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Dan Choi's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Dan Choi recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Dan Choi's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1
An all new collection of sexy , ture "first-time"stories by gay men from around the world - the sequel to the national-besteller My First Time! less
Recommended by Dan Choi, and 1 others.

Dan ChoiIt’s called My First Time which is all about different people’s first gay experiences. I almost didn’t include it as a choice and you are the first person I have told that I’ve got it. But, despite all the secrecy it’s an important book for me. I brought it right before I went off to Iraq. (Source)

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2

My American Journey

Colin Powell is the embodiment of the American dream. He was born in Harlem to immigrant parents from Jamaica. He knew the rough life of the streets. He overcame a barely average start at school. Then he joined the Army. The rest is history—Vietnam, the Pentagon, Panama, Desert Storm—but a history that until now has been known only on the surface.

Here, for the first time, Colin Powell himself tells us how it happened, in a memoir distinguished by a heartfelt love of country and family, warm good humor, and a soldier's directness.

My American Journey is the...
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Recommended by Ben Horowitz, Dan Choi, and 2 others.

Ben HorowitzVery, very interesting on leadership. (Source)

Dan ChoiThis is Colin Powell’s autobiography. The idea that Colin Powell was the first African American to be appointed as Secretary of State, and the highest ranking military man in America makes him a symbol. Even more important than what he was doing – is the idea that an American person can come from any background and go on to achieve so much. That’s a testament to what being American is. (Source)

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3

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha

New Revised Standard Version

For over 50 years students, professors, clergy, and general readers have relied on The New Oxford Annotated Bible as an unparalleled authority in Study Bibles. This fifth edition of the Annotated remains the best way to study and understand the Bible at home or in the classroom. This thoroughly revised and substantially updated edition contains the best scholarship informed by recent discoveries and anchored in the solid Study Bible tradition.

- Introductions and extensive annotations for each book by acknowledged experts in the field provide context and guidance....
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Timothy BealI teach biblical studies at a secular university and I use this version a lot. It’s the standard critical edition for academic study, but many people use it for personal reasons. It uses the New Revised Standard Version translation, which I think is among the best. (Source)

Roger ThurowFeed the hungry is a central command of all religions great and small. But the question is, if that’s the case, and it is, how have we come into the 21st century with one billion chronically hungry people? (Source)

Felipe Fernández-ArmestoChapters 7 to 12 of the Book of Daniel constitute, in my opinion, the first genuinely global history ever written. (Source)

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4
Seven Pillars of Wisdom is an unusual and rich work. It encompasses an account of the Arab Revolt against the Turks during the First World War alongside general Middle Eastern and military history, politics, adventure and drama. It is also a memoir of the soldier known as 'Lawrence of Arabia'.Lawrence is a fascinating and controversial figure and his talent as a vivid and imaginative writer shines through on every page of this, his masterpiece. Seven Pillars of Wisdom provides a unique portrait of this extraordinary man and an insight into the birth of the Arab nation. less
Recommended by Wade Davis, Dan Choi, and 2 others.

Wade DavisSomeone once asked me, if a fire burnt down my house what would be the one thing I would walk out with? And it’s a first-edition, leather-bound copy of this incredible book signed by my grandfather. My grandfather was himself a surgeon at a casualty clearing station on the Western Front. (Source)

Dan ChoiYes, it’s a book about Lawrence’s experiences during World War I, when he was stationed in North African and the Middle East. He writes about some of the lessons that he learnt from the military leaders from the Allies, and the Bedouin and tribal leaders. The book was influential to me because I can see his contribution as an Arabist. (Source)

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