American Politics Books

While often associated with populism and economic dissatisfaction, the success of the MAGA movement in the United States is also rooted in a distinctive set of ideas about culture, identity, authority, and national renewal. Political theorist Laura Field recommends five books that explore the movement's intellectual challenge to liberal democracy, from the work of Carl Schmitt in 1930s Germany to cultural shifts in evangelical Christianity today.

In early January 2026 US forces arrested the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro and took him into custody in the US, charged with drug offences. Political scientist Julia Buxton chooses five books on modern Venezuelan politics and explains that this is only the latest political catastrophe to befall a country that has been plagued by its vast oil reserves. An endowment of natural resources that was expected to make the country rich when they were discovered in the early 20th century has only succeeded in making it poor and politically unstable.

Emerging in the middle of the last century, political science combines data and theory to help us understand the political world. Professor Robert E. Goodin, editor of The Oxford Handbook of Political Science and co-editor of The British Journal of Political Science, introduces five seminal works from major sub-disciplines. His choices are accessible starting points that open up new ways of thinking: from big data to deep case studies, these are five books that will help you to make sense of the world – and to change it.

Biographers create character studies of fascinating people, through which we might insight into the historical context and the systems these individuals functioned within. Here, journalist and attorney William Cooper recommends five U.S. political biographies and memoirs that allow readers special access to the rooms where American decision-making takes place.

For good books to understand Jimmy Carter and his presidency, it's important to understand the context in which he was elected and served as president, argues political scientist Robert Lieberman. Here, he recommends five books on Jimmy Carter, winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize: "Carter was who he seemed to be, which is not something you often say about successful politicians."

Around the world, people were taken aback when the populist candidate, a real estate developer and reality TV show star called Donald Trump, was elected as the 45th President of the United States. Here Tony Schwartz, Trump's co-author on his bestselling book, The Art of the Deal, talks us through how that happened and why Trump is so mesmerising, even to those who oppose him.

American president Richard Nixon will be forever remembered for his role in the Watergate scandal and his resignation in 1974, a blow for a man obsessed with his image who hoped to be remembered as a peacemaker on the global stage. Here historian David Greenberg, a professor at Rutgers, recommends books on a man who elicited very strong emotions, both for and against.

In contrast to many other countries, the secretaries who serve in the United States cabinet aren't chosen from among the country's elected officials but entirely reflect the president's personal choices. Here, presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky, author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution, talks us through the role of the cabinet and recommends which books to read to understand more about it.

If you want to know more about Kamala Harris, the 49th Vice President of the United States and the first woman to hold the job, her own memoir is a great place to start, especially as there aren't (m)any books about her yet. It's available for different age groups, including children and teenagers.

Despite the challenge of authoritarian populism and a new divisiveness in political debate in many countries around the world there are reasons for optimism, argues political scientist Yascha Mounk, author of The People vs. Democracy. He talks us through his selection of the best politics books of 2020.