books - The Heights School

Books
H e igh t s
Our Mission
The Heights School is a private, independent, preparatory school for boys,
grades three to twelve. Our mission is to assist parents in the intellectual,
moral, physical, and spiritual education of their sons, with dedicated
teachers training boys rigorously in the liberal arts. This formation in
virtue fosters respect for every person, a desire to serve God and others,
and an optimistic attitude towards life’s challenges.
Books
H e igh t s
H
eights Books is a l ist of truly gr e at and very good
books for young men in grades three through twelve. While
other excellent reading lists exist for students, this compilation
of titles is different in that all of the recommended books, in
some way, complement a Heights education.
The titles found within these pages will broaden the horizons of those who
read them. Many directly correspond to what students are studying in
class and can powerfully engage the imagination of a boy or young man.
Some are the type that become a life-long companion, meant to be read
and re-read, contributing to the formation of the man one becomes.
What cannot be found here are the types of books—a product of very
recent times—that have been written to promote reading as a form of
entertainment, a mere distraction, to compete with video games, the
Internet and television, leaving little to the imagination. Instead,
these recommended titles require the cultivation of a certain amount
of interior silence and strength to retreat into a world where the written
word works with the imagination to give life to an adventure. As such,
it will be an effort for some to become immersed in these books.
Nonetheless, the ascetical struggle to cultivate the interior silence
necessary to enter these imaginative worlds (both fiction and nonfiction) will undoubtedly be richly rewarded.
Many of these books are meant to form the basis for a conversation,
to serve as an entry way into a generations-old dialogue on matters
pertaining to the most important human realities: true love, suffering,
sacrifice, heroism, evil, good, and the possibility of an ultimate meaning
more powerful than death. While a student who reflectively reads and
discusses selections from Heights Books with his teacher can earn extracredit, the greatest reward will be in the human enrichment that results.
As a mountain naturally invites one to climb all the way to the top, so
these lists naturally present a challenge to these young men to strive for
completion, a challenge to which we hope, with proper encouragement
from both faculty and parents, many Heights students will rise. Crescite!
A Partnership with Parents
Any educational endeavor that seeks to accomplish something truly
great, such as promoting a counter-cultural culture of reading, requires a
partnership between faculty and parents. Members of The Heights faculty
put a great deal of time and effort into the Heights Books project—critical
input, careful study and many conversations. Likewise, this project
serves as a great summer reading assignment for the faculty, especially
the English and History teachers.
So how can parents help?
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Encourage the cultivation of silence necessary for reading and study
in your homes.
n Ensure that electronic distractions, especially screens, do not impact
the tone of home life.
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Foster family times of quiet study, especially on weekends and holiday.
Challenge your sons to read these books as a way to grow as a student
and as a person. Set an example of study and reading yourself.
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Make these books available to your sons, either as additions to your
family library or as books borrowed from the local library.
Encourage your sons to take advantage of the extra-credit opportunity
that reading these books presents.
To Earn Extra Credit
A student reads a book from the
appropriate list. Books need not be
read in a particular order.
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The book must be read during the
academic year (September through
May). If a student has already read a
book from the list, he must re-read it
during the school year to earn credit.
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Students may read books from earlier
grade lists, but will not earn credit
from these books. For example, a 5th
grade student is welcome to read books
from the 3rd or 4th grade lists but he
will not earn credit for doing so.
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Students should not read books from
higher grade lists. No credit will be
awarded for reading books above a
student’s current grade level.
After finishing the book, the student should schedule a time to discuss
the book with his English or History teacher.
In discussing the book, the teacher will determine if the student has read
the book with a spirit of reflection and engagement.
For books in the upper grade lists, the teacher may direct the student to have
a conversation with another faculty member, likely the faculty member
who recommended the book and has a genuine passion for the work.
Following the discussion, the teacher will award extra credit. This extra
credit can raise the student’s grade, but not so much that he can neglect
his regular class work. Indeed, for the extra credit to fully count, a student
must be current on his regular class assignments.
