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.

Publication year 1994

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Education

Tags Education, Race & Racism, Education, Gender & Feminism, Sociology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Social Justice, Politics & Government

Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom is a collection of 14 essays and interviews examining how to transform the multicultural classroom into an inclusive space dedicated to the practice of freedom for all students. “bell hooks” is Gloria Jean Watkins’s pen name, which she chooses not to capitalize so that her work is emphasized more so than her name. She is an acclaimed feminist scholar, cultural critic, writer, and educator. She’s the... Read Teaching to Transgress Summary

Publication year 2005

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Tags Politics & Government, US History, Military & War, World History, Biography

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, published in 2005, is an historical study of the events surrounding Abraham Lincoln’s nomination as the Republican candidate for US president in 1860 and his tenure in office from 1861 to his assassination in 1865. The sixth book by Pulitzer Prize winner Kearns Goodwin, Team of Rivals won the 2006 Lincoln Prize and the inaugural Book Prize for American History from the New... Read Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln Summary

Publication year 1992

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Science & Technology

Tags Technology, Sociology, Education, Education, Science & Nature, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Arts & Culture, Politics & Government

Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology is a 1992 nonfiction book by Neil Postman, a professor of education and communication. The book examines the influence of technology in society, particularly its rapid spread, far-reaching effects, and unquestioned acceptance. The last point is significant: Postman is not unequivocally opposed to technology but worries that it is not sufficiently scrutinized.The author begins with an overview of technology and how it works culturally. He reviews the history... Read Technopoly Summary

Publication year 2017

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Politics & Government, Immigration

Tags Immigration & Refugeeism, Social Justice, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, Education, Education, World History, Politics & Government

Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions is Valeria Luiselli’s 2017 book-length essay exploring the influx of undocumented child migrants from Latin America that began in 2014. Through her work as a volunteer translator, Luiselli became intimately aware of what these children experienced, and the essay argues that their inhumane treatment at the hands of American bureaucracy is an unjust denial of due process and the core principles of the American Dream... Read Tell Me How It Ends Summary

Publication year 1994

Genre Novel, Fiction

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

Tags Humor, Satirical Literature, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

Originally published in 1994, Thank You for Smoking is a political satire novel centered around Nick Naylor, a lobbyist for the fictional Academy of Tobacco Studies, an organization founded by the tobacco industry with the true purpose of countering negative scientific data and public condemnation of tobacco. Nick’s job has made him a pariah, as he has humiliated everyone from grieving relatives of cancer victims to federal employees. He also must watch his back, as... Read Thank You for Smoking Summary

Publication year 2013

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags World History, Military & War, Iraq War, Journalism, Psychology, Psychology, Mental Illness, Politics & Government, Biography

Thank You For Your Service is a nonfiction book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Finkel. Published in 2013, it follows the story of an infantry battalion upon their return home from the war in Iraq.Finkel’s previous book, The Good Soldiers, took him to Baghdad, Iraq in 2007-2008 as he was embedded with the 2-16 Infantry Battalion. In Thank You For Your Service, Finkel follows some of these same soldiers home, as they try to move... Read Thank You For Your Service Summary

Publication year 1947

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Community, Science & Technology, Economics

Tags Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction, Finance, World History, Natural Disaster, Politics & Government, Science & Nature, Technology, Post-War Era, Children`s Literature, Education, Education

Publication year 1998

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Power & Greed, Trust & Doubt, Teamwork, Perseverance

Tags Self-Improvement, Psychology, Business & Economics, Philosophy, World History, Psychology, Philosophy, Politics & Government

Robert Greene (1959) is an American self-help book author with a focus on strategy and power. After training in Classical Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, Greene worked numerous jobs before pitching The 48 Laws of Power to book packager Joost Elffers in 1995. The book was inspired by Greene’s time as a writer in Hollywood, where he learned that today’s powerful people share common traits with historic princes, leaders, and tyrants. As he... Read The 48 Laws Of Power Summary

Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community, Race, Justice, Economics, Power & Greed, Politics & Government

Tags World History, Politics & Government, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Science & Nature, Urban Development, Sociology

Publication year 1794

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Good & Evil, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies

Tags Philosophy, Age of Enlightenment, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Nature, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason is both a defense of Deism and a rejection of the world’s major monotheistic religions. Published in three parts (1794, 1795, 1807), Age of Reason reflects Paine’s belief that a significant religious upheaval would follow in the wake of the American and French Revolutions. In France, privileged orders such as monarchy and aristocracy had been toppled, and the established Catholic Church had not survived the onslaught. Paine feared that... Read The Age Of Reason Summary

Publication year 1776

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Nation, War, Good & Evil

Tags Politics & Government, US History, American Revolution

Thomas Paine’s The American Crisis is a series of pamphlets published between 1776 to 1783 during the American Revolutionary War. Paine uses eloquent, emotional language to persuade the American people to support their states’ new union and contribute to the revolutionary cause. Paine idealizes Americans and their country’s origins to galvanize them to fight for independence, rather than submit themselves to the indignity of being British colonial subjects. Paine uses his platform to attack the... Read The American Crisis Summary

Publication year 2003

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Nation, Colonialism, Religion & Spirituality, Social Class, Immigration, Community, Economics, Equality, Justice, Politics & Government

Tags US History, Immigration & Refugeeism, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Black Lives Matter, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Politics & Government, American Revolution, American Civil War, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Colonial America, Sociology, Education, Education, Business & Economics, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy, Arts & Culture

The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation, originally published in 2003 by Oxford University Press, is a popular history book by American cultural historian Jim Cullen. As an overview and critical analysis of the American Dream, this book adds some meat to the bones of a traditionally ambiguous concept. Cullen maintains an optimistic outlook about the usefulness of the various American Dreams and about the promise of America, despite... Read The American Dream Summary