Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. My take: Entrepreneurial spirit and grit
Hatching Twitter – Nick Bilton. My take: Timing, execution, brilliance, luck intertwined with a living and breathing community of users who love the product.
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage – Alfred Lansing. My take: The only team and leadership book you should read.
My First Summer in the Sierra – John Muir. My take: Captures the raw beauty of the Sierras, Yosemite and California.
The Painted Veil – W. Somerset Maugham. My take: A beautiful love story
The Razor’s Edge – W. Somerset Maugham. My take: About the search for enlightenment. Very zen, before zen was cool.
The Elephant Whisperer – Lawrence Anthony. My take: About a mans love for the bush and it’s animals. You’ll never look at elephants the same way again.
The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas. My take: Love, vengeance and forgiveness. A wonderful adventure novel.
Dune – Frank Herbert. My take: The best sci-fi novel out there.
Watership Down – Richard Adams. My take:Â Game of Thrones, but with rabbits. Deep and mystical.
Kill Your Friends – John Niven. My take: Dark humor and something completely different. If you’ve ever lived in London it will be even funnier.
markbartels.org 
Great list
Great list Mark, thanks. I read The Elephant Whisperer in SA this summer, and fell in love with the book, and then read one of his other great books, The Last Rhinos, and then re-read The Elephant Whisperer which is now one of my all-time favorite books! Thanks for sharing.