Politics Books
recommended by political scientists and historians
Last updated: May 27, 2025
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What Comes Naturally: Miscegenation Law and the Making of Race in America
by Peggy Pascoe -
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Whiteness of a Different Color: European Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race
by Matthew Frye Jacobson -
3
Eugenic Nation: Faults and Frontiers of Better Breeding in Modern America
by Alexandra Minna Stern -
4
From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America
by Elizabeth Hinton -
5
The Injustice Never Leaves You: Anti-Mexican Violence in Texas
by Monica Muñoz Martinez
The best books on White Supremacy, recommended by Kathleen Belew
The best books on White Supremacy, recommended by Kathleen Belew
Defined by University of Chicago historian Kathleen Belew, white supremacy is a “broad system of laws, norms and customs that create a society with unequal opportunities for people based on race”. It persists to this day, and has surprising intersections with issues of labor and women's reproduction. Here, she recommends books for coming to grips with the history of this complex topic.
The best books on Interracial Relationships, recommended by Tineka Smith and Alex Court
You might think that books about interracial couples aren’t relevant unless you’re part of one or are close to someone who is, but nothing could be further from the truth. In Mixed Up: Confessions of an Interracial Couple, a fascinating audiobook narrated by Tineka Smith and Alex Court, the husband and wife duo tell the story of their own relationship and, in doing so, give the listener unique insights into racism and racial identity. Here, they recommend their top books on interracial relationships.
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Strangers in Their Own Land
by Arlie Russell Hochschild -
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American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump
by Tim Alberta -
3
Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House
by Michael Wolff -
4
Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us
by Amanda Carpenter -
5
The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump
by Bandy Lee
The Best Donald Trump Books, recommended by Tony Schwartz
The Best Donald Trump Books, recommended by Tony Schwartz
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.
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The Cold War: A World History
by Odd Arne Westad -
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For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War
by Melvyn P Leffler -
3
Russia and the Idea of the West
by Robert English -
4
The Enigma of 1989: The USSR and the Liberation of Eastern Europe
Jacques Lévesque (trans. Keith Martin) -
5
Reagan and Gorbachev
by Jack Matlock
The best books on The Cold War, recommended by Archie Brown
The best books on The Cold War, recommended by Archie Brown
American military and economic superiority cannot explain why the Cold War came to an end in the late 1980s and early 1990s. According to the historian Archie Brown, you need to accept the primacy of politics and human agency both in the USSR and the West. He chooses five books to understand the Cold War and offers some broader reflections on the qualities of good political leadership—then and now.
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High Crimes and Misdemeanors: A History of Impeachment for the Age of Trump
by Frank O. Bowman III -
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Impeachment in America
by N. E. H. Hull & Peter Charles Hoffer -
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Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment
by United States Congress -
4
Impeachment: The Constitutional Problems
by Raoul Berger -
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Impeachment: A Handbook
by Charles L. Jr. Black
The best books on Impeachment, recommended by Michael J. Gerhardt
The best books on Impeachment, recommended by Michael J. Gerhardt
In the 1998 Clinton impeachment proceedings, only one legal scholar was called as a joint witness: Michael J. Gerhardt, now a Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a prolific expert on subjects of constitutional history, the legislative process, and impeachment. With the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump well underway, he recommends five books crucial to understanding the subject.
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My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for His Family's Past
by Ariel Sabar -
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A Modern History of the Kurds
by David McDowall -
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Blood and Belief: The PKK and the Kurdish Fight for Independence
by Aliza Marcus -
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A Problem from Hell
by Samantha Power -
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Invisible Nation: How the Kurds' Quest for Statehood Is Shaping Iraq and the Middle East
by Quil Lawrence
The best books on The Kurds, recommended by Peter W. Galbraith
The best books on The Kurds, recommended by Peter W. Galbraith
The Kurds lost 11,000 lives fighting Islamic State and hoped the West would support them in their quest for nationhood. But as the Kurdish saying goes, ‘The Kurds have no friends but the mountains.’ Author and diplomat Peter W. Galbraith, a longtime advocate of the Kurdish people, recommends the best books on the Kurds—and predicts that one day there will be an independent Kurdistan.
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The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity
by Kwame Anthony Appiah -
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How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy
by Julian Baggini -
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A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution
by Toby Green -
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Maoism: A Global History
by Julia Lovell -
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Remnants of Partition: 21 Objects from a Continent Divided
by Aanchal Malhotra -
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Latinx: The New Force in American Politics and Culture
by Ed Morales
Best Books of 2019 on Global Cultural Understanding, recommended by Ash Amin
Best Books of 2019 on Global Cultural Understanding, recommended by Ash Amin
Every year the British Academy’s Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize is awarded to a nonfiction book that has contributed to ‘global cultural understanding.’ Cambridge professor Ash Amin, chair of this year’s panel of judges, talks us through the fabulous books that made the 2019 shortlist and explains why they’re so important.
The best books on Justice and the Law, recommended by The Secret Barrister
The English legal system is struggling to ensure justice. Drastic government cuts and disastrous reforms have led to innocent people being let down by the system again and again. Reporting anonymously from the front line, The Secret Barrister sees it as their duty to keep the public informed. Here they discuss the books that have shaped the way they think about justice and its relation to the law.
The Best Politics Books of 2018, recommended by Stephen Bush
2018 has been a year full of alarming political developments, but it has also proven fodder for an excellent crop of political books. Stephen Bush, special correspondent at the New Statesman, selects five of the best politics books.
The best books on Spies, recommended by Ben Macintyre
The British public-school system, with its hidden homosexuality and feelings of loneliness, encouraged subterfuge and led to a generation of great spy writers and spies, suggests author and journalist Ben Macintyre. He picks the best books on spies.