Political Ideologies

Esteemed historian of the Soviet Union recommends five books on Communism, from novels and personal narratives to theoretical works.

What makes the most successful societies tick? The RSA's Matthew Taylor says we should recognise that relationships and values are more important than scientific or economic advances

International terror expert Jessica Stern takes a close look at the mind of the terrorist. She explores why people are drawn to extreme violence and how, in many cases, terrorists can build their identities around ideologies that they hold in an ultimately shallow way

Right-wing journalist and political commentator Peter Hitchens says the Left has been liberated by the fall of the Berlin Wall and that speech is probably freer in modern Russia than it is in Britain. He recommends some great anti-Communist thrillers.

The former BBC Moscow correspondent and author Martin Sixsmith chooses five great works on Russia's doomed democracies.

From immediate post-war battles against the New Deal to the rise of the neoconservative movement, Washington Post columnist and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, E J Dionne traces the growth of conservatism in America

Modern conservatism is being driven by an historically unlikely coalition of libertarians and traditionalists, says the vice-president for research at the Cato Institute.

The CNN columnist and former speechwriter for George W Bush, David Frum, recommends five conservative books that transformed the way we think about fundamental problems.

The leading Conservative strategist and Head of Americans for Tax Reform argues that liberals actively undermine what makes America great. He chooses five books to better understand conservative America

The magazine editor, journalist and biographer of Ayn Rand selects five books that define the essence of libertarianism. Atlas Shrugged is first on her list.