Summer Reading for Teachers

School’s out for summer! Like most teachers, I have assigned summer reading to those fortunate students who will enter my classroom next fall. Students in my Advanced Placement European History class will discover the wonders of The Prince by Machiavelli and then write a paper on an important historical figure from European History who they believe most resembles the ideal Machiavellian prince. This assignment always produces interesting discussions about whether it is better for a prince (or a teacher) to be feared or loved.

Because I never ask my students to do anything that I myself am not prepared to do, I have once again assembled my own summer reading list. I have selected ten recent titles that I either have read, am currently reading, or hope to read before the start of school in September.

I happily pass this list along to readers of this blog, hoping that some of you may find something interesting for your own summer reading. All titles are available in paperback to easily fit a teacher’s budget! So here, in no particular order, are Mr. Magg’s top ten picks for summer reading for teachers:

The Coming of the Third Reich, Richard J. Evans – Evans, a Professor of Modern History at Cambridge, has written a three-volume history of the Third Reich which stands as the best yet available in the English Language. This is the first volume in his Reich Trilogy, and anyone who wants to understand how and why the Nazis came to power must read this absorbing book. “Richard Evans’s The Coming of the Third Reich gives the clearest and most gripping account I’ve read of German life before and during the rise of the Nazis.” (A. S. Byatt, The Times Literary Supplement)

Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality, Charles Murray – Murray, a pre-eminent sociologist and co-author of The Bell Curve, has delivered yet another body-blow to the educational establishment with this book in which he argues that not all children are brilliant and not every student should go to college. Agree or disagree, this is the book that teachers will be talking about, especially after it’s paperback release on August 25, 2009. “Charles Murray is one of the intellectual world’s more spectacular troublemakers.” (The Internet Review of Books)

The Age of American Unreason, Susan Jacoby – With wit and candor, Jacoby dissects the plague of anti-rationalism and public ignorance that now threatens America’s future. She particularly singles out America’s public schools for failing to educate an informed citizenry capable of self-government. Junk-thought, pseudo-science, and fundamentalist religion have combined to threaten our very future. “Jacoby deploys sharp insight on our present straits” (Los Angeles Times)

This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War, Drew Gilpin Faust – Focusing on the staggering number of casualties and their impact on the American psyche, this book by the President of Harvard University shows how the Civil War transformed American’s perception of death and its meaning. “If you read only one book on the Civil War this year, make it this one.” (Kevin M. Levin, American History)

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, Daniel Pink – This book, by a former speechwriter for Al Gore, argues that the challenges of the future will require those who can think creatively and “outside of the box.” Left-brainers, have a nice life! “An audacious and powerful work.” (Miami Herald)

The Zookeepers Wife: A War Story, Diane Ackerman – The author tells the fascinating story of a Polish zookeeper and his wife saved the lives of hundreds of Jews during World War II by hiding them in animal cages and sheds. A true and riveting story, this is history at its best. “This suspenseful beautifully crafted story deserves a wide readership.” (Publishers Weekly)

City of Thieves, David Beniof – Set against the backdrop of the Nazi’s brutal siege of Stalingrad, this novel tells the powerful coming-of-age story of two young men trying to maintain their sanity and humanity under the most insane and inhumane conditions possible. “Flat-out great.” (Men’s Journal)

A Voyage Long and Strange, Tony Horwitz – The author of Confederates in the Attic goes in search of a long-lost chapter in American history, the years between Columbus’s voyage in 1492 and the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620. The result is history as only Horwitz can tell it. “Readable and vastly entertaining.” (Library Journal)

The Forever War, Dexter Filkins – Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, Filkins's account of the “war on terror” from the rise of the Taliban to the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is already considered a classic of wartime journalism. “Shines as a work of literature, illuminating the human cost of war.” (The Washington Post)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows – This is a short novel based on the actual occupation of the Guernsey Islands off the coast of England by the Nazis during World War II. “Traditional without seeming stale, and romantic without being naive.” (San Francisco Chronicle).

Readers of The Classroom Post, please feel free to share your own suggestions for summer reading in the comment zone. I am sure that I missed at least one of your favorites!