2021 AAPI-Authored Leadership Books

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. 

(Download the PDF version of this list in the link above)

1. This Is One Way to Dance by Sejal Shah
2. My Forgotten Seattle by Ron Chew
3. Sigh, Gone: A Misfits Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In by Phuc Tran
4. Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner
5. Living for Change by Grace Boggs
6. Where the Past Begins: Memory & Imagination by Amy Tan
7. Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir by Eddie Huang
8. The Cooked Seed: A Memoir by Anchee Min
9. Out of the Gobi: My Story of China & America by Weijian Shan
10. Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir by Padma Lakshmi
11. Mixed Plate: Chronicles of an All-American Combo by Jo Koy
12. An American Family: A Memoir of Hope & Sacrifice by Khizr Khan
13. Brotherhood: Dharma, Destiny, and the American Dream by Deepak Chopra & Sanjiv Chopra
14. Hawaii’s Story by Liliuokalani
15. Nisei Radicals: The Feminist Poetics and Transformative Ministry of Mitsuye Yamada and Michael Yasutake by Diane C. Fujino
16. See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love by Valarie Kaur
17. Heart of Fire: An Immigrant Daughter’s Story by Mazie K. Hirono
18. How to Raise a Feminist Son: Motherhood, Masculinity, and the Making of my Family by Sonora Jha
19. Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan by Ruby Lal
20. The Souls of Yellow Folk: Essays by Wesley Yang
21. Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong
22. Fault Lines: A Memoir by Meena Alexander
23. Eat a Peach: A Memoir by David Chang
24. Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change by Ellen Pao
25. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
26. The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere (TED Books) by Pico Iyer
27. The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist’s Guide to Success in Business and Life by Avinash K. Dixit
28. The Art of the Start 2.0: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything by Guy Kawasaki
29. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams by Deepak Chopra
30. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
31. Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life by Jim Kwik
32. Postcolonial Leadership, A: Asian Immigrant Christian Leadership and Its Challenges by Hee An Choi
33. Enough About Me: The Unexpected Power of Selflessness by Richard Lui
34. Legal Heroes in the Trump Era: Be Inspired, Expand Your Impact, Change the World by Tahima Watson
35. Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone by Satya Nadella
36. All In by Jerry Yang
37. Radical: Fighting to Put Students First by Michelle Rhee
38. My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future by Indra Nooyi
39. Unprecedented: The Masters and Me by Tiger Woods
40. Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
41. Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee by Sharon Lee
42. Unsung Hero: The Col. Young O. Kim Story by Woo Sung Han
43. You’re More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen’s Guide to Making Change Happen by Eric Liu
44. Holding Serve: Preserving on and Off the Court by Michael Chang
45. Great Asian Americans: Michelle Kwan by Stephanie Cham
46. Great Asian Americans: Ellison Onizuka by Stephanie Cham
47. Great Asian Americans: Tammy Duckworth by Stephanie Cham
48. Great Asian Americans: Patsy Mink by Stephanie Cham
49. Great Asian Americans: Yo-Yo Ma by Stephanie Cham
50. To The Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei by George Takei
51. Big Little Man: In Search of My Asian Self by Alex Tizon
52. I love a Broad Margin to My Life by Maxine Hong Kingston
53. Dat: Tackling Life and the NFL by Dat Nguyen
54. Courage: The backbone of Leadership by Gus Lee and Diane Elliott-Lee
55. Madame Wu Chien-shiung: The First lady of Physics Research by Tsai-chien Chiang
56. It Takes Moxie by Maureen Francisco
57. Finding the Edge: My Life On The Ice by Karen Chen
58. Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki
59. Still Life with Rice by Helie Lee
60. I’m the One That I Want by Margaret Cho
61. When Invisible Children Sing by Chi Cheng Huang
62. Creating the Digital Future: The Secrets of Consistent Innovation at Intel by Albert T.c. Yu
63. Boundaries by Maya Lin
64. The War on Normal People by Andrew Yang
65. Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim
66. Leadership and Crisis by Bobby Jindal
67. Enduring Conviction: Fred Korematsu and His Quest for Justice by Lorraine K. Bannai
68. A Principled Stand: The Story of Hirabayashi v. United States by Gordon K. Hirabayashi
69. Growing Up Brown: Memoirs of a Filipino American by Peter M. Jamero
70. The Silent Master: Awakening the Power Within by Tae Yun Kim
71. The Black Widow’s Guide to Killer Pool: Become the Player to Beat by Jeanette Lee
72. My Forty years as a Diplomat by Feng-Shan Ho
73. You Can’t Be Serious by Kal Penn
74. Behind Deep Blue: Building the Computer that Defeated the World Chess Champion by Feng-Hsiung Hsu
75. Not Nice: Stop People Pleasing, Staying Silent, & Feeling Guilty…And Start Speaking Up, Saying No, Asking Boldly, & Unapologetically Being Yourself by Dr. Aziz Gazupura
76. The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris
77. Impressive First Impressions: A Guide to the Most Important 30 Seconds (And 30 Years) of Your Career by Vu H. Pham
78. With Schwarzkopf: Life Lessons of the Bear by Gus Lee
79. Purpose Mindset by Akhtar Badshah
80. Conquering the Chaos by Ravi Venkatasan
81. You Are A Mogul: How to Do the Impossible, Do It Yourself, and Do it Now by Tiffany Pham
82. The Diversity Advantage: Fixing Gender Inequality in the Workplace by Ruchika Tulshyan
83. Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less – Here’s How by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
84. Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong
85. Come into my Office: Stories from an HR Leader in Silicon Valley by Mai Ton
86. AugmentAsian: Strategies and Tools for Asian Pacific American Professional & Leadership Success by Asian Upward & Elevate Teams
87. Edge: Turning Adversity Into Advantage by Laura Huang

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!

• Black-Authored Leadership Booklist 
• AI/AN-Authored Leadership Booklist
• Authors with Disabilities Leadership Booklist
• Hispanic/Latino/Latinx-Authored Leadership Booklist
• LGBTQ-Authored Leadership Booklist