The Institute has reviewed a civility-related book in our quarterly newsletter since 1998. Our goal is to keep our subscribers aware of resources available to them for further reference. Listed below are the books we have read and reviewed. These books represent a wide range of information on civility, politics, history and national culture. Some have been best sellers, while others are a bit more obscure. You can find history, humor, inspiration, instruction, reflections, and more. Some are quite academic while others are not. We encourage you to check back often as new books are added. Read further and enjoy!
If you would like to receive our newsletter directly, please subscribe.
Complete List of Books Reviewed
1998
Politics for People by David Matthews. Published by The University of Illinois Press, 1994. ISBN 022067630 ISBN 0-252-06382-1
Politics for Dummies by Ann DeLaney. Published by IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. 1995. ISBN 13: 9780764508875 ISBN 1-56884-381-X
Inside Congress by Ronald Kessler. Published by Pocket Books, 1997. ISBN 0671003860
1999
The Politics of Meaning – Restoring Hope and Possibility in an Age of Cynicism by Michael Lerner. Published by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1997.
The Power of Public Ideas edited by Robert Reich. Published by Harvard University Press, 1988.
Civility – Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy by Stephen Carter. Published by Basic Books, 1998. ISBN 0-06-097759-0 ISBN 0-465-02384-3
Courage is Contagious by John Kasich. Published by Doubleday, 1998
2000
A House Divided by Mark Gerzon. Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1996. ISBN 0-87477-874-3
If the Gods had meant us to Vote, they would have given us Candidates by Jim Hightower. Published by HarperCollins Publishers, 2000. ISBN 0-06-019393-X
The Argument Culture – Stopping America’s War of Words by Deborah Tannen. Published by The Balentine Publishing Group, 1998.
Dialogic Civility in a Cynical Age by Ronald C. Arnett. Published by State University of New York Press, 1999.
2001
On Toleration by Michael Walzer. Published by Yale University Press, 1997.
God Views by Jack Haberer. Published by Geneva Press, 2001. ISBN 0-664-50190-7
The Magic of Dialogue – Transforming Conflict into Cooperation by Daniel Yankelovich. Published by Simon & Schuster, 1999. ISBN 0-684-85457-0
Next – the Road to the good society by Amitai Etzioni. Published by Basic Books, 2001
2002
The Uncivil War – The Rise of Hate, Violence, and Terrorism in America by Stephen Singular. Published by New Millenium Press, 2001. ISBN 1893224-19-8
Chasing the Red, White and Blue – A Journey in Tocqueville’s Footsteps Through Contemporary America by David Cohen. Published by Picador USA, 2001. ISBN 0-312-26154-3
The Passion of the Western Mind – Understanding the Ideas That Have Shaped Our World View by Richard Tarnas. Published by Ballantine Books, 1991. ISBN 0-345-36809-6
The Art of Political Warfare by John J. Pitney, Jr.. Published by University of Oklahoma Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8061-3382-1
2003
The Spirit of Community – The Reinvention of American Society by Amitai Etzioni. Published by Simon & Schuster, 1993. ISBN 0-671-88524-3
The Tipping Point – How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell. Published by Little, Brown, and Company, 2000, 2002. ISBN 0-316-34662-4
Nonviolent Communication – A Language of Compassion by Marshall B. Rosenberg. Published by Puddle Dancer Press, 1999. ISBN 1-892005-02-6
Jihad vs McWorld – Terrorism’s Challenge to Democracy by Benjamin R. Barber. Published by The Ballantine Publishing Group, 1995. ISBN 0-345-38304-4
2004
How to Speak, How to Listen by Mortimer Adler. Published by Touchstone of Simon & Schuster, 1983. ISBN 0-684-84647-0
The Character of Leadership: Political Realism and Public Virtue in Nonprofit Organizations by Michael Jinkins. Published by Jossey-Bass Publisher, 1998.
Bowling Alone – The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D. Putnam. Published by Simon & Schuster, New York, 2000. ISBN 0-7432-0304-6 (or -0?)
2005
Choosing Civility: The Twenty-five Rules of Considerate Conduct by Dr. P.M. Forni. Published by St. Martin’s Press, New York, New York, 2002. ISBN 10:0-312-30250-9 ISBN 13: 978-0-312-30250-4
Doing Democracy: The MAP Model for Organizing Social Movements by Bill Moyer, JoAnn McAllister, Mary Lou Finley, and Steven Soifer. Published by New Society Publishers, British Columbia, Canada, 2001. ISBN 0-86571-418-5
An Ethics for Enemies – Forgiveness in Politics by Donald W. Shriver, Jr.. Published by Oxford University Press, New York, 1995.
