Skip to Main Content
Research Guides

Access to Recommended Reads for Equity E-Books

Recommended Reads for Equity has a default format of print books in our collection. However, the UW Libraries has access to many of these books additionally in an e-book format. Here, we have listed all the books in the Recommended Reads for Equity collection with a UW-held e-book counterpart. You can access the UW library catalog listing for each e-book by clicking the hyperlinked 'E-BOOK AVAILABLE,' which is under each book's information.

If there is not an e-book version of the book you are interested in, we encourage you to check your public library, or email us to discuss purchasing possibilities.

It is important to note that many of these e-books still act as physical books, and restrict access to one user at a time. E-Books in our collection with unlimited user access include:

 

Biographies

 

Recommended by: Anonymous

"I read the book to better understand issues of equity in America and why and how institutional racism still persists. Though this book did help me better understand racism in America, it also offered an unintended but cherished lesson...

The unintended lesson is why some parents who have suffered trauma, parent with destructive fear. My father is the product of a fascist regime and has parented as someone who fears the world. Black parents in America know a similar fear, a deeper fear, a more sinister and pervasive fear. I never understood my father's fear completely or his broken way of parenting as well as I have in reading Ta-Nehisi Coates' book, Between the World and Me.

I moved to America in 1991 with the belief that it was a Norman Rockwell painting not unlike The Golden Rule. I believed it was easier in America, than in other countries, to live in peace regardless of our race, religion or creed. The truth, for now, is different for some. Peace (equity) is not guaranteed. "Between the World and Me" explains that. I found it instructive and heartbreaking."

Recommended by: Hannah Wilson, Student UW Seattle, Environmental Science and Resource Management
"This book delves into the power structures in the U.S. and why work the way they do historically and contemporarily against people of color, especially black people. This book is empowering in that it gave me, a black and mixed race woman, the knowledge of my position in our society and how it has developed over time. It shows the beauty of people of color and how they have shown incredible resilience in the face of injustice."


Recommended by: Anonymous
"It explains a similar upbringing for a lot black people in America, the hardships, that still persist today, indignation of black bodies, the infallible strength, tenacity, spirit, wisdom and power that is black people; the black father/son dynamic, the truth and much more. Equity is knowing how important diversity is and knowing everyone benefits from it, thus allowing people to be more inclusive and be richer for it."


Recommended by: Teresa Ward, Faculty UW Seattle, Nursing
"Thoughtfully written book on race in America by Ta-Nehisi Coates. This book is written as a letter to his son on Coates experiences and the historical context of growing up in Baltimore, attending Howard University, living in Paris and New York. Insightful book."

 

Recommended by: Nichole Gustavsen, UW Botthell, UWB / Cascadia College Library

"A memoir by a First Nations woman who grew up on a BC reservation. This author is local to the PNW! This book gets into intersections between Indigenous identity, womanhood, mental illness, addiction, and generational trauma. Certainly a tough read, but a necessary one."
 
"This book gives a personal account of a lawyer working for those convicted unfairly and are now on death row. Bryan digs into the broader societal context as to why they are unjustly tried and the steps that are taken to rectify this issue. This book demonstrated how nuanced even the most tragic or fatal cases actually are. And regardless of guilt, there are contributing factors to that person (race, age) and the situation that were ignored, which demonstrates the injustice that was delivered."


Recommended by: Nandina Babic, Student UW Seattle, Law, Societies & Justice / Political Science
"The incredible work done by Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative is highlighted in this book, read as part of LSJ361 with Professor Megan Francis. Beautifully written and moving, the book forces one to confront deep-seated issues in the criminal justice system and how they impact certain groups of people in the United States."


Recommended by: Saul Clifaseli, Staff UW Seattle, School of Social Work
 
"Michael Bennett, a former Seahawk, provides a compelling story of his engagement with life and sports. He gives a football player's view of the inside of the protest actions by players in the NFL."

Graphic Novels

 
"Fresh perspective on pre-war african american slave history, uses science fiction to insert a contemporary into the midst of a history-drenched era. The contrast of a modern individual having to suffer history that seems ancient and closed helps cast a deeply personal, relatable light to a story that is many times told in a divisive manner."

Recommended by: Melissa, Staff UW Bothell, Library

"Thi Bui painstakingly interviewed members of her family, and researched their past, so that she could tell their stories spanning three generations (or more) in Vietnam, their experience as refugees, and citizens in America."

Popular Non-Fiction

 

Recommended by: Soojin Oh Park, Faculty UW Seattle, College of Education

"Promising practices for building collective power to debunk distorted truths about non-dominant communities and transform broken structures of society."

