Leadership Library

Check Out the Hart Leadership Library!

The Hart Leadership Library is a lending library with nearly 1000 books available for checkout by Duke University students, faculty, and staff.

Browse our Goodreads shelves to explore our collection: you can view our titles categorized by over 50 themes, or you can browse the entire collection alphabetically here.

To request to borrow a book, fill out our request form with your name and the title(s) and author(s) of the material(s) you’d like to borrow. Limit 30 days per loan, with the option to renew if no other requests for the same material(s) have been made.

Note: a book’s inclusion in the Hart Leadership Library does not constitute endorsement of its content, ideology, or author.

Recently Added Books

Explore Our Collection

All Titles

Recently Added

Genres and Methodologies

  • Biographies

    Books focused on the lives of an individual or individuals.

  • Essays

    Books containing collections of essays, often curated based on a shared thematic element.

  • Fiction

    Novels, short story collections and anthologies, and other works of fiction.

  • Memoirs

    Personal accounts of an individuals’ or individuals’ experience(s), often organized around a core thematic element.

  • Personal Development

    Books meant to encourage self-examination and self-growth, or which foster important skills and knowledge.

  • Philosophy

    Books examining the theoretical and/or fundamental nature of knowledge and concepts, including: ethics and morality, political thought, logic, and what it means to be human, among boundless other categories.

  • Poetry

    Books containing collections of poetry, usually by a single author but occasionally featuring works by multiple authors curated around a shared thematic element, style, or literary movement.

  • Professional Development

    Books meant to foster skills and knowledge related to one’s career or profession, including discerning what career to pursue in the first place.

  • Psychology

    Books exploring the human mind at an intrapersonal, relational, societal, or global scale.

Stories Reflecting Identities

  • Asian, Asian American, & Pacific Islander Stories

    Books focused on or prominently featuring the lives and histories of, and issues affecting, Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islanders.

  • Black Stories

    Books focused on or prominently featuring the lives and histories of, and issues affecting Black Americans, Black Africans, Black Caribbeans, and other members of the African Diaspora.

  • Indigenous Stories

    Books focused on or prominently featuring the lives and histories of, and issues affecting, the Indigenous peoples of the Americas.

  • Latino/a/x Stories

    Books focused on or prominently featuring the lives and histories of, and issues affecting, Latino/a/x Americans, Latin Americans, Latin American Caribbeans.

  • Middle Eastern & North African Stories

    Books focused on or prominently featuring the lives and histories of, and issues affecting, Middle Eastern Americans, North African Americans, Middle Easterners, and North Africans.

  • LGBTQ+ Stories

    Books focused on or prominently featuring the lives and histories of, and issues affecting, LGBTQ+ people and communities.

  • Stories of Disability & Access

    Books focused on or prominently featuring the lives and histories of, and issues affecting, disabled people and communities.

  • Women's Stories

    Books focused on or prominently featuring the lives and histories of, and issues affecting, women.

World Regions & History

  • World History

    Books focused on or prominently featuring historical events occurring outside of the United States.

  • Africa

    Books focused on, set in, or prominently featuring Africa.

  • Asia

    Books focused on, set in, or prominently featuring Asia.

  • Europe

    Books focused on, set in, or prominently featuring Europe.

  • Latin America

    Books focused on, set in, or prominently featuring Latin America.

  • Middle East & North Africa

    Books focused on, set in, or prominently featuring the Middle East and North Africa.

US History & Politics

  • US Foreign Policy

    Books focused on or prominently featuring United States foreign policy.

  • US Government

    Books focused on or prominently featuring United States government, or any of its branches or subsystems.

  • US History

    Books focused on or prominently featuring historical events occurring within the United States, or with significant United States involvement.

  • US Politics

    Books focused on or prominently featuring United States politics, United States political parties, and United States political discourse/rhetoric.

Themes

  • 9/11 & its Aftermath

    Books about the terror attacks on September 11, 2001 and their far-reaching consequences, including: the Global War on Terror, the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War, United States domestic policies directly related to 9/11, and/or the spread of Islamophobia in the United States and beyond after 9/11.

  • Activism & Organizing

    Books about, or guidelines for, activism, community organizing, and/or political and social movements.

  • Business & Entrepreneurship

    Books about, or guidelines for, for-profit businesses and/or entrepreneurship.

  • Climate & Environment

    Books about climate and/or the environment at any scale from local to global.

  • Communication (Written & Oral)

    Books about, or guidelines for, written and/or oral communication.

  • Community Building

    Books about, or guidelines for, building communities.

  • Economics & Finance

    Books about money, economic systems, and/or economic policy.

  • Education

    Books about education at any level from pre-K to higher education and beyond, as well as education policy and/or nontraditional educational environments.

  • Food & Agriculture

    • Books about food: what we consume, where it comes from, how it affects our bodies and communities, and what policies affect how/when/what/where/why we eat.

  • Gender & Sexuality

    Books about or prominently featuring gender, gender identity, sexuality, sexual orientation, and/or discrimination related to these categories.

  • Health & Healthcare

    Books about health: well-being, disease and illness, healthcare workers, healthcare systems, and/or healthcare policies.

  • Housing & Homelessness

    Books about housing policy, homelessness, and/or the factors that create mass housing crises.

  • Human Rights

    • Books about, or prominently featuring, human rights, violations of these rights, and/or the fight to protect them.

  • Internet & Technology

    • Books about, or prominently featuring, the Internet and/or related technological advances, including their uses and/or unintended effects.

  • Justice & Injustice

    Books about, or prominently featuring, criminal justice systems: crime, policing, penalization, incarceration, rehabilitation, and/or the myriad ways these systems are selectively enforced, neglected, or manipulated to create unjust outcomes.

  • Labor & Work

    Books about, or prominently featuring, jobs and employment and/or theories of labor.

  • Law, Policy, & Courts

    Books about, or prominently featuring, the letter of the law: who creates it, who enforces it, and/or who interprets it.

  • Media & Storytelling

    Books about, or prominently featuring, the theory, practice, and real-world consequences of storytelling in various forms, including journalism, documentary, propaganda, the arts, and many more.

  • Migration & Movement

    Books about, or prominently featuring, immigration/emigration, refugees and asylum seekers, borders, and/or the policies which regulate them.

  • Nonprofits & NGOs

    Books about, or prominently featuring, nonprofits and non-governmental organizations, including guidelines for establishing and/or working at nonprofits and NGOs.

  • Race & Ethnicity

    Books about, or prominently featuring, racial identity, ethnic identity, racial conflict, ethnic conflict, racial discrimination/oppression, ethnic discrimination/oppression, racial relations, and ethnic relations.

  • Religion & Spirituality

    Books about, or prominently featuring, religious themes, religious identity, the role of faith in politics, the role of faith in policy, and the role of faith in the lives of individuals and communities.

  • Voting & Civic Engagement

    Books about, or prominently featuring, systems of civic engagement, including democratic institutions such as voting, protesting, running for office, and/or participating in a social or political movement.

  • War & Peace

    Books about, or prominently featuring, war, military service, military strategy, prowar and antiwar popular movements, military policy, and methods for creating and sustaining peace.

  • Wealth & Poverty

    Books about, or prominently featuring, wealth, poverty, income inequality, economic insecurity, and/or socioeconomic class.