Leadership and Self-Deception – Getting out of the Box by The Arbinger Institute. Published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. San Francisco, 2000. ISBN 1-57675-174-0
2006
Turning to one another – simple conversations to restore hope to the future by Margaret Wheatley. Published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. San Francisco, 2002. ISBN 1-57675-145-7
Hope Unraveled: The People’s Retreat and Our Way Back by Richard C. Harwood. Published by the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, Dayton, Ohio, 2005. ISBN 0-923993-14-2
The Values Divide by John Kenneth White. Published by Chatham House Publishers of Seven Bridges Press, LLC, New York, New York, 2003. ISBN 1-88911-975-X
Simple Truths on Values, Civility and Our Common Good by Stephen Bauman. Published by Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 2006. ISBN 0-687-33341-5
2007
Faith and Politics – How the “Moral Values” Debate Divides America and How to Move Forward Together by John Danforth. Published by Viking Penguin, New York, 2006. ISBN 0-670-03787-7
Reclaiming Civility in the Public Square – 10 Rules That Work by Cassandra Dahnke, Tomas Spath, and Donna Bowling. Published by Wingspan Press, Livermore, California, 2007. ISBN 0-670-03787-7
George Washington’s Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior…and other important writings by George Washington. Published by Sourcebooks, Inc., Naperville, Illinois, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-1-4022-1084-6 ISBN-10: 1-4022-1084-1
2008
The Anatomy of Peace – Resolving the Heart of Conflict by The Arbinger Institute. Published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., San Francisco, 2006. ISBN-10: 1-57675-334-4 ISBN-13: 978-1-57675-334-7
The Uses of Argument by Stephen Toulmin. Published by Cambridge University Press, New York, 1958/2003. ISBN: 978-0-521-53483-3
Moyers on Democracy by Bill Moyers. Published by Doubleday, New York, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-385-52380-6
The Civility Solution – What to do When People Are Rude by P.M. Forni. Published by St. Martin’s Press, New York, London, 2008. ISBN 13: 978-0-312-36849-4 ISBN 10:0-312-36849-6
2009
This I Believe – The personal philosophies of remarkable men and women Foreword by Studs Terkel, edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman with John Gregory and Viki Merrick. Published by Holt Paperbacks, New York, New York, 2006. ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-8658-4 ISBN-10:0-8050-8658-7
The Case for Civility and why our future depends on it by Os Guinness. Published by HarperCollins Publishers, New York, New York, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-06-135343-7
Common Ground – How to Stop the Partisan War that is Destroying America by Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel. Published by HarperCollins Publishers, New York, New York, 2007.
The Third Side – Why We Fight and How We Can Stop by William L. Ury. (Previously published as Getting to Peace) Published by Viking Penguin, New York, New York, 1999, 2000. ISBN: 0-14-029634-4
2010
The Cure For Our Broken Political Process – How We Can Get Our Politicians to Resolve the Issues Tearing Our Country Apart by Sol Erdman and Lawrence Susskind. Published by Potomac Books, Inc., Washington, DC, 2008. ISBN: 978-1-59797-269-7
Difficult Conversations – How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen. Published by the Penguin Group, New York, New York, 1999. ISBN: 978-0-14-028852-0
Fight Club Politics – How Partisanship is Poisoning the House of Representatives by Juliet Eilperin. Published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham, Maryland, 2006. ISBN: 978-0-7425-5118-3 ISBN: 0-7425-5118-0
2011
Confessions of a Political Hitman by Stephen Marks. Published by Sourcebooks, Inc., Naperville, Illinois, 2007. ISBN: 1402208545
29 Gifts by Cami Walker. Published by Da Capo Press, U.S.A., 2009.
In Defense of Civility by James Calvin Davis. Published by Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 2010.
Saving Civility – 52 Ways to Tame Rude, Crude & Attitude for a Polite Planet by Sara Hacala. Published by SkyLight Paths Publishing, Woodstock, Vermont, 2011.
2012
The Thinking Life – How to Thrive in the Age of Distraction by P. M. Forni. Published by St. Martin’s Press, New York, New York, 2011.
State by State – A Panoramic Portrait of America edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey. Published by HarperCollins, New York, New York, 2009.
The Righteous Mind – Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt. Published by Pantheon Books, New York, 2012
You’re Not as Crazy as I Thought – (But You’re Still Wrong) by Phil Neisser and Jacob Hess. Published by Potomac Books, Washington, DC, 2012.
2013
Why Can’t We Talk? – Christian Wisdom on Dialogue as a Habit of the Heart by John Backman. Published by SkyLight Paths Publishing, Woodstock, Vermont, 2013.
Civility and Democracy in America A Reasonable Understanding edited by Cornell Clayton and Richard Elgar. Published by Washington State University Press, Pullman, Washington, 2012.
Leading Through Conflict – How Successful Leaders Transform Differences into Opportunities by Mark Gerzon. Published by Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Massachusetts, 2006.
Predisposed – Liberals, Conservatives, and the Biology of Political Differences by John R. Hibbing, Kevin B. Smith and John R. Alford established the Political Physi- ology Lab at the Uniublished by Routledge, New York, New York, 2014.
