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)
- This Is One Way to Dance by Sejal Shah
- My Forgotten 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
- Conquering the Chaos by Ravi Venkatasan
- 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
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!
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