We created this list to promote leadership narratives written by Americans of Asian Pacific Islander (API) heritage. This list is meant to be a resource, not an official endorsement. The books are not ranked or listed in any particular order.
- This Is One Way to Dance by Sejal Shah
- My Unforgotten Seattle by Ron Chew
- Sigh, Gone: A Misfits Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In by Phuc Tran
- Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner
- Living for Change by Grace Boggs
- Where the Past Begins: Memory & Imagination by Amy Tan
- Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir by Eddie Huang
- The Cooked Seed: A Memoir by Anchee Min
- Out of the Gobi: My Story of China & America by Weijian Shan
- Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir by Padma Lakshmi
- Mixed Plate: Chronicles of an All-American Combo by Jo Koy
- An American Family: A Memoir of Hope & Sacrifice by Khizr Khan
- Brotherhood: Dharma, Destiny, and the American Dream by Deepak Chopra & Sanjiv Chopra
- Hawaii’s Story by Liliuokalani
- Nisei Radicals: The Feminist Poetics and Transformative Ministry of Mitsuye Yamada and Michael Yasutake by Diane C. Fujino
- See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love by Valarie Kaur
- Heart of Fire: An Immigrant Daughter’s Story by Mazie K. Hirono
- How to Raise a Feminist Son: Motherhood, Masculinity, and the Making of my Family by Sonora Jha
- Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan by Ruby Lal
- The Souls of Yellow Folk: Essays by Wesley Yang
- Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong
- Fault Lines: A Memoir by Meena Alexander
- Eat a Peach: A Memoir by David Chang
- Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change by Ellen Pao
- Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
- The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere (TED Books) by Pico Iyer
- The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist’s Guide to Success in Business and Life by Avinash K. Dixit
- The Art of the Start 2.0: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything by Guy Kawasaki
- The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams by Deepak Chopra
- The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
- Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life by Jim Kwik
- Postcolonial Leadership, A: Asian Immigrant Christian Leadership and Its Challenges by Hee An Choi
- Enough About Me: The Unexpected Power of Selflessness by Richard Lui
- Legal Heroes in the Trump Era: Be Inspired, Expand Your Impact, Change the World by Tahima Watson
- Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone by Satya Nadella
- All In by Jerry Yang
- Radical: Fighting to Put Students First by Michelle Rhee
- My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future by Indra Nooyi
- Unprecedented: The Masters and Me by Tiger Woods
- Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
- Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee by Sharon Lee
- Unsung Hero: The Col. Young O. Kim Story by Woo Sung Han
- You’re More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen’s Guide to Making Change Happen by Eric Liu
- Holding Serve: Preserving on and Off the Court by Michael Chang
- Great Asian Americans: Michelle Kwan by Stephanie Cham
- Great Asian Americans: Ellison Onizuka by Stephanie Cham
- Great Asian Americans: Tammy Duckworth by Stephanie Cham
- Great Asian Americans: Patsy Mink by Stephanie Cham
- Great Asian Americans: Yo-Yo Ma by Stephanie Cham
- To The Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei by George Takei
- Big Little Man: In Search of My Asian Self by Alex Tizon
- I love a Broad Margin to My Life by Maxine Hong Kingston
- Dat: Tackling Life and the NFL by Dat Nguyen
- Courage: The backbone of Leadership by Gus Lee and Diane Elliott-Lee
- Madame Wu Chien-shiung: The First lady of Physics Research by Tsai-chien Chiang
- It Takes Moxie by Maureen Francisco
- Finding the Edge: My Life On The Ice by Karen Chen
- Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki
- Still Life with Rice by Helie Lee
- I’m the One That I Want by Margaret Cho
- When Invisible Children Sing by Chi Cheng Huang
- Creating the Digital Future: The Secrets of Consistent Innovation at Intel by Albert T.c. Yu
- Boundaries by Maya Lin
- The War on Normal People by Andrew Yang
- Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim
- Leadership and Crisis by Bobby Jindal
- Enduring Conviction: Fred Korematsu and His Quest for Justice by Lorraine K. Bannai
- A Principled Stand: The Story of Hirabayashi v. United States by Gordon K. Hirabayashi
- Growing Up Brown: Memoirs of a Filipino American by Peter M. Jamero
- The Silent Master: Awakening the Power Within by Tae Yun Kim
- The Black Widow’s Guide to Killer Pool: Become the Player to Beat by Jeanette Lee
- My Forty years as a Diplomat by Feng-Shan Ho
- You Can’t Be Serious by Kal Penn
- Behind Deep Blue: Building the Computer that Defeated the World Chess Champion by Feng-Hsiung Hsu
- Not Nice: Stop People Pleasing, Staying Silent, & Feeling Guilty…And Start Speaking Up, Saying No, Asking Boldly, & Unapologetically Being Yourself by Dr. Aziz Gazupura
