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 Client

by John Grisham

Publication year 1993

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Justice, Safety & Danger, Fear, Conflict, Perseverance

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Trauma & Abuse, Depression & Suicide, Incarceration

The Client is a legal thriller written by John Grisham. Published in 1993, it is Grisham’s fourth novel. An international best-selling author, Grisham was a lawyer himself for nine years and even served in the Mississippi House of Representatives for six years. His legal and political expertise lend especially well to The Client’s subject matter involving legal ethics, notions of justice, the power of government over its citizens, and political careerism. The Client was adapted... Read The Client Summary

The Cliffs

by J. Courtney Sullivan

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Guilt, Joy, Memory, Femininity, Indigenous Identity, Mental Health, Midlife, The Past, Place, Friendship, Mothers, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Community, Education, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Literary Fiction, Gothic Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

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The Clouds

by Aristophanes

Publication year -423

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Education, Good & Evil, Justice

Tags Classic Fiction, Drama, Comedy & Satire, Ancient Greece, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality

Clouds is an Attic Comedy by Aristophanes (circa 450-385 BCE). The play was initially produced at the City Dionysia in 423 BCE, where it placed third in a drama festival. Aristophanes subsequently worked on a revision that he never completed, and it is this incomplete revision that represents the surviving text of the play known today. Clouds centers on the character of Strepsiades and his ill-conceived attempt to learn sophistry, or fallacious arguments, from Socrates... Read The Clouds Summary

The Cold Dish

by Craig Johnson

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Community, Justice

Tags Western, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

The Cold Dish is a 2004 western mystery novel by Craig Johnson. The first of a series featuring Walt Longmire, sheriff of the fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming, the novel explores concepts related to legal and vigilante justice, including within the context of an Indigenous community. The Cold Dish earned Johnson a nomination for the Dilys Award, and the series was later adapted into a 2012 television series called Longmire, which was a critical and popular... Read The Cold Dish Summary

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America

by Richard Rothstein

Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Justice

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

Richard Rothstein’s The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America (2017) is a historical study of how the US government and legal system implemented and enforced de jure segregation. This guide cites the 2017 Kindle edition, and all pagination refers to location numbers.Rothstein challenges the belief that segregation was de facto, or the result of individual choices. Rather, he shows how all levels of government created the system of residential... Read The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Summary

The Comfort of Crows

by Margaret Renkl

Publication year 2023

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Grief, Memory, Aging, Death, Future, The Past, Animals, Climate, Environment, Plants, Food, Nature Versus Nurture, Objects & Materials, Place, Family, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Globalization, Beauty, Equality, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Order & Chaos, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Animals, Science & Nature

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The Coming of the Third Reich

by Richard J. Evans

Publication year 2003

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Fear, Hate & Anger, Nostalgia, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Disability, Gender Identity, Race, The Past, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Economics, Globalization, Politics & Government, War, Art, Good & Evil, Justice, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger

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

... Read The Coming of the Third Reich Summary

The Condemnation of Blackness

by Khalil Gibran Muhammad

Publication year 2010

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Community, Justice, Equality

Tags Race & Racism, US History, Social Justice, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Sociology, World History, Politics & Government

Khalil Gibran Muhammad’s book The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America is a nonfiction history published in 2010. Muhammad, an American historian specializing on race and public policy, studies the connections between Blackness, crime, and the makings of America’s urban North after the Civil War. The book has garnered significant accolade, winning awards such as the 2011 John Hope Franklin Publication Prize and landing on the Vera Institute of... Read The Condemnation of Blackness Summary

The Condition of the Working Class in England

by Friedrich Engels

Publication year 1845

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Justice

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

Considered one of the classics of social and political theory, Friedrich Engels’s The Condition of the Working Class in England (1845) is a thought-provoking work based on the author’s personal observations of English society. As the first text of its kind to address the effects of capitalism on workers, it was widely read upon publication, even influencing the theories of Karl Marx, with whom Engels would later write The Communist Manifesto.Employed as a representative of... Read The Condition of the Working Class in England Summary

The Confession

by John Grisham

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

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

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Crime & Law, Social Justice, Incarceration, Grief & Death, Trauma & Abuse, Realistic Fiction, Race & Racism

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The Cost of Knowing

by Brittney Morris

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Siblings, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Gratitude, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Joy, Love, Memory, Regret, Shame & Pride, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Future, The Past, Fathers, Equality, Fate, Justice, Safety & Danger, Music, Appearance & Reality

Tags Magical Realism, Coming of Age, Race & Racism, Science Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness, Fantasy

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The Crossing

by Cormac McCarthy

Publication year 1994

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Apathy, Loneliness, Masculinity, Race, Truth & Lies, Religion & Spirituality, Globalization, Community, Family, Appearance & Reality, Place, Justice

Tags Coming of Age, Western, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

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The Darkest Child

by Delores Phillips

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Hate & Anger, Hope, Revenge, Mental Health, Race, Sexual Identity, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Daughters & Sons, Family, Mothers, Social Class, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Southern Literature, Race & Racism, African American Literature, World History

The Darkest Child (2004) is a coming-of-age historical fiction novel by Delores Phillips. The teenage protagonist and first-person narrator, Tangy Mae Quinn faces racism and segregation in the Jim Crow South, as well as domestic abuse, poverty, and nonconsensual sex work. Despite these challenges, Tangy finds eventual escape when she leaves her abusive mother, Rozelle, and her past behind her to pursue her own goals, which are rooted in education. The novel explores The Role... Read The Darkest Child Summary