Heroes for My Son

Novelist Brad Meltzer started listing heroes after his first son was born, choosing people whose virtues and talents he wanted to pass on to the boy, and the list grew to fifty-two. The book presents them in short vignettes with quotations and black-and-white photos, each built around the moment that made that person great. Famous names such as Muhammad Ali, Amelia Earhart, Jim Henson, Rosa Parks and Abraham Lincoln sit beside lesser-known ones. The Wright Brothers appear for bringing spare building materials to every test flight in case of failure, and Miep Gies for risking her life to protect Anne Frank's family from the Nazis. It climbed to second place on the New York Times best seller list.

Simon Sinek called it inspiring and said he gets goose bumps every time he picks it up.