Philip and The Gift
Martin Melaver 

Q2, #1 2008 

When I turned 13, Philip Hoffman, my father’s closest childhood friend and our company’s CPA, gave me a bar mitzvah present that was a gift for life: a collection of books on history, science, education, culture, economics that were each one gems in their own right. Some were books that I was able to read right away. Others, it would be years before I was ready for them. They formed the nucleus of my library today. More significantly, they formed the core of the person I’ve evolved into. The gift was as remarkable as the giver himself: a renaissance man of an inquirer, someone who’s profession - that of an accountant - was but a tiny measure of someone committed with every fiber of his being to social justice, to critical, disciplined thinking, and to an unassuming kindness in all he did. 

Recently, a good friend, someone who does pr work for our company, suggested that I put together an annotated list of readings on business and the environment and post that list on our web site. I think I’ll take her up on the suggestion. Maybe we’ll call it the “Philip List.” 

As an interim step, though, I thought I would at least begin with a bar mitzvah list of my own, a selection of 13 titles that might help form the core of a much longer list of readings that should shape our thoughts and actions as we contemplate the changes all of us must be a part of to restore who we are. As with any concise list, there are notable gaps and misses. Some classic titles - Thoreau’s Walden, Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, and Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring - I have left off, simply assuming that these titles are necessary prerequisites to the more recent selections I’ve provided. Other titles are probably ones you might consider adding to the list. I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

So, in honor of my son’s upcoming bar mitzvah, his 13^th birthday, my gift of thirteen titles that have the capacity to inspire us all to be better stewards of land and community: 

• Janine Benyus, Biomimicry
• William Cronon, Changes in the Land
• Jared Diamond, Collapse
• David Ehrenfeld, The Arrogance of Humanism
• William Greider, The Soul of Capitalism
• Paul Hawken, The Ecology of Commerce
• Donella Meadows, Jorgan Randers, Dennis Meadows, Limits to Growth
• David Orr, The Nature of Design
• Alice Outwater, Water
• Joseph Romm, Hell and High Water
• Richard Sennett, The Corrosion of Character
• David Suzuki, The Sacred Balance
• Edward Wilson, Consilience