Off the shelf

No Such Thing as a Free Gift: The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy
Linsey McGoey, senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Essex, argues that the billionaire-knows-best style of philanthropy is as paternalistic as it is ineffective, and the simple truth of that observation is as lost on today's philanthropists as it was on Carnegie and Rockefeller....

The Prize: Who's in Charge of America's Schools?
Dale Russakoff's riveting account of how a $100 million pledge from Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg aimed at turning around the public school system in Newark, New Jersey, went very wrong, very quickly is a cautionary tale for reform advocates and philanthropists....

Can't Not Do: The Compelling Social Drive That Changes Our World
One of the most important lessons Shoemaker shares, says our reviewer, Michael Weston-Murphy, is that social change requires sustained commitment and a dedication to the work....

Systems Thinking for Social Change
Questioning the unhelpful modes of thinking that perpetuate chronic social problems is at the heart of David Peter Stroh's book, writes the Foundation Center's Mirielle Clifford....

Patience and Fortitude: Power, Real Estate, and the Fight to Save a Public Library
Tresa Thomas-Massiongale finds Scott Sherman's account of the attempt to renovate and reorganize the New York Public Library and the public outcry against it nuanced, enlivening, and ultimately sobering....

Compassionate Careers: Making a Living by Making a Difference
Foundation Center's Grace Sato finds that the book not only offers stories of inspiration, passion, and serendipity but also makes a case for why a career in the nonprofit sector makes practical sense....

In Defense of a Liberal Education
Our reviewer, Michael Weston-Murphy, says Zakaria's book serves as a reminder of the importance of knowledge for the sake of knowledge in the increasingly globalized world of the twenty-first century....

How to Be Great at Doing Good: Why Results Are What Count and How Smart Charity Can Change the World
For those looking to make the world a better place, animal rights activist Nick Cooney's "complacency-shattering guidebook" deserves to be read and widely discussed, says our reviewer Mirielle Clifford....

Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change From the Cult of Technology
If you're looking for an anti-technology manifesto, look elsewhere, says our reviewer, Kyoko Uchida; Geek Heresy presents a nuanced argument for a human-centric approach to development work that leverages, rather than relies on, technology to create social change....

The Social Profit Handbook: The Essential Guide to Setting Goals, Assessing Outcomes, and Achieving Success for Mission-Driven Organizations
In his new book David Grant, former president and CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, looks at how mission-driven organizations can define and ultimately improve the outcomes they are trying to achieve....

The Chocolate Trust: Deception, Indenture and Secrets at the $12 Billion Milton Hershey School
Mark Rosenman reviews Bob Fernandez's book detailing the questionable practices of the Hershey Trust and the inability (or unwillingness) of local and state government authorities to effectively regulate nonprofits....

Curtains? The Future of the Arts in America
Foundation Center's Daniel X. Matz reviews Michael M. Kaiser's latest take on the state of the arts in the United States....

Staying the Course: Reflections on 40 Years of Grantmaking at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Kyoko Uchida, PND's features editor, finds much to admire in Bill Moody's account of his four-plus decades in the grantmaking trenches....

A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity
PND's Kyoko Uchida reviews Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book about how everyone has the means to give, and to give meaningfully....

The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession
The Foundation Center's Chuck Bartelt, a former New York City public school teacher, reviews Dana Goldstein's book about the much-maligned profession of teaching and its potential alongside that of the American system of public education....