{"id":44435,"date":"2026-06-26T10:08:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T14:08:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libraries.mit.edu\/news\/?p=44435"},"modified":"2026-06-26T13:07:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T17:07:50","slug":"summer-2026-recommended-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libraries.mit.edu\/news\/summer-2026-recommended-reading\/44435\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer 2026 recommended reading"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"graphicMIT News is featuring recent books published by MIT faculty and staff in its\u00a02026 summer reading list<\/a>. The following titles from this year\u2019s list are available to borrow now from the MIT Libraries.<\/p>\n

Fiction and poetry<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We (the People of the United States)<\/a>
\n(Penguin Books, 2026)
\nBy Joshua Bennett, the Distinguished Chair of the Humanities at MIT and professor of literature<\/p>\n

Science and Engineering<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Syntax: A Cognitive Approach<\/a>
\n(MIT Press, 2025)
\nBy Edward A. F. Gibson, professor of brain and cognitive sciences<\/p>\n

Birds Up Close: An Engineer Explores Their Hidden Wonders<\/a>
\n(MIT Press, 2026)
\nBy Lorna J. Gibson, professor post-tenure in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering<\/p>\n

Climate Change, Drinking Water Security, and Public Health: Global Challenges and Solutions
\n(Springer Nature, 2026)
\nChapters by Libby Hsu, associate director of academics at MIT D-Lab
\n\u201cDrinking Water Status Around the World and Its Effect on Health\u201d<\/a>
\n\u201cWaterless and Low-Water Sanitation Technologies that Improve Quality of Life and Conserve Water Resources\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

The Shape of Wonder: How Scientists Think, Work, and Live<\/a>
\n(Penguin Random House, 2025)
\nBy Alan Lightman, professor of the practice of the humanities in MIT Comparative Media Studies\/Writing, and Martin Rees<\/p>\n

Uncertainty in Climate Change Research: An Integrated Approach<\/a>
\n(Springer Nature, 2025)
\nChapter by Jennifer Morris, principal research scientist at the MIT Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy and the MIT Energy Initiative, and John Reilly, senior lecturer in the MIT Sloan School of Management<\/p>\n

Culture, humanities, and social sciences<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The People Can Fly: American Promise, Black Prodigies, and the Greatest Miracle of All Time<\/a>
\n(Little, Brown, and Company, 2026)
\nBy Joshua Bennett, the Distinguished Chair of the Humanities at MIT and professor of literature<\/p>\n

Thinking Historically: A Guide to Statecraft and Strategy<\/a>
\n(Yale University Press, 2025)
\nBy Francis J. Gavin, research affiliate of the MIT Security Studies Program<\/p>\n

The Colony and the Company: Haiti after the Mississippi Bubble<\/a>
\n(Princeton University Press, 2025)
\nBy Malick W. Ghachem, professor of history<\/p>\n

Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America\u2019s Future Against a Rising China<\/a>
\n(Cornell University Press, 2025)
\nBy Charles L. Glaser, senior fellow in the MIT Security Studies Program<\/p>\n

Trade in War: Economic Cooperation Across Enemy Lines<\/a>
\n(Cornell University Press, 2025)
\nBy Mariya Grinberg, associate professor of political science and MIT Security Studies Program affiliate<\/p>\n

Constructing Economic Nationalisms in Brazil and India<\/a>
\n(Cambridge University Press, 2026)
\nBy Jason Jackson, associate professor in political economy and urban planning in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning<\/p>\n

Traders, Speculators, and Captains of Industry: How Capitalist Legitimacy Shaped Foreign Investment Policy in India<\/a>
\n(Harvard University Press, 2025)
\nBy Jason Jackson, associate professor in political economy and urban planning in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning<\/p>\n

The Handbook of Social Protection: Evidence and New Directions for Low- and Middle-Income Countries<\/a>
\n(MIT Press, 2026)
\nEdited by Benjamin A. Olken, the TEPCO Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics, and Rema Hanna<\/p>\n

