SSIR’s 2020 Social Innovation Reading List
By SSIR Editors
A collection of some of Stanford Social Innovation Review‘s most popular book reviews and excerpts published in 2020.
Why Educational Disparities Persist
An excerpt from Opportunity for All crafts three lessons from the historic inequities of the public school system.
Big Structural Change
Rebecca Henderson’s Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire outlines five ways we can reform capitalism to overcome climate change, inequality, and the collapse of democracy. This book review is open to non-subscribers for a limited time. .
The Keys to Nonprofit Management
In this excerpt from the introduction of Nonprofit Management 101, CNN’s Van Jones outlines critical insights into how he finds success in management.
Civic Power
An excerpt from a new book on rebuilding American democracy in an era of crisis describes the role of on-the-ground innovators in creating new civil society and policymaking organizations.
Volunteer Nation
Elisabeth S. Clemens’ Civic Gifts demonstrates how voluntarism, long associated with locally based efforts, has been central to the project of building a strong nation-state. This book review is open to non-subscribers for a limited time. .
Stewards of the Land
An excerpt from A Better Planet describes how to harness American agriculture for a sustainable future.
The Feminist Trailblazer of Black Philanthropy
A new biography of Madam C. J. Walker shows how America’s first self-made female millionaire and Black entrepreneur put philanthropy at the center of her business and life. This book review is open to non-subscribers for a limited time. .
Building a New Civic Culture
An excerpt from Engaged examines the state of our civic life and explores citizens’ role in democracy.
Equitable Public Health
In Precision Community Health, Bechara Choucair offers a four-pillared framework to address historic systemic inequities in public health but fails to confront the power arrangements that undergird them. This book review is open to non-subscribers for a limited time. .
How Technology Shapes Social Movements
In an excerpt from The Future of Change, Ray Brescia analyzes how the proponents of the Violence Against Women Act used digital platforms to broaden their message and support.