Current Events: Recommended Reading (49 books)

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

flag

All Votes Add Books To This List

1	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 score: 1,593, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	Adapt and Plan for the New Abnormal of the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic by Gleb Tsipursky (Goodreads Author) 4.49 avg rating — 105 ratings score: 1,292, and 13 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	Pro Truth: A Practical Plan for Putting Truth Back Into Politics by Gleb Tsipursky (Goodreads Author) 4.39 avg rating — 121 ratings score: 1,179, and 12 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	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 score: 985, and 10 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	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	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump by Andrew G. McCabe 4.17 avg rating — 7,382 ratings score: 200, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	The Liberal Record: How Liberals Changed the World by Marcelo Brazzi 4.20 avg rating — 15 ratings score: 200, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	Atlanta's Concealment of the Baby Gun Club Landfill by Jerry Brow 4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings score: 199, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates 4.40 avg rating — 360,483 ratings score: 198, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	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	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	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	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	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	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance 3.84 avg rating — 495,329 ratings score: 184, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the Politics of Extremism by Thomas E. Mann 3.89 avg rating — 3,780 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	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	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Anatomy of a False Confession: The Interrogation and Conviction of Brendan Dassey by Michael D. Cicchini 3.92 avg rating — 12 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	All the Silent Spaces: A Memoir by Christine Ristaino (Goodreads Author) 4.26 avg rating — 50 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	No Ordinary Joe: The Life and Career of Joe Biden by David Hagan 3.77 avg rating — 70 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Release: Cycles by Jasmine Farrell (Goodreads Author) 4.57 avg rating — 35 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Evil Aliens With Afros by Daniel Joseph 4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Questions Answered: An Introduction to QAnon and the Great Awakening by Pat Quincy 4.03 avg rating — 78 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Still a Lady: Clarity, Love, and Light during a Global Pandemic by Monica El it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices by Mosab Hassan Yousef 4.23 avg rating — 17,787 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappé 4.55 avg rating — 10,056 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	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	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America by Michael Eric Dyson 3.95 avg rating — 673 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	Conceal Reveal: The Space between Entrepreneurs and the Defense Industry by Julie Willis 4.83 avg rating — 12 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	The Ailing Nation: Lessons From the Bedside for America's Leaders by Nate Link 4.75 avg rating — 12 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	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	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	The Reckoning: Our Nation's Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal by Mary L. Trump 4.09 avg rating — 3,549 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	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	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	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	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Arresting Citizenship: The Democratic Consequences of American Crime Control by Amy E. Lerman 4.14 avg rating — 49 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces by Radley Balko 4.32 avg rating — 4,001 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson 4.47 avg rating — 14,693 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson 4.13 avg rating — 2,041 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz 4.10 avg rating — 25,126 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right by Daniel Levitas 3.79 avg rating — 117 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	Bitter Harvest: Gordon Kahl and the Rise of the Posse Comitatus in the Heartland by James Corcoran 3.75 avg rating — 114 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Conspiracy Theories and Other Dangerous Ideas by Cass R. Sunstein 3.13 avg rating — 164 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild 4.12 avg rating — 17,691 ratings score: 87, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg 3.76 avg rating — 24,786 ratings score: 85, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010 by Charles Murray 3.81 avg rating — 5,668 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America by Rick Perlstein 4.25 avg rating — 10,775 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
45	The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan by Rick Perlstein 4.24 avg rating — 3,363 ratings score: 81, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	The Gunning of America: Business and the Making of American Gun Culture by Pamela Haag 3.35 avg rating — 320 ratings score: 80, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard 4.19 avg rating — 14,498 ratings score: 79, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	The Benefit and The Burden: Tax Reform-Why We Need It and What It Will Take by Bruce Bartlett 3.83 avg rating — 382 ratings score: 78, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy by Christopher L. Hayes 3.99 avg rating — 6,047 ratings score: 77, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars