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This list features several books that I have found helpful to understanding American politics in the 21st century. I've selected works that address a narrow range of "macro" topics related to political, social, or economic dysfunction in some way: inequality, polarization, partisanship, race and racism, (in)justice, violence
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
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Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters
by
Gleb Tsipursky (Goodreads Author)
4.13 avg rating — 255 ratings
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| 2 |
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Adapt and Plan for the New Abnormal of the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic
by
Gleb Tsipursky (Goodreads Author)
4.49 avg rating — 105 ratings
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| 3 |
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Pro Truth: A Practical Plan for Putting Truth Back Into Politics
by
Gleb Tsipursky (Goodreads Author)
4.39 avg rating — 121 ratings
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| 4 |
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The Blindspots Between Us: How to Overcome Unconscious Cognitive Bias and Build Better Relationships
by
Gleb Tsipursky (Goodreads Author)
3.92 avg rating — 277 ratings
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| 5 |
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Our History Has Always Been Contraband: In Defense of Black Studies
by
Colin Kaepernick (Editor)
4.33 avg rating — 179 ratings
score: 500,
and
5 people voted
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| 6 |
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The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump
by
4.17 avg rating — 7,382 ratings
score: 200,
and
2 people voted
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| 6 |
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The Liberal Record: How Liberals Changed the World
by
4.20 avg rating — 15 ratings
score: 200,
and
2 people voted
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| 8 |
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Atlanta's Concealment of the Baby Gun Club Landfill
by
4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings
score: 199,
and
2 people voted
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| 9 |
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Between the World and Me
by
4.40 avg rating — 360,483 ratings
score: 198,
and
2 people voted
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| 9 |
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When They Come for You: How Police and Government Are Trampling Our Liberties - and How to Take Them Back
by
David Kirby (Goodreads Author)
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 64 ratings
score: 198,
and
2 people voted
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| 11 |
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Don't Label Me: An Incredible Conversation for Divided Times
by
Irshad Manji (Goodreads Author)
3.68 avg rating — 638 ratings
score: 196,
and
2 people voted
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| 12 |
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Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic
by
Sam Quinones (Goodreads Author)
4.23 avg rating — 31,869 ratings
score: 186,
and
2 people voted
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| 13 |
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Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
by
3.84 avg rating — 495,329 ratings
score: 184,
and
2 people voted
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| 14 |
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It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the Politics of Extremism
by
3.89 avg rating — 3,780 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 14 |
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America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America
by
Jim Wallis (Goodreads Author)
4.07 avg rating — 1,734 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 14 |
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Anatomy of a False Confession: The Interrogation and Conviction of Brendan Dassey
by
3.92 avg rating — 12 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 14 |
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All the Silent Spaces: A Memoir
by
Christine Ristaino (Goodreads Author)
4.26 avg rating — 50 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 14 |
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No Ordinary Joe: The Life and Career of Joe Biden
by
3.77 avg rating — 70 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 14 |
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Release: Cycles
by
Jasmine Farrell (Goodreads Author)
4.57 avg rating — 35 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 14 |
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Evil Aliens With Afros
by
4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 14 |
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Questions Answered: An Introduction to QAnon and the Great Awakening
by
4.03 avg rating — 78 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 14 |
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Still a Lady: Clarity, Love, and Light during a Global Pandemic
by
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 14 |
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Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices
by
4.23 avg rating — 17,787 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 14 |
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The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
by
4.55 avg rating — 10,056 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 14 |
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Lethal Doses: The Story Behind "The Godfather Of Fentanyl"
by
John Madinger (Goodreads Author)
4.65 avg rating — 49 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 26 |
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The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America
by
3.95 avg rating — 673 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
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| 26 |
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Conceal Reveal: The Space between Entrepreneurs and the Defense Industry
by
4.83 avg rating — 12 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
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| 28 |
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The Ailing Nation: Lessons From the Bedside for America's Leaders
by
4.75 avg rating — 12 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
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| 29 |
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Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice and Why We Continue to Repeat It
by
Lisa Bloom (Goodreads Author)
4.10 avg rating — 324 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
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| 29 |
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The Reckoning: Our Nation's Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal
by
4.09 avg rating — 3,549 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
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| 31 |
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Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice
by
Adam Benforado (Goodreads Author)
4.04 avg rating — 1,845 ratings
score: 96,
and
1 person voted
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| 31 |
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The Truth-Seeker’s Handbook: A Science-Based Guide
by
Gleb Tsipursky (Goodreads Author)
4.18 avg rating — 77 ratings
score: 96,
and
1 person voted
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| 33 |
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Arresting Citizenship: The Democratic Consequences of American Crime Control
by
4.14 avg rating — 49 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
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| 34 |
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Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces
by
4.32 avg rating — 4,001 ratings
score: 94,
and
1 person voted
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| 35 |
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White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide
by
4.47 avg rating — 14,693 ratings
score: 93,
and
1 person voted
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| 36 |
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When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America
by
4.13 avg rating — 2,041 ratings
score: 92,
and
1 person voted
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| 37 |
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Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War
by
4.10 avg rating — 25,126 ratings
score: 91,
and
1 person voted
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| 38 |
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The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right
by
3.79 avg rating — 117 ratings
score: 90,
and
1 person voted
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| 39 |
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Bitter Harvest: Gordon Kahl and the Rise of the Posse Comitatus in the Heartland
by
3.75 avg rating — 114 ratings
score: 89,
and
1 person voted
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| 40 |
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Conspiracy Theories and Other Dangerous Ideas
by
3.13 avg rating — 164 ratings
score: 88,
and
1 person voted
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| 41 |
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Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right
by
4.12 avg rating — 17,691 ratings
score: 87,
and
1 person voted
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| 42 |
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White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America
by
3.76 avg rating — 24,786 ratings
score: 85,
and
1 person voted
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| 43 |
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Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010
by
3.81 avg rating — 5,668 ratings
score: 83,
and
1 person voted
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| 44 |
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Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America
by
4.25 avg rating — 10,775 ratings
score: 82,
and
1 person voted
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| 45 |
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The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan
by
4.24 avg rating — 3,363 ratings
score: 81,
and
1 person voted
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| 46 |
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The Gunning of America: Business and the Making of American Gun Culture
by
3.35 avg rating — 320 ratings
score: 80,
and
1 person voted
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| 47 |
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American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
by
4.19 avg rating — 14,498 ratings
score: 79,
and
1 person voted
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| 48 |
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The Benefit and The Burden: Tax Reform-Why We Need It and What It Will Take
by
3.83 avg rating — 382 ratings
score: 78,
and
1 person voted
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| 49 |
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Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy
by
3.99 avg rating — 6,047 ratings
score: 77,
and
1 person voted
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49 books ·
46 voters ·
list created December 1st, 2017
by Cameron DeHart (votes) .
Cameron
1652 books
90 friends
90 friends
Diana
5171 books
15 friends
15 friends
~☆~Autumn
8025 books
146 friends
146 friends
Brazos Press
232 books
493 friends
493 friends
Scott
30 books
0 friends
0 friends
George
296 books
160 friends
160 friends
GM
60 books
0 friends
0 friends
rebekah
1833 books
193 friends
193 friends
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