Books on Justice & Injustice

James Baldwin said, "It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have." In this collection, we've compiled texts that explore the idea of what justice is — and how it can thrive.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Publication year 1892

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Teamwork, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Classic Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s (1859-1930) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was published in 1892 as a collection of 12 short stories. The texts detail some of the earliest cases of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes as narrated by his friend and collaborator, Doctor John Watson. The stories appear in the order in which they were originally published in The Strand Magazine.Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh to Catholic parents, the second of 10 children. The... Read The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Summary

The Alienist

by Caleb Carr

Publication year 1994

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Justice, Immigration, Mental Health

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Mental Illness, US History, Poverty, Trauma & Abuse, World History

The Alienist, by Caleb Carr, is a New York Times-bestselling historical thriller originally published in 1994 and adapted for television as a TNT series in 2018. A historian by trade, Carr applies his expertise to The Alienist as well as its sequels, The Angel of Darkness (1997) and Surrender, New York (2016). Set in New York City in 1896, The Alienist tells the story of Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a psychologist (“alienist,” in the parlance of... Read The Alienist Summary

The Alloy of Law

by Brandon Sanderson

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Gender Identity, The Past, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Politics & Government, Justice, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology

Tags Fantasy, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure

... Read The Alloy of Law Summary

The American Dream

by Jim Cullen

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

The Antidote

by Karen Russell

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Perseverance, Grief, Regret, Gender Identity, Indigenous Identity, Race, Coming of Age, The Past, Climate, Environment, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Community, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Magical Realism

Competitor... Read The Antidote Summary

The Armor of Light

by Ken Follett

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Love, Justice, War, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Death, Future, The Past, Family, Self Discovery, Social Class, Economics, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Science & Technology

Tags Historical Fiction, British Literature, Industrial Revolution

... Read The Armor of Light Summary

The Art Forger

by B A. Shapiro

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, Perseverance, Gender Identity, Fame, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Historical Fiction

The Art Forger is the fourth book from author B. A. Shapiro. With a PhD in sociology, Shapiro is well known for combining meticulous research with character-driven storytelling. Her academic background shapes her fiction; in The Art Forger, Shapiro approaches art and crime as social and philosophical questions as well as plot devices. Her characters explore questions about why society values certain objects and what the art world’s obsession with reputation and provenance mean about... Read The Art Forger Summary

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

by Malcolm X, Alex Haley

Publication year 1965

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Justice, Hate & Anger

Tags Race & Racism, American Literature, African American Literature

The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a nonfiction memoir published in 1965 by American human rights activist Malcolm X, in collaboration with American author Alex Haley. The book is the result of numerous interviews Haley conducted in the two years leading up to Malcolm’s assassination in February 1965. It covers Malcolm’s upbringing in Michigan, his career as a burglar and drug dealer in New York and Boston, his conversion to Islam in prison, his involvement... Read The Autobiography of Malcolm X Summary

The Autumn of the Patriarch

by Gabriel García Márquez, Transl. Gregory Rabassa

Publication year 1975

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Death, Politics & Government, Justice

Tags Magical Realism, Latin American Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel García Márquez debuted in Spain in 1975. The English translation published in 1976. Márquez’s most notable work, One Hundred Years of Solitude, earned him a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982 and reflects his distinct magical realist style, an artistic genre first recognized in literature in predominantly Latin American writing during the 1940s. The Autumn of the Patriarch, published seven years later, also features Márquez’s magical style and... Read The Autumn of the Patriarch Summary

The Bad Beginning

by Lemony Snicket

Publication year 1999

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Siblings, Justice, Teamwork, Good & Evil

Tags Humor, Fantasy, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature

Published in 1999, The Bad Beginning, a darkly humorous adventure novel for middle-grade readers, chronicles the misadventures of three orphaned children whose distant cousin adopts them as part of a plan to steal their huge inheritance. As the first of 13 books in the bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events, the novel is written by Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket, who’s also a character in the story. The books have sold 60... Read The Bad Beginning Summary

The Ballad Of Reading Gaol

by Oscar Wilde

Publication year 1896

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Justice, Teamwork, Death, Shame & Pride, Regret, Forgiveness

Tags Narrative Poem, Incarceration, Grief & Death, European History, LGBTQ+, Religion & Spirituality, British Literature, Victorian Period, Horror & Suspense, Victorian Era, World History, Irish Literature, Classic Fiction

... Read The Ballad Of Reading Gaol Summary

The Ballot or the Bullet

by Malcolm X

Publication year 1964

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Nation, Justice, Community

Tags Race & Racism, World History, Politics & Government

“The Ballot or the Bullet” is a speech that Malcolm X first delivered at Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 3, 1964. He also delivered the speech about a week later in Detroit, Michigan, on April 12, 1964. This guide is based on the latter version of this speech.Malcolm speaks from a personal perspective. He starts by declaring himself a Muslim and by crediting Elijah Muhammad with making him into the man he... Read The Ballot or the Bullet Summary

The Bar Code Tattoo

by Suzanne Weyn

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Environment, Social Class, Politics & Government, Art, Equality, Justice, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Futurism

white... Read The Bar Code Tattoo Summary