Politics & Government

As far as topics go, politics may be as divisive as they come. Still, there's no escaping the role that it plays in our lives. The texts in this collection explore the gamut of how politics shapes and reshapes societies throughout history.

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler

by Italo Calvino

Publication year 1979

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Literature, Truth & Lies, Art, Community, Beauty

Tags Magical Realism, Postmodernism, Italian Literature, Science & Nature, Arts & Culture, Politics & Government, Sociology, World History, Classic Fiction

If on a winter’s night a traveler is a 1979 postmodernist novel by Italo Calvino. The dual narrative is composed of two parallel strands: numbered chapters in which the narrator directly describes to the audience the process of reading the book, and titled chapters constructed from hypothetical first chapters of various books that the audience is reading. The innovative novel has been praised by critics and hailed as highly influential.This guide uses the 1998 Vintage... Read If on a Winter's Night a Traveler Summary

Imagined Communities

by Benedict Anderson

Publication year 1983

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Nation

Tags Politics & Government, Education, Education, Anthropology, Anthropology, Social Science, Sociology, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy

Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism is a nonfiction work by historian and political scientist Benedict Anderson. First published in 1983, the book provides a highly influential account of the rise of nationalism and the emergence of the modern nation-state. Anderson sees the nation as a social construct, an “imagined community” in which members feel commonality with others, even though they may not know them. The strength of patriotic feeling and... Read Imagined Communities Summary

Imminent

by Luis Elizondo

Publication year 2024

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Regret, Space, Politics & Government, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Science Fiction, Science & Nature, World History, Religion & Spirituality, Politics & Government

... Read Imminent Summary

Imperialism

by Vladimir Lenin

Publication year 1916

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Community

Tags Politics & Government, Philosophy, World History, Poverty, Russian Literature, Business & Economics, Sociology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

... Read Imperialism Summary

Imperium

by Robert Harris

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Politics & Government, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Politics & Government, Ancient Rome

... Read Imperium Summary

Infidel

by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Publication year 2006

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Femininity, Immigration, Politics & Government, Justice, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger

Tags Gender & Feminism, Religion & Spirituality, Politics & Government

Infidel (2007) is an autobiographical memoir by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She recounts her childhood and adolescence across Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, and her eventual flight to the Netherlands to seek asylum and escape a forced marriage. The narrative links intimate experiences of gender violence to larger arguments about religion, politics, immigration, and free speech, culminating in Hirsi Ali’s role in Dutch politics and the fallout after the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh... Read Infidel Summary

Infinite Country

by Patricia Engel

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Immigration, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Realistic Fiction, Mythology, Immigration & Refugeeism, Social Justice, Politics & Government, Relationships, American Literature, Latin American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction

... Read Infinite Country Summary

In Search of Respect

by Philippe Bourgois

Publication year 1995

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Mothers

Tags Education, Education, Anthropology, Anthropology, Social Science, Sociology, Politics & Government

In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio is a critically-acclaimed work of nonfiction by Philippe Bourgois, first published in 1995. It won the 1996 C. Wright Mills Award and the 1997 Margaret Mead Award. A second edition, with a prologue and an additional epilogue, was released in 2003. The book explores themes of respect, independence, autocracy, self-worth, racism, and social marginalization. Bourgois is Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology, History and... Read In Search of Respect Summary

In the Castle of My Skin

by George Lamming

Publication year 1953

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Historical Fiction, Race & Racism, Education, Education, World History, Travel Literature, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

In the Castle of My Skin is a semiautobiographical novel by Caribbean author George Lamming, first published in 1970. The novel follows in the footsteps of other Caribbean narratives, a style of literature that initially grew out of the disconnect between an old world (Africa) and a new world (the Americas). Many Caribbean authors attempted to explain, disrupt, query, fuse, or simply explore dual consciousnesses brought about by traditions coming into contact with new ways... Read In the Castle of My Skin Summary

In the Country We Love

by Diane Guerrero, Michelle Burford

Publication year 2016

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Future

Tags Immigration & Refugeeism, Race & Racism, Biography, Social Justice, Politics & Government

In the Country We Love: My Family Divided (2016) is a memoir by American actress Diane Guerrero (with Michelle Burford). The narrative chronicles how the US government deported Guerrero’s undocumented parents to Colombia when she was 14 years old. The title emphasizes the author’s patriotism, which she projects onto her parents and the undocumented community more broadly with the use of the plural. Guerrero writes in simple prose and organizes the material chronologically, relying on... Read In the Country We Love Summary

In the Garden of Beasts

by Erik Larson

Publication year 2011

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Guilt

Tags Holocaust, Politics & Government, European History, World War II, Military & War, World History, Biography

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson is a non-fiction book published in 2011. It recounts the early years of Germany's Nazi regime from the perspective of the American ambassador, William Dodd, and his family. In Berlin, the family watches with growing horror as Hitler increases his dictatorial control over Germany, rearms the country in preparation for war, and conducts a national campaign of violent... Read In the Garden of Beasts Summary

In The Shadow Of The Banyan

by Vaddey Ratner

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Coming of Age

Tags Historical Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, Social Class, Asian History, Politics & Government, Social Justice, Vietnam War, Military & War, Asian Literature, World History, Arts & Culture

In the Shadow of the Banyan (2012) is a historical fiction novel by the Cambodian American author Vaddey Ratner. Set in the 1970s during the Cambodian genocide, the book’s perspective is from Raami, a seven-year-old girl and the daughter of a minor prince whose family is among the millions of Cambodians persecuted by the Khmer Rouge. While Raami’s story hews very closely to Ratner’s own real-life experiences, the author chose to write a work of... Read In The Shadow Of The Banyan Summary

Invisible Child

by Andrea Elliott

Publication year 2021

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Race, Social Class, Education, Loyalty & Betrayal, Justice

Tags Race & Racism, Social Justice, Poverty, Sociology, World History, Politics & Government, Biography

... Read Invisible Child Summary

Invisible Women

by Caroline Criado Perez

Publication year 2019

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Love, The Past, Art, Safety & Danger, Economics, Science & Technology, Gender Identity, Politics & Government, Equality

Tags Gender & Feminism, Science & Nature, Social Justice, Finance, Sociology, Business & Economics, Technology, Health, Politics & Government, Women`s Studies

... Read Invisible Women Summary