- The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris
- Impressive First Impressions: A Guide to the Most Important 30 Seconds (And 30 Years) of Your Career by Vu H. Pham
- With Schwarzkopf: Life Lessons of the Bear by Gus Lee
- Purpose Mindset by Akhtar Badshah
- You Are A Mogul: How to Do the Impossible, Do It Yourself, and Do it Now by Tiffany Pham
- The Diversity Advantage: Fixing Gender Inequality in the Workplace by Ruchika Tulshyan
- Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less – Here’s How by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
- Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong
- Come into my Office: Stories from an HR Leader in Silicon Valley by Mai Ton
- AugmentAsian: Strategies and Tools for Asian Pacific American Professional & Leadership Success by Asian Upward & Elevate Teams
- Edge: Turning Adversity Into Advantage by Laura Huang
- American Dreamer: How I Escaped Communist Vietnam and Built a Successful Life in America by Tim Tran
- Glue: How Project Leaders Create Cohesive, Engaged, High-Performing Teams by Anh Dao Pham
- Thick Face, Black Heart: The Warrior Philosophy for Conquering The Challenges of Business and Life by Chin-Ning Chu
- Uplifted: Journeys of Abundance, Community, and Identity by Geena Chen
- Sheer Determination: Swimming Upstream in a Downstream World by Kay Hire
- Reflections of Seattle’s Chinese Americans: The First 100 Years by Ron Chew
- Show Your Worth: 8 Intentional Strategies for Women to Emerge as Leaders at Work by Shelmina Babai Abri
- Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Create a Culture of Belonging at Work by Ruchika Tulshyan
- Invitation to Lead: Guidance for Emerging Asian American Leaders by Paul Tokunaga
- The Making of Asian America: A History by Erika Lee
- World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aime Nezhukamatahil
- The Visibility Mindset: How Asian American Leaders Create Opportunities and Push Past Barriers by Bernice M Chao & Jessalin Lam
- This is Not a T-Shirt: A Brand, A Culture, A Community – A Life in Streetwear by Bobby Hundreds
- It’s Always Sunny Above the Clouds: Getting the Next Generation Into the Cockpit by Nick Tran
- Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong by Dawn B. Mabalon, PhD & Gayle Romas
- Lions and Tigers and Bears: The Internet Strikes Back (Oh Myyy!) by George Takei
- Every Day is a Gift: A Memoir by Tammy Duckworth
- Fierce and Fearless: Patsy Takemoto Mink, First Woman of Color in Congress by Judy Tzu-hun Wu & Gwendolyn Mink
- The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs
- 7 Forms of Respect: A Guide to Transforming Your Communication and Relationships at Work by Julie Pham, PhD
- The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehoods in the Age of Trump by Michiko Kakutani
- The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston
- America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States by Erika Lee
- Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity In North Korea and the Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home by Laura Ling & Lisa Ling
- Power Your Purpose: A Leader’s Guide to Creating a Better Life and a Better World by Shian Chuan
- The Asian American Achievement Paradox by Jennifer Lee & Min Zhou
- I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For: Now What? 21 Days to Confidence and Clarity by Dr. Sweta Chawla
- Energize: Make the Most of Every Moment by Simon Alexander Ong
- The Art of Gathering: How We Come Together and Why it Matters by Priya Parker
- Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for Asians by Jane Hyun
- Perfect Enough: How to Be Happier and More Productive by Letting Go of Perfectionism by Judy t. Dang
- The Wake Up: Closing the Gap Between Good Intentions and Real Change by Michelle MiJung Kim
- The Loneliest Americans by Jay Caspian Kang
- Why Not Me? By Mindy Kaling
- Healing Resistance: A RAdically Different Response to Harm by Kazu Haga
- The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim
- Love For Imperfect Things: How to Accept Yourself in a World Striving for Perfectionism by Haemin Sunim
- Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
- Bitter Fruit: The Politics of Korean-Black Conflict in New York City by Claire Jean Kim
- Racial Melancholia, Racial Dissociation: On the Social and Psychic Liv es of Asian Americans by David Eng
- Authentic Inclusion: Drives Disruptive Innovation by Frances West
- Innovation Starts with I: Increase Your Influence. Ignite Your Impact. By Saleema Vellani
- Talk it Up! A Guide to Successful Public Speaking by Mr. David Suk Brown
- Conquering the Chaos by Ravi Venkatesan
- Women Who Lead: Timeless Life, Career, and Business Secrets from Inspiring Women Around the World by Izdihar Jamil
- The Confidence of Yes: How to Harness the Energy of Opportunity by Izdihar Jamil
We are continually adding to this list. If you have any recommended additions please send us an email at info@curiositybased.com so we can add it here.
Interested in reading more? Check out our Leadership Books Authored by Women booklist!
Read our other leadership booklists too!