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, email Thalia Halloran (thalia.halloran@duke.edu) 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.

Explore Our Collection:

ALL TITLES
RECENTLY ADDED
GENRES & 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 and 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.