Book Recommendations

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDED BY...

WE ASKED THE AG LEADERSHIP NETWORK TO GIVE US THEIR TOP PICKS. HERE’S WHAT THEY SHARED. WE HOPE YOU’LL READ A RECOMMENDED BOOK AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. SEND YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO LROBERTSON@AGLEADERS.ORG

“The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture” -By Wendell Berry Recommended by Bill Cramer (17)

I found this book interesting because the thesis is a counterpoint to the rapid consolidation of agricultural enterprises that we have seen over the last 40 years. Over the course of my career, I have seen nearly all of the family farmers I knew when I started in the egg production business in California now gone; some planned for it, but many left through bankruptcy. The author looks at the new development of “agribusiness” from another perspective as he foresaw the tremendous amount of disruption this new public policy would make on rural America. This book is well worth reading because it gives another view of a turning point in American rural history. This is not a book about agriculture alone, it is a book about how public policy can change our nation and rural America, for good or bad.

“The Ideal Team Player” -By Patrick M. Lencioni Recommended by Denise Junqueiro (42)

We read this book as a team exercise for my department. It was valuable to explore how practicing the characteristics of being hungry, humble and smart can make us better professionals, people, teammates and contributors. I highly recommend the read to anyone who is part of or leading a team. It illustrates how our behaviors contribute more to our team cultures and successes than our skillsets. “The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California” -By Mark Arax Recommended by Garry Pearson (38)

Mark Arax is from a family of Central Valley farmers. He is writer with deep ties to the land who has watched the battles over water intensify even as California lurches from drought to flood and back again. He does an excellent job of research and extensive interviews with the major players of water from Owens Valley, to Bakersfield, to Shasta. He touches on the significant water issues facing California and does offer some outstanding solutions. A great read for Ag Leadership fellows.

“Sierra High Route: Traversing Timberline Country” -By Steve Roper Recommended by Garry Pearson (38)

Steve Roper’s “Sierra High Route” is a vision born of over 40 years’ exploration, offering the reader the wilderness trek of a lifetime: a 105-mile traverse of the range, all of it above 9,000 feet, passing hundreds of lakes and skirting 14,000-foot peaks. The author did this trek with a compass and only USGS maps. If you are a hiker, this is one of the most challenging endurance hikes you will ever experience! “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents“ -By Isabel Wilkerson

Recommended by Karen B. Caplan CALF Board Member Frieda’s Specialty Produce President & CEO

Because February was National Black History Month, I purposefully chose to read only books either by black authors or about black history. In the Ag Leadership spirit of lifelong learning, I have chosen books that challenged my thinking, expanded my mind and taught me new things. “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson was not only featured in Oprah’s Book Club, but was also a No. 1 New York Times best-seller. This book examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America, and three global societal caste systems: in India, in Nazi Germany, and in (predominantly) white America. It provides critical understanding of many of the challenges our society faces today, and why the deaths of George Floyd and Breanna Taylor so enraged and were tipping points to the Black Lives Matter movement.