Faculty Bookshelf

FACULTY BOOKSHELF What did the Ensworth faculty read this summer?

JOHN CLINTSMAN Head of Grounds

Extreme Ownership By: Jocko Willink and Leif Babin Truly a book everyone should be required to read. The authors are former Navy Seals so they take you through stories of war and the bumps they hit in the road and how they corrected the issues, then give you real-life scenarios. As I strive to become a better leader at home, work, and in my daily, life this book offers lessons needed to achieve that.

WHITNEY JOHNSON Director of Finance & Operations

How to Be Antiracist By: Ibram X. Kendi Kendi’s book reshapes the conversation about racial justice and civil rights in America. This piece of nonfiction is highly engaging as it floats in and out of a memoir of Kendi’s personal experiences as a black child and adult in America and the evolution of his own thoughts and ideas around racism over the course of his life. He challenges individuals to look inward at their biases and beliefs about race and interracial social relations. He examines the policies, politics, and social arrangements that support systemic racism, and suggests next steps for all Americans to contribute toward the formation of a truly equitable society. Awareness is not enough—this is a call to action.

LINDSAY PARRIOTT College Counseling Office Manager and Registrar

Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success By: Phil Jackson After watching ESPN’s The Last Dance, I wanted to know more about the former NBA player/ coach. I found lots of wisdom on being a leader, relating to others, and inspiring individual success within a team-first culture. TOM JACKOBOICE High School History Teacher

The End of October By: Lawrence Wright Pulitzer winning journalist Lawrence Wright’s novel about a fictional pandemic and tensions between scientists, politicians, and the general population as it spread could have been taken as a cautionary tale if it had been published earlier. Those seeking an escape from current events should steer clear of this book. Some passages are quite graphic and deliver a gut punch, but this book is guaranteed to get the heart pumping.

TREY HOUSE Middle School Latin Teacher

How to Do Nothing By: Jenny Odell Don’t let the title fool you: this book is a call to action to resist our current attention economy and to retrain our own focus to see the humanity in all of our surroundings. Synthesizing the work of philosophers, scientists, and authors, Odell makes a convincing case that this recalibration is not only morally correct but also beautiful and personally enriching.

SCOTT SANDERS High School Facilities Staff

Watch for Me on the Mountain: A Novel of Geronimo and the Apache Nation By: Forrest Carter One of the rare books that I can say affected me at a spiritual level. Carter will take you to a place and time like you were there and make you feel the emotions of a people that were and still are greatly misunderstood. He is most known for “The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales“ which is excellent, as well. If you love the old west, Native American lore, and stories that touch the heart, this is a must-read.