Argumentation: The Key Concept<\/a>
\n(Routledge, 2026)
\nBy Edward Schiappa, the John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities in MIT Comparative Media Studies\/Writing<\/p>\n

American Independence in verse<\/a>
\n(Pentameter Press, 2025)
\nBy Brad Skow, the Laurence S. Rockefeller Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy<\/p>\n

Rwanda\u2019s Genocide Heritage: Between Justice and Sovereignty<\/a>
\n(Duke University Press, 2025)
\nBy Delia Wendel, associate professor of urban studies and international development in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning<\/p>\n

Technology and society<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Computing in the Age of Decolonization: India\u2019s Lost Technological Revolution<\/a>
\n(Princeton University Press, 2026)
\nBy Dwaipayan Banerjee, associate professor of science, technology, and society<\/p>\n

Auditing AI<\/a>
\n(MIT Press, 2026)
\nBy Karrie G. Karahalios, professor of media arts and sciences at the MIT Media Lab; Marc Aidinoff PhD \u201922; Nathan Matias SM \u201913, PhD \u201917; Christian Sandvig; Alondra Nelson; Kristen Vaccaro; Esha Bhandari; Ellery Roberts Biddle; Lena Armstrong; Motahhare Eslami; and Dana\u00e9 Metaxa<\/p>\n

Shape Computation: Fifty Years, 1972-2022<\/a>
\n(Springer Nature, 2025)
\nEdited by\u00a0Sotirios Kotsopoulos SM \u201900, PhD \u201905, a research affiliate in the Department of Architecture, with a\u00a0<\/strong>chapter by\u00a0Terry W. Knight, the\u00a0William and Emma Rogers Professor of Design and Computation in the Department of Architecture<\/p>\n

The Remote Revolution: Drones and Modern Statecraft<\/a>
\n(Cornell University Press, 2025)
\nBy Erik Lin-Greenberg, associate professor in the Department of Political Science<\/p>\n

The Comedy of Computation: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Obsolescence<\/a>
\n(Stanford University Press, 2025)
\nBy Benjamin Mangrum, associate professor of literature<\/p>\n

Rubrique Technologie \/ Tech Section<\/a>
\n(Printed Matter, 2026)
\nBy Nick Montfort, professor of digital media in MIT Comparative Media Studies\/Writing, and Patsy Baudoin<\/p>\n

Shared Wisdom: Cultural Evolution in the Age of AI<\/a>
\n(MIT Press, 2025)
\nBy Alex \u201cSandy\u201d Pentland, the Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences and professor of information technology in the MIT Media Lab<\/p>\n

Priority Technologies: Ensuring US Security and Shared Prosperity<\/a>
\n(MIT Press, 2026)
\nEdited by Elisabeth B. Reynolds, professor of the practice of urban studies and planning, with a foreword by Simon Johnson, the Ronald A. Kurtz (1954) Professor of Entrepreneurship and professor of global economics and management<\/p>\n

Education, work, finance, and social impact<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them<\/a>
\n(Columbia University Press, 2025)
\nBy Emilio J. Castilla, the NTU Professor of Management and professor of work and organization studies in the MIT Sloan School of Management<\/p>\n

The Art of Monetary Policy: Lessons from Sun Tzu for Central Banks<\/a>
\n(MIT Press, 2026)
\nBy Kristin J. Forbes, the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Professor of Management and professor of global economics and management in the MIT Sloan School of Management<\/p>\n

Launching from the Lab: Building a Deep-Tech Startup<\/a>
\n(MIT Press, 2026)
\nBy Lita Nelsen, former director of the MIT Technology Licensing Office, and Maureen Stancik Boyce, mentor for the MIT Sandbox program<\/p>\n

There\u2019s Got to Be a Better Way: How to Deliver Results and Get Rid of the Stuff That Gets in the Way of Real Work<\/a>
\n(Hachette, 2025)
\nBy Nelson Repenning, professor of management, and Donald Kieffer<\/p>\n

