Books with category 🏛 Politics
Displaying books 49-96 of 119 in total

The Skin We're In

2020

by Desmond Cole

The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power is a bracing, provocative, and perspective-shifting book from one of Canada's most celebrated and uncompromising writers, Desmond Cole. This work is set to spark a national conversation, influence policy, and inspire activists.

In his 2015 cover story for Toronto Life magazine, Desmond Cole exposed the racist actions of the Toronto police force, detailing the dozens of times he had been stopped and interrogated under the controversial practice of carding. The story quickly came to national prominence, shaking the country to its core and catapulting its author into the public sphere. Cole used his newfound profile to draw insistent, unyielding attention to the injustices faced by Black Canadians on a daily basis.

Both Cole’s activism and journalism find vibrant expression in his first book, The Skin We’re In. Puncturing the bubble of Canadian smugness and naive assumptions of a post-racial nation, Cole chronicles just one year—2017—in the struggle against racism in this country. It was a year that saw calls for tighter borders when Black refugees braved frigid temperatures to cross into Manitoba from the States, Indigenous land and water protectors resisting the celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, police across the country rallying around an officer accused of murder, and more.

The year also witnessed the profound personal and professional ramifications of Desmond Cole’s unwavering determination to combat injustice. In April, Cole disrupted a Toronto police board meeting by calling for the destruction of all data collected through carding. Following the protest, Cole, a columnist with the Toronto Star, was summoned to a meeting with the paper’s opinions editor and informed that his activism violated company policy. Rather than limit his efforts defending Black lives, Cole chose to sever his relationship with the publication. Then in July, at another police board meeting, Cole challenged the board to respond to accusations of a police cover-up in the brutal beating of Dafonte Miller by an off-duty police officer and his brother. When Cole refused to leave the meeting until the question was publicly addressed, he was arrested. The image of Cole walking out of the meeting, handcuffed and flanked by officers, fortified the distrust between the city’s Black community and its police force.

Month-by-month, Cole creates a comprehensive picture of entrenched, systemic inequality. Urgent, controversial, and unsparingly honest, The Skin We’re In is destined to become a vital text for anti-racist and social justice movements in Canada, as well as a potent antidote to the all-too-present complacency of many white Canadians.

Feminist City: A Field Guide

2019

by Leslie Kern

Feminist City is an ongoing experiment in living differently, living better, and living more justly in an urban world.

We live in the city of men. Our public spaces are not designed for female bodies. There is little consideration for women as mothers, workers or carers. The urban streets often are a place of threats rather than community. Gentrification has made the everyday lives of women even more difficult. What would a metropolis for working women look like?

In Feminist City, through history, personal experience and popular culture Leslie Kern exposes what is hidden in plain sight: the social inequalities built into our cities, homes, and neighborhoods. Kern offers an alternative vision of the feminist city. Taking on fear, motherhood, friendship, activism, and the joys and perils of being alone, Kern maps the city from new vantage points, laying out an intersectional feminist approach to urban histories and proposes that the city is perhaps also our best hope for shaping a new urban future. 

Feminismo 4.0

2019

by Nuria Varela

Nuria Varela nos ofrece la continuación a su best seller Feminismo para principiantes. En este libro, Varela realiza un análisis riguroso y esclarecedor de las últimas teorías, movilizaciones y propuestas del movimiento político y social que, con sus aciertos y contradicciones, está poniendo en jaque la desigualdad estructural de la sociedad.

PolĂ­ticas de la identidad, posfeminismo, feminismos poscoloniales, teorĂ­a queer, transfeminismo, interseccionalidad, biopolĂ­tica y ciberfeminismo son solo algunos de los conceptos que se tratan en este nuevo libro, indispensable para entender el momento crucial en que nos encontramos.

All the President's Women: Donald Trump and the Making of a Predator

With groundbreaking interviews, behind-the-scenes reporting, and never-before-seen photos, All the President's Women records 43 new allegations of sexual misconduct against President Trump. This book offers the most detailed account yet of Trump's history with women, dating back to his childhood and high school days through his rise in real estate, reality TV, and politics.


During his 2016 presidential run, the revelation of the Access Hollywood tape and subsequent allegations of sexual misconduct lodged against Donald Trump looked like they might doom his candidacy. Trump survived, and the first two years of the real estate scion's presidency were marked not by controversy over his behavior around women but by the Mueller investigation.


Outside of being found liable for sexual abuse in a 2023 civil trial that awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million in damages, Trump has widely dodged the #MeToo bullet that has taken down so many once-powerful men. Despite the decades of tabloid fascination with his personal life, the story of Trump's relationship with women has never been fully told.


Barry Levine and Monique El-Faizy detail more than a dozen new allegations against Trump, including a disturbing attack on a woman at Mar-a-Lago, an incident at a private Manhattan sex club involving a teenage girl, as well as Trump's behavior at fashion shows and beauty pageants—events that gave the future president a hunting ground to harass young women.


