Book : Buckeye Leadership Fellows : Book

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BLF READS

The Buckeye Leadership Fellows Program partners with campus and community leaders, university alumni and program supporters that will enhance the leadership lessons and principles developed over time within our community. BLF provides these recommendations to the university community to continue to build growth and development on your leadership journey!

May 2021 RECOMMENDATIONS

This month’s recommendations are provided by BLF Alum, Juan Tramontin. Below are some thoughts he shared about the books he chose:

I was absolutely blown away by Sapiens - it revived an excitement within me about our species' history and development that kept me glued to the book for days (I could not make it through 2 full pages without pausing to literally gasp and consider the implications of each mindblowing connection to who we are today). Living in a current state of absolute uncertainty, civil unrest, and a constant "how did we let ourselves get here?" sentiment, Sapiens effortlessly depicts a unique perspective of why we are the civilization we see today. My only qualm with the book is that at times, it leaps over crucial historic points to build out a perspective that lacks the nuances of each time period - there is only so much an author can do to squeeze in billions of years of history into 400 pages, and it is important to understand that this book is not the answer to all of our questions; instead, a distinct perspective from one social science historian. The Values Compass by Mandeep Rai is a beautiful novel that depicts a distinct value that each of 101 countries has developed throughout their history, unlocking a very important reminder that we are much more similar and connected to each other than we think. Rai - a well-traveled and intelligent journalist - tells stories of her time in each of the 101 countries, and how their culture, language, pitfalls, and triumphs lead to a certain unifying value. This novel challenges you to identify values you see within yourself, helping build a strong foundation of who we are, and who we want to become - along the way, giving plenty of ideas of places we need to visit during our life. Dune by Frank Herbert is an absolute must-read - and I just started it recently. The breakthrough sci-fi novel led to the birth of Star Wars and the Sci-Fi generation and is being adapted to a movie directed by Denis Villeneuve (Arrival and Blade Runner 2049) coming next year. It blends together future dystopia, philosophy, religion, and other fascinating topics into an epic story that I am excited to finish.

I was absolutely blown away by Sapiens - it revived an excitement within me about our species' history and development that kept me glued to the book for days (I could not make it through 2 full pages without pausing to literally gasp and consider the implications of each mindblowing connection to who we are today). Living in a current state of absolute uncertainty, civil unrest, and a constant "how did we let ourselves get here?" sentiment, Sapiens effortlessly depicts a unique perspective of why we are the civilization we see today. My only qualm with the book is that at times, it leaps over crucial historic points to build out a perspective that lacks the nuances of each time period - there is only so much an author can do to squeeze in billions of years of history into 400 pages, and it is important to understand that this book is not the answer to all of our questions; instead, a distinct perspective from one social science historian. The Values Compass by Mandeep Rai is a beautiful novel that depicts a distinct value that each of 101 countries has developed throughout their history, unlocking a very important reminder that we are much more similar and connected to each other than we think. Rai - a well-traveled and intelligent journalist - tells stories of her time in each of the 101 countries, and how their culture, language, pitfalls, and triumphs lead to a certain unifying value. This novel challenges you to identify values you see within yourself, helping build a strong foundation of who we are, and who we want to become - along the way, giving plenty of ideas of places we need to visit during our life. Dune by Frank Herbert is an absolute must-read - and I just started it recently. The breakthrough sci-fi novel led to the birth of Star Wars and the Sci-Fi generation and is being adapted to a movie directed by Denis Villeneuve (Arrival and Blade Runner 2049) coming next year. It blends together future dystopia, philosophy, religion, and other fascinating topics into an epic story that I am excited to finish.