2014
Talk to the Hand by Lynne Truss. Published by Gotham Books, New York, 2005.
This Land of Strangers by Robert Hall. Published by Greenleaf Book Group Press, Austin, Texas, 2012.
The Power of Nice – How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval. Published by Doubleday, New York, New York, 2006.
City of Rivals – Restoring the Glorious Mess of American Democracy by Jason Grumet. Published by Lyons Press, Guilford, Connecticut, 2014.
2015
American Story by Bob Dotson. Published by Plume, part of the Penguin Group, New York, New York, 2014.
The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby. Published by Pantheon Books, New York, New York, 2008.
American Nations by Colin Woodard. Published by Viking Penguin, New York, New York, 2011.
The Ecology of Democracy – Finding Ways to Have a Stronger Hand in Shaping Our Future by David Matthews. Published by the Kettering Foundation Press, Dayton, Ohio, 2014.
2016
American Colossus – The Triumph of Capitalism 1865-1900 by H.W. Brands. Published by Double Day, New York, 2010.
The Lost Art of Listening by H.W. Brands. Published by The Guilford Press, New York, New York, 2009.
Unlikely Friendships by Jennifer S. Holland. Published by Workman Publishing, New York, New York, 2011.
The Kindness Diaries by Leon Legothetis. Published by Readers Digest, New York, New York, 2015.
2017
How Civility Works by Keith J. Bybee. Published by Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 2016.
The 30% Solution – How Civility at Work Increases Retention, Engagement and Profitability by Lewena Bayer. Published by Motivational Press, Inc., Melbourne, Florida, 2016.
Civility – A Cultural History by Benet Davetian. Published by University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada, 2009.
Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown. Published by Random House, New York, New York, 2017.
2018
Treating People Well – The Extraordinary Power of Civility at Work and in Life by Lea Berman & Jeremy Bernard. Published by Scribner, New York, New York, 2018.
The Common Good by Robert B. Reich. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, New York, 2018.
Dealing with the Elephant in the Room by Dr. Mike Bechtle. Published by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2015.
The Reunited States of America – How We Can Bridge the Partisan Divide by Mark Gerzon. Published by Barrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., Oakland, California, 2016.
2019
Let’s Talk Politics – Restoring Civility Through Exploratory Discussion By Adolf. G. Gundersen and Suzanne Goodney Lea. Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2013.
The Road to Character By David Brooks. Published by Random House, New York, New York, 2015.
Love Your Enemies – How Decent People Can Save America from a Culture of Contempt By Albert C. Brooks. Published by HarperCollins Publishers, New York, New York, 2019.
The Wisdom of Group Decisions By Craig Freshley. Published by Good Group Decisions, Brunswick, Maine, 2010.
2020
Creating a New Civility By Joy Marsella. Published by the University of Akron Press, Akron, Ohio, 2020.
The CogJam Effect and the Path to Healing Divisive Community and Fractured Science By Laurel Hughes. Published by Kharis Publishing, 2019.
The Path of Civility Perfecting the Lessons of a President By Applying the Wisdom of a Buddha By Robert Sachs. Published by John Hunt Publisher, United Kingdom, 2020.
Kindness and Wonder Why Mister Rogers Matters Now More Than Ever By Gavin Edwards. Published by Gavin Edwards, 2019. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, New York, New York.
2021
My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem. Published by Central Recovery Press, Las Vegas, Nevada, 2017.
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. Published by Random House Publishing, New York, New York, 2020.
Our Towns by James Fallows. Published by Vintage Books, a Division of Random House LLC, New York, New York, 2019.
Emotional Civility by Dr. Sharon Anderson. Published by Live To Produce Publishing Group, Mesa, Arizona, 2021.
2022
I Think You’re Wrong by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers. Published by Nelson Books, Nashville, Tennessee, 2019.
Beyond Your Bubble by Tania Israel. Published by American Psychological Association, Washington, DC., 2020.
The Time for Change is Now by Joan Chittister. Published by Convergent Books, New York, New York, 2019.
2023
How to Sweet- Talk a Shark by Bill Richardson and Kevin Blyer. Published by Rodale Books, New York, New York, 2023.
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Published by Penguin Press, New York, New York, 2004.
The Call for Civility by Ross Kenyon. Published by Ross Kenyon, Clinton, Massachusetts, 2023.
2024
High Conflict by Amanda Ripley. Published by Simon and Schuster, New York, New York, 2021.
Good Manners for Nice People by Amy Alkon. Published by St Martin’s Press, New York, New York, 2014.
The Soul of Civility by Alexandra Hudson. Published by St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2023.
2025
Why We’re Polarized by Ezra Klein. Published by Avid Readers Press, New York, New York 2020.
Crucial Conversations: Tool for Talking When Stakes are High by Patterson, Granny, McMillan, Switzler, and Gregory. Published by McGraw-Hill, 2022
2026
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Craig. Published by Avid Readers, 2020