Resources

Books

Reference books are always useful. In this list some books have been reviewed whilst others are listed as recommended reading.

Book List
The first of the two major histories of English philanthropy to be published in the mid-twentieth century, Jordan bases his work on a comprehensive study of all charitable legacies made within this period from the late 15th to mid 17th...
Book List
A treasure-trove of a book looking at how philanthropy has contributed to, and been shaped by, the various historical periods and different cultures in which it has existed. The scope of the essays is vast, including pre-colonial Africa, twentieth-century Russia...
Book List
This collection of essays features contributions from many of the most interesting current thinkers on philanthropy. It has an unusual angle – the potential of philanthropy to fail in its goals and even to do harm because, as the foreword...
Book List
This small book has a big aim: to illuminate what is happening in American philanthropy today, and what it all means. Taking a scholarly approach, drawing on philosophy, the classics and history, it claims to re-interpret philanthropy and provide a...
Book List
The foreword to this edited volume correctly notes that, “Analytically constructed studies of philanthropy are in short supply” and books that do appear tend to be either “self-congratulatory, mostly boring insider accounts” or “shrill denunciations by outsiders” . Yet as...
Book List
A refreshing change to the American and European-dominated literature on philanthropy, this biography relates the story of the nineteenth-century Belarus-born Simcha Baevski, who changed his name,
Book List
This biography of Brooke Astor, who died in August 2007, is based on eight years’ acquaintance plus interviews with the subject’s friends and contacts at the many New York cultural inst
Book List
After nearly two decades as president of the Surdna foundation, Edward Skloot looks back on a period of rapid change in American philanthropy, social policy, politics and civic ideals.
Book List
This short booklet explains how charities can make their money go further.
Book List
Critical of the great majority of foundations who are said to fall short of fulfilling their potential, the authors seek to encourage foundations to change and improve.

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