Every once in a while I turn from reading business-focused books to reading something about humanity and it's capacity to overcome problems.  Here's two of the best I've recently read:

"Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why" (Gonzales, 2005) - Provides lots of extreme examples of how people who have encountered critical difficulties (albiet mostly physical) have dealt with them effectively or ineffectively.

"Leave No One Behind: Hurrican Katrina and the Rescue of Tulane Hospital" (Carey, 2006) - A story of how Tulane Medical Center got 1200 patients, employees and family members out of New Orleans (no thanks to FEMA!).  A tremendous story of how individuals and corporations can deal with crises.