 

 

Anonymous, Faculty UW Seattle, UW Libraries and iSchool

"Goes through many periods of American history and focuses on fascinating individuals. Opened my mind about gender & sexual orientation history like few other books."

 

 

Recommended by: Hallie Clawson, Student UW Seattle, Information School

"This book is an examination of how technology can be invested with unconscious societal bias, and has particular relevance in our tech-obsessed culture. Speaking as part of the Information School, we need to make sure we self-examine and act critically with our use, promotion, and creation of technologies. This book is quite the eye-opener in that regard."

Recommended by: Alexis M., Student UW Seattle, Slavic Department

"This book is a great introduction to how biases can function in search engines. "

 

 

Recommended by: Lauren Collins, Student UW Seattle, Social Work

"One area of diversity that we often overlook is size/weight/body, and how we are overtly instructed from a young age what kind of bodies are "normative," lovable, and worthy of inclusion. Sonya Renee Taylor takes the concept of radical body love and directly links it to the struggles of various intersecting identities and sites of oppression. She's doing incredible work in this area."

 

 

Recommended by: Anonymous

"Most Americans don't understand how inaccessible housing is for lower-income people, and how crippling an eviction typically is for people's economic prospects, future housing opportunities and future employment. This highly readable journalistic account depicts the lives of lower-income Americans from several communities around the US and their often-desperate quest to keep a roof over their heads."

 

 

Recommended by: Sumyat Thu, Student UW Seattle, English

"Accessible interviews with a legend who provides so much insights into recent events such as Black Lives Matter and BDS movement for Palestine."

 

 

Recommended by: Jaye Sablan, Staff UW Seattle, Core Programs in The Graduate School

"Influential text from a prominent Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawai'ian) scholar-activist on social, cultural, environmental, and political issues impacting Kanaka Maoli peoples. Published in 1999 and still relevant."

 

 

Recommended by: Caitlan Maxwell, Staff UW Bothell

 

 

Recommended by: Stephen Bezruchka, Faculty UW Seattle, Health Services & Global

"This book follows on to The Spirit Level which is all about equity and health. Their latest book won't be released in the U.S. until January but is now available in the U.K. Like the Spirit Level, Inner Level promises to have a profound impact on thinking around the glove."

 

 

Recommended by: Chloe Horning, Staff UW Bothell, UWB Library

 

Recommended by: Gabriella Dahlin, Student UW Seattle, UW Libraries and iSchool

"This book is written by an incredible local activist. Her book is framed in an approachable way, and is welcoming for folks who are new, but open, to talking about race. I personally found it helpful for framing my own conversations with other people who might not be as deeply interested involved in social justice. It's honest and direct and really, really great."

 

Recommended by: Judith Wood, Staff UW Seattle, Continuum College

"Oluo is a brilliant and incisive observer, analyst, and writer around issues pertaining to race, equity, and intersectionality. She is local and would make for a lively author event."

 

Recommended by: Kate Orville, Staff UW Seattle, Center on Human Development and Disability- Clinical Training Unit

"The author's purpose with this book was to enable people to talk about race and to have the tools to be able to do so. The author starts each chapter with a personal story illustrating the topic she's going to talk about, then talks about why it's important, data and studies behind it and how and why it is important. As a person who's white and wants to more directly engage in learning about racial discrimination and what I can do about it, this book helped me feel better prepared to have conversations about race. I do not want to ask friends of color to give me the 101 version of things I should take the time to learn on my own first."

 

Recommended by: Anonymous

"As the title would suggest, a perfect introduction to diversity and inclusion that should be read by everyone. It is not written just for people who are still denying that racism exists in America today, but for people who know it does but don't necessarily know all the ways it manifests itself."

 

Recommended by Chloe Horning, Staff UW Bothell, UWB Library

 

 

Recommended by: Thomas Walker, Student UW Seattle, English

"This book offers a number of concrete, poignant examples to illustrate systemic injustice. Even for those already familiar with racial inequality, this book will offer new insight and Cacho's trenchant supporting analysis is thoroughly researched and relentlessly compelling."

 

 

Recommended by: Chloe Horning, Staff UW Bothell, Library

 

Non-Fiction

 

Recommended by: Anonymous, Faculty UW Seattle, English

"This book is a timeless true story about a 12-year-old who was sent to prison for an accidental shooting. While the community where he lived, and a Supreme Court justice, argued he should be hanged, others argued that he could be redeemed. That turns out to be the case. For every throw-away child, thought to be beyond redemption, is a child with equal possibility for good."

