Politics, Government & Public Affairs
Theories of power, justice and government, from classic to contemporary. Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism and The Human Condition are landmarks of twentieth-century political thought. Michael J. Sandel's Justice makes the theories of Aristotle, Kant and Rawls easy to follow through real debates. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith's The Dictator's Handbook offers a blunt theory of why leaders, democratic or not, do what they do. For students and anyone who wants to think about politics more deeply.
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Politics, Government & Public Affairs
Political ideologies are the big ideas behind political movements, from liberalism and conservatism to socialism and libertarianism. Nancy MacLean's Democracy in Chains traces the ideas of the economist James Buchanan, a founder of public choice theory, and argues that they inspired a movement to protect property from majority rule. The book has been widely praised and strongly contested, which makes it a good starting point for debate. More books on ideologies will join this category; see Politics, Government & Public Affairs.
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Politics, Government & Public Affairs
How governments and political institutions really work. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith's The Dictator's Handbook argues that all leaders, democratic or not, survive by rewarding the coalition that keeps them in power, and explains politics from corruption to foreign aid in those terms. Nancy MacLean's Democracy in Chains traces how the economist James Buchanan's ideas inspired efforts to limit what majorities can do through government. Two provocative books on power and institutions. See Politics, Government & Public Affairs for more.
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Politics, Government & Public Affairs
Books that changed, or argue for changing, public policy. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring exposed the dangers of pesticides and helped bring about the ban on DDT in the United States. Diane Ravitch's The Death and Life of the Great American School System challenges testing and school choice; Heather McGhee's The Sum of Us shows how racism undermines public goods such as pools, schools and healthcare. David Wallace-Wells's The Uninhabitable Earth and Jeff Goodell's The Water Will Come set out the policy stakes of climate change and rising seas. For citizens and students who want to understand the decisions that shape everyday life.
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Politics, Government & Public Affairs
Public administration is about how government actually works: agencies, officials and the projects they deliver. Robert A. Caro's The Power Broker, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, is the classic study. Robert Moses never held elected office, yet as head of New York's public authorities he built parks, beaches, bridges and expressways for decades, used his control of public money to stay in power and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. A monumental book about power in government. See Politics, Government & Public Affairs.
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Politics, Government & Public Affairs
How power works between nations. Christopher Clark's The Sleepwalkers shows how the great powers of Europe drifted into the First World War. Chris Miller's Chip War explains why semiconductors became the centre of the contest between the United States and China, and Javier Blas and Jack Farchy's The World for Sale reveals how commodity traders move oil, metals and food across borders, and into politics. Readable books on geopolitics and diplomacy, past and present.
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Politics, Government & Public Affairs
Books about people who organize to change politics. Adam Hochschild's King Leopold's Ghost tells, alongside the horror of King Leopold II's rule in the Congo, the story of one of the first modern international human rights campaigns. E. D. Morel, Roger Casement, missionaries and African witnesses gathered evidence, published it and mobilised public opinion in Britain and beyond until Leopold was forced to give up his colony. An inspiring and harrowing book. More books will join this category; see Politics, Government & Public Affairs.
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Politics, Government & Public Affairs
Books about equal rights and the struggles to secure them. Isabel Wilkerson's Caste argues that America has a hidden caste system based on race, comparing it with India's caste system and Nazi Germany, and shows how it shapes lives today. Jonathan Kozol's The Shame of the Nation documents the return of segregation in America's public schools and the unequal education it produces. Two powerful, widely discussed books for readers interested in civil rights and justice. See Politics, Government & Public Affairs for more.
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