Politics Books
recommended by political scientists and historians
Last updated: May 29, 2025
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Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making
by Deborah Stone -
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Regulating the Poor: The Public Functions of Welfare
by Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward -
3
The Submerged State: How Invisible Government Policies Undermine American Democracy
by Suzanne Mettler -
4
Remaking America: Democracy and Public Policy in an Age of Inequality
by (ed.) Jacob Hacker, Joe Soss & Suzanne Mettler -
5
Arresting Citizenship: The Democratic Consequences Of American Crime Control
by Amy E Lerman and Vesla M Weaver
The best books on The Politics of Policymaking, recommended by Jamila Michener
The best books on The Politics of Policymaking, recommended by Jamila Michener
Inequality is coming not just from the economy; it is coming from politics and policy, says Jamila Michener, assistant professor of government at Cornell University. Here she chooses five books that showcase some of the best, most thought-provoking writing on the politics and consequences of policy.
The best books on Military Strategy, recommended by Antulio Echevarria II
Texts about military strategy take us back into the mists of time but what it is, and what the nature of war is, remains hotly debated. Antulio Echevarria II of the US Army War College talks us through key books, both old and new, on military strategy.
The best books on Anti-Semitism, recommended by Abraham Foxman
Why has anti-Semitism been such a problem down the ages, and why does it persist today? The emeritus director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, recommends the best books to better understand anti-Semitism.
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An Economic Theory of Democracy
by Anthony Downs -
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The Creation of the Media: Political Origins of Modern Communications
by Paul Starr -
3
Paper Route: Finding My Way to Precision Journalism
by Philip Meyer -
4
Watergate's Legacy and the Press: The Investigative Impulse
by Jon Marshall -
5
The Watchdog That Didn't Bark: The Financial Crisis and the Disappearance of Investigative Journalism
by Dean Starkman
The best books on The Economics of News, recommended by James T Hamilton
The best books on The Economics of News, recommended by James T Hamilton
Many features and failures of contemporary journalism are the result of supply and demand rather than conspiracy theories, says the director of Stanford’s journalism program and author of All the News That’s Fit to Sell. He chooses five great books on the ‘economics of news.’
The best books on Hillary Clinton, recommended by David Maraniss
As America votes in a new president, veteran political journalist and author, David Maraniss, recommends the best books to read to get a better understanding of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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The Aeneid (Robert Fitzgerald translation)
by Virgil -
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The Silver Sword
by Ian Serraillier -
3
Border Vigils: Keeping Migrants Out of the Rich World
by Jeremy Harding -
4
The Lightless Sky: My Journey to Safety as a Child Refugee
by Gulwali Passarlay -
5
Violent Borders: Refugees and the Right to Move
by Reece Jones
The best books on Refugees, recommended by Patrick Kingsley
The best books on Refugees, recommended by Patrick Kingsley
Having trouble getting your head around the refugee crisis? New York Times reporter Patrick Kingsley, formerly the Guardian’s migration correspondent, chooses the best books on refugees. He explains his choices to Ziad Ghandour, himself a refugee from Syria.
The best books on Utopia, recommended by Ellen Wayland-Smith
Utopia is out of fashion because efforts to set one up normally end disastrously, says author Ellen Wayland-Smith, whose forefathers set up a utopian religious community in the 1840s in Oneida, New York. And yet, they offer a critique of society that, even today, can’t be ignored. She recommends four books on literary utopias and one on real-life attempts to set up idealized communities in the United States.
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The Selfish Gene
by Richard Dawkins -
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Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution
by Peter J. Richerson & Robert Boyd -
3
Guns, Germs and Steel
by Jared Diamond -
4
The Creation of Inequality: How Our Prehistoric Ancestors Set the Stage for Monarchy, Slavery, and Empire
by Joyce Marcus & Kent Flannery -
5
The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition
by Michael Tomasello
The best books on Cultural Evolution, recommended by Joseph Henrich
The best books on Cultural Evolution, recommended by Joseph Henrich
What role did culture play in human evolution? Why did human brains get so big so quickly? When and why did inequality first emerge in human society? Harvard professor and author Joe Henrich picks some of the best books for understanding ‘cultural evolution.’
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The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution
by Francis Fukuyama -
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Seeing Like a State
by James C Scott -
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The Nature and Growth of Modern Mathematics
by Edna Ernestine Kramer -
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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
by Douglas Adams -
5
Finite and Infinite Games
by James Carse
The best books on How the World Works, recommended by Venkatesh Rao
The best books on How the World Works, recommended by Venkatesh Rao
Armed with one of the 'big histories' currently in vogue, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and a tome about how modern maths came to be, you too can get a grip on how the world works. Tech blogger Venkatesh Rao chooses some good books for those who agree with Socrates that 'for a human being, the unexamined life is not worth living.'
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Super Sad True Love Story
by Gary Shteyngart -
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China's Superbank: Debt, Oil and Influence - How China Development Bank is Rewriting the Rules of Finance
by Henry Sanderson & Michael Forsythe -
3
Economic Statecraft
by David Allen Baldwin -
4
Network Power: The Social Dynamics of Globalization
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5
Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939
by Adam Hochschild
The best books on Geoeconomics, recommended by Jennifer M Harris
The best books on Geoeconomics, recommended by Jennifer M Harris
With its passion for neoliberal ideology, the US uses its economic weight clumsily in terms of foreign policy, says former state department official and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Jennifer M. Harris. Here she picks the best books for understanding the vital area of geoeconomics.