Favorite Books on Human Relations

The following is a list of favorite books on human interaction and maturation.  I've used some of these in courses on software project management, and benefitted in some way from each.  Feel free to e-mail and suggest your favorites, if there are others you'd recommend:

• Fischer, R. and Ury, W.,  Getting Past No.   Should be required reading for every senior high and college student.  Why don't more people care more about learning how to negotiate well?

• Kirshenbaum, M., Our Love Is Too Good to Feel So Bad.  A book of concrete, common-sense prescriptions for improving a  relationship, based on twenty-five years of marital and relationship counseling.  Begins with the importance of consistently doing small, loving actions, and builds from there.

• Krzyzewski, M., Leading with the Heart.  A detailed description of Krzyzewski's strategies for coaching Duke basketball, which, from what I can see, transcends sport.  The best sports-based management book that I've read to this point..

• Prager, D., Happiness is a Serious Problem.  What was important to me about Prager was the book's basic premises: i.e., that maintaining a sense of happiness is a moral obligation; that self-esteem, rather than fun and laughter, make for lasting happiness; and that self-esteem is the product of responsible, ethical choice.

• Schnarch, D.,  Passionate Marriage.  Repetitive to a fault, yet possibly the best "big problem" book I've read on marriage and human sexuality.  Emphasizes the need to hold true to one's principles and one's self when working through hard situations.

• Suters, E.,  The Unnatural Act of Management.  I first learned about organizational management from reading this book.  A text, disguised as a semi-autobiographical novel that flows through and around the Suters's key thoughts on management.  One recurring line:  Lao-Tzu, "When the great manager's job is finished, the people say, 'We did it ourselves'". 

• Teal, T.  First Person: Tales of Management Courage and Tenacity.  A series of first-person accounts of people in difficult situations, doing the right things for their employees and companies.