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.
Master 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
GodViews
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 9781-59594-150-3
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
A Short History of Rudeness: Manners, Morals, and Misbehavior in Modern America
by Mark Caldwell. Published by Picador USA, New York, New York, 1999.
ISBN: 0-312-26389-9
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.