For Thomas Gilligan, recently appointed dean of the McCombs School of Business, reading is like breathing.

“I’m not sure I can think of myself as existing apart from reading—it’s an integral part of life,” Gilligan says. “Reading was a big salvation for me when I went into military service right out of high school. It’s the way I educated myself before I ever went to college.”

Prior to joining academia, Gilligan served as a Russian linguist in the United States Air Force and was a staff economist for President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers.

Keep reading to find out what’s on his nightstand this winter.

“Economics 2.0” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) by Norbert Haring and Olaf Storbeck

I like this book because it weaves current economics research into thoughts about contemporary policy issues. So it’s not as trendy as some business books—it’s more thoughtful, similar to the style of “Freakonomics.” There’s a chapter on the market meltdown, there’s a chapter on labor markets, and on economists’ use of the athletic industry to study human behavior. Economics really is a far-wandering field these days.

“It’s Your Ship” (Business Plus, 2002) by Capt. D. Michael Abrashoff

This is a classic business book on leadership, written by a former naval officer about the things he learned while running a ship. Since this is my first permanent dean’s job, I wanted to read something like this. It reminded me of the importance of communicating mission to people—the necessity to delegate and trust people to carry out a mission. And, the importance of finding the right job for a particular person.

FAA Airport and Facility Directory (South Central U.S.)

This is absolutely boring, but I’m a private pilot, so I have to familiarize myself with the aviation environment of Texas. This is usually what puts me to sleep. It just gives you basic information about airports and runways and navigational aids, etc. This is probably not inspiring to people, but it is what it is!

“The Courage to Teach” (Jossey-Bass, 2007) by Parker J. Palmer

As business dean, teaching is something I think about a fair amount. We’re just starting to see the impact of technology on learning styles. If you look at the kids who started college four or five years ago, these are the kids who grew up with computers in their rooms and cell phones in their pockets. The world has changed in dramatic ways over the past 30 years—we can’t teach the same way we taught 30 years ago.

“Einstein’s Mistakes” (W.W. Norton, 2008) by Hans C. Ohanian

This book reveals all the mistakes Einstein made, his bad personality traits, and the interpersonal disasters he created. But it caused me to like him a lot more. He wasn’t the greatest mathematician, and he made a lot of mistakes. And the fact that human progress can be so affected by someone with those traits is an optimistic story in the end. You don’t have to be perfect to make significant contributions to humanity.

Read a profile of Dean Gilligan in Texas, the McCombs School of Business magazine.

Schroeder first met Warren Buffett when she published research on Berkshire Hathaway; her grasp of the subject and insight so impressed him that he offered her access to his files and to himself.

Read about Buffett’s reaction to the book and what it was like for Schroeder to work with “The Oracle of Omaha.”

What do you hope readers will learn from your book?
“The Snowball” tells you, not how to become the world’s richest man, but how to be smarter about managing your own time, money and relationships. It is the story of a man who started out obsessed with money and was nearly hopeless at dealing with people — and who, through experience and effort, became expert at relationships and created a life rich with meaning by giving back to others.

“The Snowball” was your first book. Had a project like this always been one of your goals, or did it just strike you as being the right thing at the right time?
In 2002 Warren started encouraging me to write a book. I’ve always gravitated toward challenging projects that teach me something new. It was nearly 18 months later that I came up with the idea, after another writer approached me to collaborate on a different book. It helped that Warren believed in me — but I also believed in myself. You’ve got to if you want to accomplish much in this world.

You’ve said that Mr. Buffett didn’t have a single edit for you, which seems like quite the endorsement. What has been his response to the book? What about the people you interviewed?
Warren told me to use the less flattering version whenever his version differed from somebody else’s. It was courageous of him. Since then, he has said that the book is good and well-written. But, as would be true of anyone, parts of it don’t match his image of himself, and parts of it were painful for him to read. As one of his friends put it, the book took off all of Warren’s clothes and one layer of his skin. This same friend also gave the book very high accolades. Many of Warren’s friends and family have contacted me to say how much they like the book and how well I captured him.

What advice would you give aspiring authors/writers?
Devoted readers make good writers. And great books are written by people who have something important to say. So if you find your subject of passion, it will help you hone your craft.

Alice Schroeder is appearing at the Texas Book Festival on Saturday, Nov. 1.