My father recommended this book to me. I try to always follow his recommendations. He is still a voracious reader, […] View Post →
Books Library


100 Recipes: The Absolute Best Ways To Make The True Essentials
America's Test Kitchen
2015
Read: 2017
Cooking, Non-Fiction
This is a great cookbook from my favorite cooking magazine people – Cooks Illustrated. They always explain the science behind […] View Post →

A Leader’s Legacy
James Kouzes
2007
Read: 2014
Education/Leadership, Non-Fiction
This book focuses on the personal legacies of our leadership. How does our relationship with those we lead help them […] View Post →

Adventures of Huckleberry Huck Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Roughing It
Mark Twain
1884, 1876, 1872
Read: 2012
My dad has always loved Mark Twain, so I reread or read for the first time – Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, and Roughing […] View Post →

All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr
2014
Read: 2019
Here is my second Pulitzer Prize book to read this year. This one is so much more approachable for me, […] View Post →

Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival
Peter Stark
2014
Read: 2019
My brother Bill from Oregon recommended this book. It’s a great companion to Undaunted Courage which is one of my […] View Post →

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Neil de Grasse Tyson
2017
Read: 2018
solid read. by (2017) I’ll give you two quotes from the book. One from the intro: “If you’re too […] View Post →

Being Mortal
Dr. Atul Gawande
2014
Read: 2015
I am 55 years old now and I feel very fortunate that both of my parents are still alive and […] View Post →

Better Learning Through Structured Teaching
Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey
2013
Read: 2015
This came to my attention from a USC doctoral student. It is a fantastic book that brings together many of […] View Post →

Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates
2015
Read: 2018
Manhattan Beach has spent a lot of time over the last 18 months talking about the importance of inclusion. We […] View Post →

Big Green Egg Cookbook
Sara Levy
2009
Read: 2012
When I’m not being a school administrator, I love to cook. I cook all kinds of things, but what I […] View Post →

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Trevor Noah
2019
Read: 2022
Non-Fiction
What a life. Those of you who watch the Daily Show (Jon Steward/Steven Colbert/Trevor Noah) know what intelligence, empathy, humor, […] View Post →

Building a Better Teacher
Elizabeth Green
2014
Read: 2015
This book, by a journalist and not an educator, hits the nail on the head when the author states that […] View Post →

Building The World’s Greatest High School
Richard Parkhouse
2013
Read: 2014
I love this book. I love it so much and it has truly inspired me. I met with a group […] View Post →

Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story
Chris Nashawaty
2018
Read: 2021
Non-Fiction
Chris Nashawaty’s book details the making of Caddyshack, and even more than you might figure it was, it was a total sh**show. It’s a miracle a film was ever made. You marvel and cringe your way through it, and you feel for all of the comic geniuses who could not hang on to their own lives.

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
Isabel Wilkerson
2020
Read: 2021
This was a majorly eye-opening book. To me, the key to the whole book is Wilkerson’s assertion that there have […] View Post →

Coaching Conversations: Transforming Your School One Conversation at a Time
Linda M. Gross Cheliotes and Marceta A. Reill
2010
Read: 2014
This book was recommended to me by Dr. Brett Geithman, MBUSD’s Executive Director of Educational Services. Brett is one of […] View Post →

Cool: How the Brain’s Hidden Quest for Cool Drives Our Economy and Shapes Our World
Drs. Steven Quartz and Annette Asp
2015
Read: 2015
Steven Quartz is a very good friend of mine, and my wife and I were excited to be able to […] View Post →

Creative Schools
Ken Robinson
2015
Read: 2016
Like most educators, I am a huge fan of Ken Robinson. His famous TED Talk has inspired so many of […] View Post →

Daditude: The Joys and Absurdities of Modern Fatherhood
Chris Erskine
2018
Read: 2019
Non-Fiction
My favorite columnist in the world is Chris Erskine. He was a twice-a-week columnist in the LA Times for years. […] View Post →

Daemon
Daniel Suarez
2014
Read: 2014
This is another recommendation from my father. I call these types of books pure fun that can be read on […] View Post →

Death by Meeting
Patrick Lencioni
20014
Read: 2012
, by (2004) I’ve always thought of myself is an excellent meeting manager. In fact, I’ve often joked that my […] View Post →

Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Education Will Change the Way the World Learns
Clayton Christensen
2011
Read: 2012
Michael Horn, one of the co-authors of this book, spoke at Manhattan Beach’s TEDx conference in 2012. It’s a book […] View Post →

Edge of Eternity
Ken Follett
2014
Read: 2015
Fiction
This is the last in the century trilogy by Ken Follett. I’ve already written about the other two, Fall of […] View Post →