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LoweR Schoo
3 rd g r a d e
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The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
All Alone by Claire Huchet Bishop
n Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop
n A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla n
Riding the Pony Express by Clyde Robert Bulla
n The Secret Valley by Clyde Robert Bulla
n Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
n The Lion in the Box by Marguerite De Angeli
n The White Stallion of Lipizza by Marguerite Henry
n St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
n Minn of the Mississippi by Holling Clancy Holling
n Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling Clancy Holling
n Seabird by Holling Clancy Holling
n Tree in the Trail by Holling Clancy Holling
n Smoky the Cow Horse by Will James
n How the Forest Grew by William Jasperjohn
n Alexander the Great by Andrew Langley
n The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
n House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
n Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat
n The Borrowers by Mary Norton
n Beaver of Weeping Water by Marian Rumsey
n A Triumph for Falvius by Caroline Dale Snedeker
n The Wanderings of Odysseus: The Story of The Odyssey by Rosemary Sutcliff
n The Great Quillow by James Thurber
n Stuart Little by E.B. White
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Peter Pan by James Barrie
Viking Adventure by Clyde Robert Bulla
The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth
The Singing Hill by Meindert DeJong
Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
The Moffats by Eleanor Estes
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
My Side of the Mountain by Jean C. George
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Gray
Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
The Boy Knight by G.A. Henty
The Box of Delights by John Masefield
The Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey
Gentle Ben by Walt Morey
Water Buffalo Days by Huynh Quang Nhuong
M en of Iron by Howard Pyle
Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
Escape from Warsaw by Ian Serraillier
The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier
The Minstrel in the Tower by Gloria Skurzynski
Buffalo Knife by William O. Steele
Flaming Arrows by William O. Steele
Winter Danger by William O. Steele
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Story of a Bad Boy by Thomas Bailey Aldrich
The
Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodges Burnett
Pedro’s Journal by Pam Conrad
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
True to the Old Flag by G.A. Henty
Stowaway by Karen Hesse
The Princess and The Goblin by George MacDonald
The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
The Good Master by Kate Seredy
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Warrior Scarlet by Rosemary Sutcliff
Farmer Giles of Ham by J.R.R. Tolkein
The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde
Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson
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middle
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6 th g r a d e
L i te r at u r e
Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard
Snow Dog by Jim Kjelgaard
Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers (and series) by Ralph Moody
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
The Yearling by Marjorie Rowlings
Shane by Jack Schaefer
The Lone Hunt by William O. Steele
Trail Through Danger by William O. Steele
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
A Man for Others (St. M. Kolbe) by Patricia Treese
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
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H i s to r y
Drums by James Boyd
Daniel Boone: The Opening of the Wilderness by John Mason Brown
Blood on the River: Jamestown 1607 by Elisa Carbone
The Boy in the Alamo by Margaret Cousins
The Joyful Beggar: St. Francis by Louis de Wohl
Duel in the Wilderness by Karin Clafford Farley
Ben Franklin: Inventing America by Thomas Fleming
The Great Little Madison by Jean Fritz
Edmund Campion:
Hero of God’s Underground
by Harold Gardiner
Gettysburg
by MacKinlay Kantor
Kit Carson and the Wild Frontier
by Ralph Moody
Captured by the Mohawks
by Sterling North
The Light in the Forest
by Conrad Richter
We Were There on the Oregon Trail
by William Steele
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7 th g r a d e
L i te r at u r e
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (Hornblower Saga) by C. S. Forester
Call of the Wild by Jack London
The Perilous Road by William O. Steele
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
Penrod (the series) by Booth Tarkington
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
Up Periscope by Robb White
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H i s to r y
n Throne of the World
by Louis de Wohl
n The Last Crusader:
Don John of Austria
by Louis de Wohl
n Andersonville
by MacKinlay Kantor
n Lee and Grant at Appomattox
by MacKinlay Kantor
n Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith
n Thomas Jefferson:
The Revolutionary Aristocrat
by Milton Meltzer
n The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan
n The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
n The Flying Tigers by John Toland
n Silence over Dunkerque
by John R. Tunis
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8 th g r a d e
L i te r at u r e
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H i s to r y
The Great Siege of Malta by Ernle Bradford
The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill
Dream and Your Dreams Will Fall Short by Pedro Casciaro
A Stillness at Appomattox by Bruce Catton
Hannibal and the Enemies of Rome by Peter Connolly
The Roman Army by Peter Connolly
Caesar’s Gallic War by Olivia Coolidge
The Trojan War by Olivia Coolidge
Shiloh by Shelby Foote
The Shadow of His Wings by Gereon Karl Goldmann
1066: The Year of the Conquest by David Howrath
The Spartan by Caroline Dale Snedeker
Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington
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The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Ancient Ocean Blues by Jack Mitchell
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
Ben Hur by Lew Wallace
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Rack! Come Rope! by Robert Hugh Benson
Mr. Blue by Myles Connolly
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Treason by Dena Hunt
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz
Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
Joan of Arc by Mark Twain
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
The Song of Bernadette by Franz Werfel
The Once and Future King by Terence H. White
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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson
Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
The Promise by Chaim Potok
Oliver Wiswell by Kenneth Roberts
Giants in the Earth by O.E. Rolvaag
Henry IV, Part I by William Shakespeare
The Killer Angels by Michael Sharra
With Fire and Sword by Henryk Sienkiewicz
The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
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11 th g r a d e
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
A Distant Trumpet by Paul Horgan
Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis
Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian
1984 by George Orwell
Henry IV, Part II by William Shakespeare
The Deluge (Trilogy – Part 2) by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
Edmund Campion by Evelyn Waugh
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12 th g r a d e
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Paradiso by Dante Alighieri
Emma by Jane Austen
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
With God in Russia by Walter Ciszek, S.J.
Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Hawthorne: Tales and Sketches by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
American Caesar by William Manchester
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill by William Manchester
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
Cymbeline by William Shakespeare
Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles
Fire in the Steppe (Trilogy – Part 3) by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Momento Mori by Muriel Spark
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Master of Hestviken (in 4 volumes) by Sigrid Undset
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
n 13
Heights Books for History
M e d i e v al a n d E a r l y M o d e r n H i s to r y ( 9 )
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The Galleys at Lepanto by Jack Beeching
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Characters of the Reformation by Hilaire Belloc
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The Rule of St. Benedict
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The Great Siege: Malta 1565 by Ernle Bradford
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The History of Christendom by Warren Carroll
(6 volumes, each volume counts as one book)
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The Barbarian Conversion: From Paganism to Christianity by Richard Fletcher
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The Making of Europe: An Introduction to the History of European Unity
by Christopher Dawson
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Chronicles of the Crusades by Joinville and Villehardouin
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Those Terrible Middle Ages by Regine Pernoud
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Plutarch’s Lives
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Thomas More: A Portrait of Courage by Gerard B. Wegemer
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The Song of Roland by an anonymous author
M o d e r n E u r opea n H i s to r y A P
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Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943 by Antony Beevor
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Europe and the Faith by Hilaire Belloc
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The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
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1917: Red Banners, White Mantel by Warren H. Carroll
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The Guillotine and the Cross by Warren H. Carroll
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The Last Crusade: Spain 1936 by Warren H. Carroll
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The Rise and Fall of the Communist Revolution by Warren H. Carroll
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The End of the Armistice by G.K. Chesterton
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Heretics by G.K. Chesterton
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What’s Wrong with the World by G.K. Chesterton
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The Making of Europe: An Introduction to the History of European Unity
by Christopher Dawson
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Religion and the Rise of Western Culture by Christopher Dawson
n A Popular History of the Reformation by Philip Hughes
n Dog Company: The Boys of Pointe du Hoc by Patrick K. O’Donnell
n The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany
by William L. Shirer
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US H i s to r y a n d G o v e r n me n t ,
US H i s to r y A P a n d US G o v e r n me n t A P
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Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose
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Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose
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American Cicero: The Life of Charles Carroll by Bradley J. Birzer
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Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington by Richard Brookhiser
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A Stillness at Appomattox by Bruce Catton
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Abraham Lincoln: A Biography by Lord Charnwood
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Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave
by Frederick Douglas
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Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis
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Washington’s Crossing by David Hackett Fischer
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Stars in Their Courses : The Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863
by Shelby Foote
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Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
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The American Cause by Russell Kirk
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Roots of American Order by Russell Kirk
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A Time to Stand: The Epic of the Alamo by Walter Lord
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1776 by David McCullough
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John Adams by David McCullough
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The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
by David McCullough
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The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough
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Truman by David McCullough
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Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution
by James M. McPherson
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Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson
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The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
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With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen B. Oates
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Common Sense by Thomas Paine
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Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the
American West by Hampton Sides
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Robert E. Lee: A Biography by Emory M. Thomas
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April 1865: The Month that Saved America by Jay Winik
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Roma n H i s to r y
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Augustus: The Life of Rome’s First Emperor by Anthony Everitt
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Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome’s Greatest Politician by Anthony Everitt
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The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius
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The Ides of March by Thornton Wilder
C ol d W a r
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Witness by Whittaker Chambers
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Churchill by Paul Johnson
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Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
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A World Split Apart: Commencement Address Delivered
at Harvard University, June 8, 1978 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
E co n om i c s A P
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Secrets of the Temple:
How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country by William Greider
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The Road to Serfdom by F.A. Hayek
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Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
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The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times, and Ideas
of Great Economic Thinkers by Robert L. Heilbroner
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The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
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A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel
H i s to r y o f W e s te r n T ho u ght
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Saint Thomas Aquinas: ‘The Dumb Ox’ by G.K. Chesterton
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The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton
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The Love of Learning and the Desire for God by Jean Leclercq
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The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis
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Scholasticism by Josef Pieper
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Another Sort of Learning by James V. Schall
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The Intellectual Life: It’s Spirit, Conditions, Methods by A.G. Sertillanges
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www.heights.edu
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