 

 

Recommended by: Kim Johnson-Bogart, Staff UW Seattle, Advancement CFR and English

"examines structural racism in education systems; cuts deep into the fabric of inequity and made me think about uncomfortable truths of our society, of schooling, what happens to our children; I find it necessary for thinking about equity and inclusion to first better understand inequity and exclusion. My daughter, a faculty member at Tufts, is the author."


 

 

Recommended by: Anonymous

"This book is empirically informed on systemically who gets what, with examples."

 

 

Recommended by: Claire Pendergrast, Student UW Seattle, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences

"This book describes how disasters shine a light on the social, racial, and economic injustices that may be masked by the structure and order of everyday life. It tells the story of a flooded hospital in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the need for planning, preparedness, and transparency in the healthcare sector to ensure that community health and safety are prioritized, even during a disaster."

 

Recommended by Anonymous

"For anyone who would like to understand more about the empowering effect of programs like Seattle Youth Garden Works and the UW Farm, I highly recommend Illène Pevec’s Growing a Life: Teen Gardeners Harvest Food, Health, and Joy. The author transcribes her face-to-face interviews with 90 youth gardeners participating in twelve different programs across the country. Her goal is to discover how growing food at their school, community center, or non-profit organization affects these teens' health as well as the attitudes, job prospects, and hopes for the future they share. The result is inspirational!"

My brief review above was published in the December 2016 Leaflet for Scholars email newsletter for the Miller Library, Volume 3, Issue 12.

More specifically, Pevec interviews youth of economically, culturally, and racially diverse backgrounds who are involved with gardening programs. Reflecting the cultures, values and priorities of each community, these programs all help these teens grow and develop to their potential in a range of ways. Teens who garden find job opportunities, improved communication skills, health education, a sense of purpose, friendships, and mentoring, along with other benefits."

 

 

Recommended by: Kira Newman, Staff UW Seattle, Housing & Food Services

"Dyson is an incredible writer, and much of his work focuses on race and hip-hop, although this book is a collection of his works. This book helped me understand the impact of racism in tangible, accessible ways, and he uses sarcasm to make bold statements about the state of race in America."

 

 

Recommended by: Gita Krishnaswamy, Faculty UW Seattle, Health Services

 

 

Recommended by: Sabrina McClimans, Student UW Bothell, Health Studies

"This book is teaching me how to honor the knowledge of those who do not share my same privilege. Through Freire's works I am learning that just because someone may not share the educational experiences that I have, it does not mean that they are any less intelligent than I. Rather, I am learning that they have a separate bank of knowledge than I, and that we can teach each other about the knowledge that each of us possess."

 

 

Recommended by: Holly Taylor, Student UW Seattle, Urban Design & Planning

"Good critique of how urban planning and historic preservation policies have privileged the privileged, and thoughtful recommendations about how to address these issues in theory and practice."

 

 

Recommended by: Kara Schoonmaker, Staff UW Seattle, Jackson School of International Studies

"An eye-opening and disturbing book about the poor quality of public schools for many students in the United States, and the combination of indifference and selfishness that perpetuates the problem. Through accounts of the author's first-hand experiences, and those of many others, this book helps readers to understand one of the ways in which the US offers its citizens deeply unequal opportunities."

 

 

Soojin Oh Park, Faculty UW Seattle, College of Education

"socioeconomic and racial inequities that perpetuate across generations and how they seep into child and youth development; Promising practices for building collective power to debunk distorted truths about non-dominant communities and transform broken structures of society"

 

 

Recommended by: Kira Newman, Staff UW Seattle, Housing & Food Services

"This is one of the first books I read about diversity, equity and inclusion, and it really hits home about not only race and racism, but gets to some of the deeper components of how it impacts community--and more specifically, the ways that self-segregation (as the title suggests) are often a form of survival. Tatum's writing packs a punch, and makes you really think about how you show up in community, and once you read it, you can't un-see the points she makes in your day to day life."

 

 

Recommended by: Anonymous

"This book is a truly comprehensive source that will help readers to understand what it was like to be a poor immigrant settling in New York at the turn of the 20th century. It chronicles new Jewish Americans' challenges-- the toll taken by poverty and poor living conditions --but also how this community organized and advocated to enact positive changes. This book will help readers to understand the history of America's largest city and the current shape of the American Jewish community."

 

Drama

Recommended by: Sumyat Thu, Student UW Seattle, English

"It's one of the most revered plays in the U.S. that powerfully weaves together personal and social conditions of being a gay, queer, or racial minority person under the neoliberal political environment seen in Reagan and Bush eras."