Curious minds want to know: what are the best books you read this year? 2015 was my year of reading 100 books, and I send out a reading email with my favorites each month. But which book are the cream of the crop? The following are the 10 most meaningful book that I read in the last year.  I was surprised to find four of the ten books were about masculinity and/or relationships, two were autobiographical, and two were deep dives into highly specific topics. Many NYT bestsellers and literary classics did not make this list, but that just goes to show you that different books bring us meaning at different times in our lives.
The Books:
Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success by Phil Jackson
Written by legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson. Â This book is a study in leadership, team building, and personal relationship based on the 11 NBA championships Jackson won with the Bulls (6) and Lakers (5). Jackson brings in Native American Lakota tribal practices, Zen Buddhism, and meditation into his coaching practice to take his teams from a group of individuals to a unit that is better than the sum of its parts. I was fascinate with the different ways he chose to relate to leaders like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O’Neil, and Kobe Byrant. Â It proves to me that a good leader is one who enables the success of his team.
One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson This book was all over the employee recommended shelves at bookstores a couple years back when it came out, and for good reason! I love everything I have ever read by Bryson, with his special brand of wry, informative humor, and this is no exception! While the book focuses on a small piece of history – the summer of 1927 –  there are plenty of anecdotes and stories brought into set the scene. 1927 was a remarkable year for many reasons (Bryson makes it sounds like one of the greatest times to be alive) including: Charles Lindberg flying across the atlantic for the first time, Babe Ruth breaking his own home run record, the greatest recorded flood of the Mississippi, the invention of television, Al Capone, and tons more! I would also highly recommend his other works: A Walk in the Woods, A Short History of Nearly Everything, and In a Sunburned Country
There is a great diversity of types of adventure for a person to go on, this is a great collection of short excepts from the best adventure writers, and probably the most important reference point for someone (like me) trying to become a world expert in adventure. Â I especially likes the editors analysis the proceeded each piece. My favorite tales were those from caves, deserts, and the mountain wilderness.
This is a highly entertaining look at the world of memory champions.  Foer begins by covering memory events, and then decides to train to become a memory champion himself, eventually winning the US championship and winning induction into an elite memory club. Similar to method acting, Foer describes this work as participatory journalism, and I’m sure this is how I would want to write books. Key phrases of the book for me were “remembering more means being more human”, and “The more you know of the world the more you can remember, because you have more to link new memories to”. The big technique memory champions use is to come up with creative visual cues in a memory palace (real life locations) to enhance your ability to pull back a memory.
Perhaps the best know book by an american indian, Black Elk was an Oglala Lakota medicine man who was there at Custer’s last stand and the battle of the little bighorn. It’s crazy how the settlers chased them up and down the Black Hills trying to kill them in the late 1800’s. The most powerful part of the story for me was the pattern of Black Elk having a strong recurring fear, followed by a vision, followed by a ceremony that helped his tribe (the description of these events are quite detailed). It is also noteworthy that much older men were always available to help Black Elk with mentorship as he came of age as a holy many around 18 years old. Another Indian characteristic that made an impression on me was the emphasis on bravery and talking about past brave deeds, and the concept of the nation as an unbroken hoop or circle.
This book goes through historical and psychological examples of the four masculine archetypes. As men, we have all have a mix of these ideal and the darker polarized expression or immature expression of these archetypes.  I identified most with the lover and magician archetypes and could see the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ qualities of each that I carry.  I really liked is the last part of the book, which tells you how to enhance an archetype that you want more of – for example you can read more about the Pharaoh Ramses II or Abe Lincoln to as role models for the king and warrior.
This is the most important book on relationships I have ever read and I have been talking about it non-stop with my friends. Strauss is the NYT bestselling author ofÂ
The Game, and he takes us through his years long quest to discover if he can be in a committed monogamous relationship.  He takes us through his time in rehab for sex addiction and experiments with alternative non-monogamous and polyamaorous relationships. He attempts to answer big questions such as “Is it natural to be faithful to one person for life?” “How can we keep romance and passion fro fading over time?” And “what draws us to the partners we choose?”
What I loved most about this book was the focus on really trying to create something new rather than incremental improvements (going from 0 to 1, vs. going from 1 to n).  If it is not 10X better, should you really start? Can you make your new venture a monopoly because it is so good? The 0 to 1 idea is a big part of the Art of Adventure – how can you contribute to the world by having an adventure into totally new territory? Thiel recommends starting your business with the goal of dominating a small market rather than trying to grab a small share of a giant market. I loved one of his interview questions: “What is an important truth that most people disagree with you on?”
If you are looking for more rationalization of the power of reading, look no further than this book by the great storyteller and author of
The Prince of Tides andÂ
The Great Santini. Amazing insight into how Conroy collects words that he later wants to use, to the influence of his great high school English teacher in getting him to write how he really felt, and their lifelong friendship. I loved the vivid story about the rare bookstore he used to hang out in in Atlanta and throw book launches for all the great southern authors of the day.
A great book about being a man recommended to me by my friend and relationship coach,
Dave Booda. How to not be a pushover at work and in relationships (stay true to your purpose), how to come from a place of integrity and purpose, how to set boundaries, and how to deal with feelings and desires.
Honorable Mentions (Books that I will likely come back to again and again): The Celestine Prophecy , Two Lifestyles, One Lifetime (by my mentor Les Leventhal) , The Power of Now, Man’s Search for Meaning, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, and Iron John: A Book About Men
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Great list. Going to have to check out the David Deida book!