas Bjorkman describes how the world needs a new metanarrative.
Jill Lenore’s These Truths, a History of the United States (2018). Also recommended by Bill Gates.
Honourable mentions
I enjoyed The Politics of Confidence (1998) by Pierre Pettigrew and intend to re-read.
I intend to read Shonberger and Range’s Reinventing Capitalism in an Age of Big Data (2018).
And if you want to understand contemporary politics in the United States, read Ronald Brownstein’s The Second Civil War: How Extreme Partisanship has Paralyzed Washington and Polarized America (2007).
Natasha Clarke, Chief Digital Officer AND ADM, Service Nova Scotia and Internal Services, gOVERNMENT OF nOVA sCOTIA
Two Books I will be revisiting this year as they provide me with guideposts for the work I do daily:
Digital Transformation at Scale: Why the Strategy Is Delivery (2018) by Andrew Greenway, Ben Terrett, Mike Bracken, and Tom Loosemore.
Dare to Lead (2018) by Brene Brown.
Two Books I am keen to read this year to challenge my thinking and expand my perspectives:
Good Services: How to Design Services that Work (coming March 3, 2020) by Lou Downe.
Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder (2019) by Reshma Saujani.
Stephen MacDonald, CEO, Efficiency One
Moneyland: The Inside Story of the Crooks and Kleptocrats Who Rule the World (2018) by Oliver Bullough
The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company (2019) by Robert Iger
Greenovation: Urban Leadership on Climate Change (2020) by Joan Fitzgerald
April Howe, Executive Director, People and Culture, Government of Nova Scotia
On my bedside table right now is Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It (2016) by Chris Voss with Tahl Raz.
I’m starting You Had Better Be White By Six A.M. (2006) by Craig Smith, an African Canadian who wrote about his experience in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Lastly, not exactly a book, but a podcast and online reading resource from Essential Communications: The Look and Sound of Leadership.
Justin Huston, CEO, Office of Aboriginal Affairs & Deputy Minister, Communities, Culture & Heritage
Quichotte (2019) by Salman Rushdie. I’ve always liked his style of writing and magic realism. He can be a bit of a challenge to follow at times, but always entertaining and enlightening.
The Inconvenient Indian (2015) by Thomas King. Award winning book that was selected for Canada Reads in 2015, and I’ll be reading as part of a book club at work.
The Hidden Life of Trees (2016) Peter Wohlleben. I gave this book as a gift to my wife last year and I kept finding myself picking it up and reading random excerpts. Now that she’s finished reading it, I can give it a proper read cover to cover.
Karen Hudson, Deputy Minister, Department of Justice
• Dare to Lead (2018) by Brene Brown (New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller)
• Government Lawyering: Duties and Ethical Challenges of Government Lawyers (2018) by Elizabeth Sanderson
• Becoming (2018) by Michelle Obama
I finished all three this month. My unread list is too long for me to choose just three!
Prof. William Lahey, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of King’s College
Shirley Tillotson’s Give and Take: The Citizen-Taxpayer and the Rise of Canadian Democracy, UBC Press, 2017.
Beverley McLachlin’s Truth Be Told: My Journey Through Life and the Law, Simon & Schuster, 2019.
Jonathan Safron Foer’s We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Hamish Hamilton), 2019.
Thomas Storring, Director, Economics and Statistics, Government of Nova Scotia
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
Principles of Political Economy (1848) by John Stuart Mill. A re-read. I shouldn’t be surprised, but it always amazes me how 19th century writers offer relevant insights that still apply today.
Reading with my son is the most important reading I do. He’s long past the point where he needs a story told to him (he often skips ahead of me on his own), but the ritual of nightly story time is my most rewarding reading. Lately we’ve finished Farley Mowat’s Lost in the Barrens (1956) and Curse of the Viking Grave (1966). We are now starting Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy.
