-
1
Twilight of Democracy
by Anne Applebaum -
2
The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty
by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson -
3
The Great Demographic Illusion: Majority, Minority, and the Expanding American Mainstream
by Richard Alba -
4
Self-Portrait in Black and White: Family, Fatherhood and Rethinking Race
by Thomas Chatterton Williams -
5
A Promised Land
by Barack Obama
The Best Politics Books of 2020, recommended by Yascha Mounk
The Best Politics Books of 2020, recommended by Yascha Mounk
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.
-
1
No Such Thing as a Free Gift: The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy
by Linsey McGoey -
2
Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance
by Edgar Villanueva -
3
Giving to Help, Helping to Give: The Context and Politics of African Philanthropy
Tade Aina and Bhekinkosi Moyo (editors) -
4
Madam C. J. Walker's Gospel of Giving: Black Women's Philanthropy during Jim Crow
by Tyrone McKinley Freeman -
5
Funding Feminism: Monied Women, Philanthropy, and the Women's Movement, 1870-1967
by Joan Marie Johnson
The best books on Philanthropy, recommended by Beth Breeze
The best books on Philanthropy, recommended by Beth Breeze
Philanthropy is everywhere—and that means we need an informed debate about what it is and how to do it better, rather than resorting to populist critiques of donors and their motives, argues Beth Breeze, Director of the Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Kent. Here she recommends five books to help encourage a more careful and nuanced look at philanthropy, an activity that affects all of us every day but is particularly critical in the lives of the most vulnerable.
-
1
The Puritan Origins of the American Self
by Sacvan Bercovitch -
2
When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture
by Paul Boyer -
3
American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism
by Matthew Sutton -
4
American Fascists: The Christian Right and War in America
by Chris Hedges -
5
Anointed with Oil: How Christianity and Crude Made Modern America.
by Darren Dochuk
The best books on Religion in US Politics, recommended by John H. Smith
The best books on Religion in US Politics, recommended by John H. Smith
Religion is deeply bound up with politics in the United States, in a way that is unique in the developed world and among democratic countries. Here Professor John H. Smith, a historian at Texas A&M University, looks at the historical roots of this phenomenon and its contemporary significance.
-
1
Red Plenty
by Francis Spufford -
2
The Market System: What It Is, How It Works, and What To Make of It
by Charles Lindblom -
3
The Sciences of the Artificial
by Herbert A. Simon -
4
Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society
by E. Glen Weyl & Eric A. Posner -
5
Uncanny Valley: A Memoir
by Anna Wiener
The Best Books on the Politics of Information, recommended by Henry Farrell
The Best Books on the Politics of Information, recommended by Henry Farrell
Our political systems evolved in an era when information was much harder to come by. What challenges does our current reality of information overload pose for democracy? How do we even start thinking about these questions? Political scientist Henry Farrell proposes key books for building a curriculum on ‘the politics of information,’ starting with a beautifully written novel.
-
1
Women vs Capitalism: Why We Can't Have It All in a Free Market Economy
by Vicky Pryce -
2
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
by Caroline Criado Perez -
3
Sex and World Peace
by Bonnie Ballif-Spanvill, Chad Emmett, Mary Caprioli & Valerie Hudson -
4
Delusions of Gender
by Cordelia Fine -
5
Greed, Lust and Gender: A History of Economic Ideas
by Nancy Folbre
The best books on Gender Inequality, recommended by Linda Scott
The best books on Gender Inequality, recommended by Linda Scott
Women produce about 40% of global GDP and more than half of the world’s food. But their economic and social contribution has too often gone unrecorded—subsumed into ‘household earnings’ or otherwise disregarded. Here, the Oxford academic and author of The Double X Economy Linda Scott selects five of the best books on gender inequality, and reveals how the empowerment of women might just be the route to world peace.
The best books on Joe Biden, recommended by Ronald A. Klain
On January 20th, 2021, Joe Biden became the 46th President of the United States. Here Ronald A. Klain, the veteran lawyer who is once again serving as Biden’s chief of staff, recommends books that show the man behind the public persona including his love of Irish poetry, the string of terrible personal tragedies that have affected his life and career, and his leading role in blocking a Supreme Court appointment that would’ve decimated abortion rights.
The best books on Assassinations, recommended by Michael Burleigh
From Julius Caesar to Jamal Khashoggi, assassinations often seem earth-shattering in their consequences. But, as historian Michael Burleigh explains, those consequences are rarely the ones the assassins intended. Here, he recommends the best books on assassinations and the assassins who carry them out, including the role of drones and PR agencies.
-
1
Imperial Intimacies: A Tale of Two Islands
by Hazel Carby -
2
Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent
by Priyamavada Gopal -
3
Lakota America: A New History of Indigenous Power
by Pekka Hämäläinen -
4
Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century
by Charles King -
5
All Our Relations: Indigenous Trauma in the Shadow of Colonialism
by Tanya Talaga
The best books on Global Cultural Understanding: the 2020 Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize, recommended by Patrick Wright
The best books on Global Cultural Understanding: the 2020 Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize, recommended by Patrick Wright
Every year the British Academy's Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize is awarded to the best nonfiction book that has contributed to 'global cultural understanding.' This year, the legacies of colonization and empire loom large. Patrick Wright, Emeritus Professor at King's College London and chair of this year's panel of judges, talks us through the books shortlisted for the £25,000 prize.
-
1
The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality
by His Holiness the Dalai Lama -
2
War and Peace
by Leo Tolstoy -
3
Exhaust the Limits: The Life and Times of a Global Peacebuilder
by Charles F Dambach -
4
Connexity: How to Live in a Connected World
by Geoff Mulgan -
5
Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Fundamentalism, Radicalisation and Terrorism
by Jessica Yakeley and Paul Cundy (eds.)
The best books on Peace, recommended by Steve Killelea
The best books on Peace, recommended by Steve Killelea
Efforts to bring about peace have often focused on eliminating the conditions of war, violence and terrorism. But as Steve Killelea—founder of the Institute for Economics and Peace and the annual Global Peace Index—explains, the foundations of sustainable peace are radically different from the absence of war and violence. Here, he recommends five books that shed light on the building blocks of peace and explains why ‘positive peace’ is so important.
The best books on Angela Merkel, recommended by Tom Nuttall
For 16 years, as chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel was the most powerful woman in the world. Here Tom Nuttall, the Economist’s Berlin bureau chief, talks us through books to help us understand her time in office, and explains how her East German upbringing influenced her style of governance.