Occasionally I have deep conversations (surprised?) where literature comes up and someone will ask, “What are the most impactful books you’ve ever read?” I thought I might offer a glimpse into my head and share a few good reads, and what they’ve meant to me.
Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose
Possibly my favorite book of all time, detailing the journey of Lewis and Clark as they traveled across what would become the United States, mapping the Louisiana Purchase for President Thomas Jefferson. The political wrangling it took to appropriate funds for the journey is intriguing to me now that I’ve seen some government budgeting happen up close, but what was more fascinating was the personal, physical and mental toll it took on the leaders and their men. Who thought it would be a great idea to pull boats up a shallow river for a couple thousand miles?
Spoiler alert: the price paid by Lewis was his sanity, and eventually his life, following the journey — a moment that literally breaks your heart and fills you with gratitude for the work he and others did for our benefit.
Runner Up: Endurance, Alfred Lansing. It details Shackleton’s expedition to the South Pole, the shipwreck, and… well, you’ll just have to read it!
Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
There are, in my mind, four separate amazing stories about a truly remarkable man in this book. In part one, Louis Zamperini was a precocious child who was constantly in trouble until he discovered a passion for track and field. The second part of the story details his Olympic competitions as a distance runner. Third, he enters WWII, is shot down, and becomes a prisoner of war, enduring unspeakable torture and harassment from his POW camp commander. Lastly, and most personally impactful to me, he returns to his wife a broken man who eventually experiences a miraculous healing at a Billy Graham revival, and decides to forgive the commander who nearly took his life. If you saw the movie, you only experienced a fraction of the story. Buy the book and curl up for a few days.
Runner Up: River of Doubt, Candice Millard. A detailed and tragic account of Theodore Roosevelt’s journey on an uncharted tributary of the Amazon River. Riveting!
Good to Great, Jim Collins
This book impacted my business life to a greater degree than any other. Jim Collins details how some companies made the move from being merely good to becoming great, enduring institutions that positively impacted the lives of their employees, owners, and customers. For years I taught an ongoing training for my employees where we would go chapter by chapter to understand each concept and discuss how we might apply them in our construction business.
The book identifies several key concepts that became widely influential in business literature. “Level 5 Leadership” describes executives who blend deep personal humility with intense professional will. The “Hedgehog Concept” urges companies to focus on the intersection of what they can be best in the world at, what drives their economic engine, and what they’re deeply passionate about. “First Who, Then What” helped me understand that hiring great people was my greatest priority.
Many of these concepts still influence how I lead my life and work with others productively.
Runner Up: Double Double, Cameron Herold. It taught me to “paint a picture” of what the future could look like, making it more likely to be attained.
Finishing Well, Bob Buford
Not long ago I sat down and wrote a letter to Bob Buford, the author of Finishing Well. I wanted to tell him the impact his writing had on me, and how I’ve shared it with so many others. I was truly saddened to find that he had passed away, and I still intend to try to find a way to share my gratitude to his family for his work.
Finishing Well is written from a faith perspective and can be summed up very simply: “God created you to do something on this earth, and just because you stop going to work and taking a paycheck one day doesn’t change what He created you for.” Wow — you mean I’m not really just a contractor, or a lawyer, or an accountant? How else do I define myself? How would God define me?
It was a challenging discussion to have with myself and with my wife, Mary, and in many ways, it has led me to do what I’m doing today. I have too much gas in the tank to do nothing, so: “Lord, what do you have in store for me?”
I’ve probably given away a hundred or so copies of this book over the past twenty years. Friends, acquaintances, and strangers who are approaching retirement and have no idea what they’re going to do afterward end up with a copy in their hands. That reminds me — I have two copies right now for neighbors that I need to deliver!
Runner Up: None
If, Rudyard Kipling
Okay, you didn’t expect me to post a poem, and truthfully, I didn’t either. I first read this some months ago when it caught my eye in a newspaper one Sunday morning. Kipling wrote it to his son over a hundred years ago, but it is possibly even more relevant today.
He advises his son not to care about what others think of him. To act with integrity. To pick himself up when he fails and keep trying. To forgive others and maintain composure amid chaos. To stay humble in success and remain resilient through failure and loss. All attributes that are challenging in today’s social-media-driven world. I found myself wishing I had read it and embraced it when my children were young, and it has challenged me to be a better dad to my grown children, and a better grandfather. It dares me to do my best to instill these traits in future generations.
If you want to listen to Michael Caine read it aloud — and everything sounds better in a British accent — follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqOgyNfHl1U
Runner Up: The Man in the Arena, Theodore Roosevelt. It reminds me that no matter the outcome, it is better to be in the fight than on the sidelines.
Best of All Time Category: The Holy Bible
Not a surprise to those of you who know me best, and hopefully not a surprise to others. I’ve read it completely more than once, and read my favorite stories over and over again. It encourages me, challenges me, and guides me to do the best I can for others, because of what has been done for me. It is, after all, the best-selling book of all time!
Runner Up: None
I could go on and on here. I never thought, as a young person, that historical biographies would be so impactful to me. I’ve read biographies of Reagan, Churchill, Teddy Roosevelt, James Garfield, and others. Each was fascinating. I’ve read some fictional books multiple times, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Sawyer, and My Side of the Mountain. Each made a different impression on me at different times in my life.
Thanks for letting me share some literature that has been important to me, and impactful for those around me. Share with me some of your own great “reads” so I can save them up for when life slows down just a bit. Send me an email at brad.vongillern@leg.ne.gov. I’ll be glad to hear from you.