Bayesian Entrepreneurship<\/a>
\n(MIT Press, 2026)
\nEdited by Erin L. Scott, senior lecturer of technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategic management in the MIT Sloan School of Management; and Scott Stern, the David Sarnoff Professor of Management of Technology and professor of technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategic management at MIT Sloan<\/p>\n

Disciplined Entrepreneurship for Climate and Energy Ventures: 24 Steps to Build Solutions for People and the Planet<\/a>
\n(Wiley, 2025)
\nBy Ben Soltoff, entrepreneur in residence at MIT Sloan; Bill Aulet, Ethernet Inventors Professor of the Practice; Tod Hynes, senior lecturer of climate and energy ventures; Francis O\u2019Sullivan, senior lecturer in technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategic management; and Libby Wayman, senior lecturer of climate and energy ventures<\/p>\n

Arts and design, architecture, urban studies and planning<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Tiny Gardens Everywhere: The Past, Present, and Future of the Self-Provisioning City<\/a>
\n(W.W. Norton, 2026)
\nBy Kate Brown, the Thomas M. Siebel Distinguished Professor in History of Science<\/p>\n

Small-Town Renaissance: Bridging Technology, Heritage, and Planning in Shrinking Italy<\/a>
\n(Springer Nature, 2025)
\nEdited by Brent D. Ryan, vice provost and professor of urban design and public policy in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning; Carmelo Ignaccolo PhD \u201924; and Giovanna Fossa<\/p>\n

Blanking: An Annotated Archive of Projects and Thoughts on Architecture<\/a>
\n(Park Books \/ University of Chicago Press, 2026)
\nBy Rosalyn Shieh, assistant professor in the Department of Architecture, and Troy Schaum<\/p>\n

Design Before Disaster: Japan\u2019s Culture of Preparedness<\/a>
\n(University of Virginia Press, 2026)
\nBy Miho Mazereeuw, associate professor in the departments of Architecture and Urban Studies and Planning<\/p>\n

Reconstruction as Violence in Assad\u2019s Syria<\/a>
\n(American University in Cairo Press, 2025)
\nEdited by Nasser Rabbat, professor of architecture and director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT, and Deen Sharp, with a foreword by Hashim Sarkis, dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MIT News is featuring recent books published by MIT faculty and staff in its\u00a02026 summer reading list. The following titles from this year\u2019s list are available to borrow now from the MIT Libraries. Fiction and poetry We (the People of the United States) (Penguin Books, 2026) By Joshua Bennett, the Distinguished Chair of the Humanities at MIT and professor of literature Science and Engineering Syntax: A Cognitive Approach (MIT Press, 2025) By Edward A. F. Gibson, professor of brain and cognitive sciences Birds Up Close: An Engineer Explores Their Hidden Wonders (MIT Press, 2026) By Lorna J. Gibson, professor post-tenure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"subtitle":"","is_event":false,"calendar_url":"","calendar_id":"","calendar_image":"","pauthor":"MIT Libraries","urgent":false,"notes":"","featuredListImg":false,"homeImg":"https:\/\/libraries.mit.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIT_Summer-Books-2026-01_0_111x206_acf_cropped.jpg","listImg":"https:\/\/libraries.mit.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIT_Summer-Books-2026-01_0_323x111_acf_cropped.jpg","homepage_post_title":"Summer 2026 recommended reading","featuredArticle":"True"},"categories":[10,239,249,247,233,241,251],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-10","category-architecture-planning","category-business-management","category-engineering","category-humanities","category-science","category-social-sciences"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraries.mit.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraries.mit.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraries.mit.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraries.mit.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraries.mit.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44435"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/libraries.mit.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44453,"href":"https:\/\/libraries.mit.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44435\/revisions\/44453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraries.mit.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraries.mit.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraries.mit.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}