Stefan Leslie, CEO, Research Nova Scotia
Why Trust Science (2019) by Naomi Oreskes. A book that staunchly defends the value of science, and its social character. Society's trust in science comes from the social processes that vigorously probe and vet scientific claims. It's a refreshing perspective from the more common argument that science depends on being remote or detached from society.
The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy (2018) by Mariana Mazzucato. The newest book from a great thinker whose ideas on research, innovation, and society are grounding Research Nova Scotia's emerging research strategy. This book looks at the global financial system, and the difference between value creation and value extraction. She is a strong writer with provocative ideas, and I'm interested to see how she puts these pieces together.
The Best American Short Stories 2019 (ed. Anthony Doerr & Heidi Pitlor, 2019). I don't tend to read many short stories, but then I remember Cape Breton's Alistair MacLeod, who crafted beautiful stories (you can't go wrong periodically re-reading his anthology, 'Island, the collected stories of Alistair MacLeod' from 2001). So many great authors work in the short story art form -- or use it to develop their ideas and characters that later end up in novels. Either way, you either get a little jewel in a tidy package or insight into an author's fiction development. This year the annual anthology is edited by the brilliant Anthony Doerr, a very fine author himself, so I am very interested to see what piqued his interest among the thousands of stories to choose from.
Jennifer Church, Executive Director, Office of Strategy Management, Government of Nova Scotia
I’m in two book clubs so that pretty much defines my extra-circular reading!
Just finished:
Catch and Kill (2019) by Ronan Farrow. Timely, disheartening, hopeful. Important.
In the middle of:
Talking to Strangers (2019) by Malcolm Gladwell. The psychology of behaviour and the implications of how we interact is a bit of a personal fascination.
The Fortunate Brother (2016) by Donna Morrissey. A rather dark murder mystery (so far) but I have loved her other books, so we shall see!
Next two on the list:
The Beekeeper of Aleppo (2019) by Christy Lefteri – a fictional account of a Syrian refugee.
Agent Running in the Field (2019) by John Le Carre – modern day spy novel with a British Secret Intelligence Service Agent in the time of Brexit.
And honourable mentions to a variety of Geronimo Stilton and National Geographic Weird But True titles that are frequented at bed time.
Lilani Kumaranayake, Executive Director, Fiscal Policy, Economics and Budgetary Planning, Government of Nova Scotia
The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. I decided to start 2020 by re-reading the series. Last time was when I read the books to my kids about 15 years ago. I am on the second and surprised just how much is NOT in the movies!
The Mirror & The Light by Hilary Martel. Third book in her trilogy about Thomas Cromwell - out in March, follow up to Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies
Becoming (2018) by Michelle Obama.
Want to share your 2020 reading list with the public administration community? Send us a note at novascotia@ipac.ca and we’ll add our favourites to this list.
further reading
Dr. Paul Pross, Professor Emeritus, Dalhousie School of Public Administration (Vanier Medal Winner, 1995)
Beverley McLachlin Truth be Told: My Journey Through Life and Law (Simon and Schuster, 2019). Our former Chief Justice demonstrates why we were fortunate to have her on the Supreme Court. Some thoughts on major cases, but for the most part her discussion of the judicial aspects of her career focus on the fascinating details of administering justice and the art of writing cogent, clear decisions. It's not all law and legal issues. Her own life is sometimes movingly and often humorously described.
Samantha Power The Education of an Idealist (Dey Street, 2019). Obama's ambassador to the UN was a reporter during the Bosnian wars and as a result became an ardent advocate for human rights. Obama first appointed her as an advisor on human rights and genocide. Her descriptions of day-to-day work in the bowels of the White House may not be as riveting as her accounts of reporting on the front lines of the Bosnian conflict, but for IPAC readers who are interested in how policy is made, there's much to think about. Power was born in 1970. It will be interesting to see what comes next in her career.
For me, books like these are not bed-time reading. They set my brain a-buzzing, so to lull myself to sleep I turn to mysteries. Don't question why murder and mayhem should lull me to sleep. It just does. Peter Robinson's latest, Many Rivers to Cross, is first class.