Veteran journalists Levine and El-Faizy tell the story of Trump from the point of view of the women in his orbit—wives, mistresses, playmates, and those whom the president has dated, kissed, groped, or lusted after.

Information Wars

2019

by Richard Stengel

Information Wars, by former Time editor and Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel, provides a first-hand account of the challenges faced by the U.S. in combating the rise of global disinformation, which played a significant role in the 2016 election.

Disinformation is not a new phenomenon, but social media has amplified its reach and effects. Stengel's narrative, both dramatic and enlightening, takes readers through the front lines of the global information war during the last three years of the Obama administration. As the single person in the U.S. government responsible for addressing ISIS's messaging and Russian disinformation, Stengel's insights are crucial for understanding the current landscape.

The book delves into regions such as Russia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, featuring key figures including Putin, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and Mohamed bin Salman. It examines how ISIS utilized social media to instill terror and how Russia's disinformation campaign during the annexation of Crimea became a template for future operations, including interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Information Wars is an urgent call to action, emphasizing the need for democratic societies to develop effective strategies to counteract the growing threat of disinformation and protect the integrity of their institutions.

Humankind

Humankind: A Hopeful History challenges the belief that humans are fundamentally bad—a notion that has been a common thread uniting figures across the ideological spectrum from ancient philosophers to modern thinkers. Rutger Bregman questions this assumption and offers a new perspective on our species, arguing that we are innately kind, cooperative, and trustworthy.

Drawing on insights from evolutionary biology to historical events, such as the real-life story reminiscent of Lord of the Flies and the cooperation seen in the wake of the Blitz, Bregman presents compelling evidence of humanity's capacity for generosity. The book critically examines popular social science experiments, like the Stanford prison experiment, and historical contexts, arguing for a more optimistic view of human nature and its implications for politics and economics.

Using engaging storytelling and an accessible approach, Bregman makes the case that a belief in the better aspects of humanity can create a foundation for societal change. With a balance of wit and frankness, Humankind is not just an analysis of past behavior but a hopeful vision for the future of our species.

How to Be an Antiracist

2019

by Ibram X. Kendi

At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colors to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types. Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves.

In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves. Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism.

This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.

Race After Technology

2019

by Ruha Benjamin

From everyday apps to complex algorithms, Ruha Benjamin cuts through tech-industry hype to understand how emerging technologies can reinforce White supremacy and deepen social inequity. Benjamin argues that automation, far from being a sinister story of racist programmers scheming on the dark web, has the potential to hide, speed up, and deepen discrimination while appearing neutral and even benevolent when compared to the racism of a previous era.

Presenting the concept of the “New Jim Code,” she shows how a range of discriminatory designs encode inequity by explicitly amplifying racial hierarchies; by ignoring but thereby replicating social divisions; or by aiming to fix racial bias but ultimately doing quite the opposite. Moreover, she makes a compelling case for race itself as a kind of technology, designed to stratify and sanctify social injustice in the architecture of everyday life.

This illuminating guide provides conceptual tools for decoding tech promises with sociologically informed skepticism. In doing so, it challenges us to question not only the technologies we are sold but also the ones we ourselves manufacture.

Children of Dune

2019

by Frank Herbert

Book three in Frank Herbert's magnificent Dune Chronicles—one of the most significant sagas in the history of literary science fiction.

The Children of Dune are twin siblings Leto and Ghanima Atreides, whose father, the Emperor Paul Muad'Dib, disappeared in the desert wastelands of Arrakis nine years ago. Like their father, the twins possess supernormal abilities—making them valuable to their manipulative aunt Alia, who rules the Empire in the name of House Atreides.

Facing treason and rebellion on two fronts, Alia's rule is not absolute. The displaced House Corrino is plotting to regain the throne while the fanatical Fremen are being provoked into open revolt by the enigmatic figure known only as The Preacher. Alia believes that by obtaining the secrets of the twins' prophetic visions, she can maintain control over her dynasty.

But Leto and Ghanima have their own plans for their visions—and their destinies....

Includes an introduction by Brian Herbert.

A Memory Called Empire

2019

by Arkady Martine

Ambassador Mahit Dzmare is posted far from her mining station home, to the Empire's glorious capital. Yet when she arrives, she discovers her predecessor was murdered. But no-one will admit his death wasn't accidental - and she might be next.

Mahit must navigate the capital's deadly halls of power, while hunting the killer. She must also somehow stop the Empire from annexing her fiercely independent colony. As she sinks deeper into this seductive yet unfamiliar culture, Mahit engages in intrigues of her own. For she's hiding an extraordinary technological secret, one which might destroy her station and its way of life. Or it might save them all from annihilation.

Invisible Women

Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez is a groundbreaking book that brings to light the gender bias that permeates our society. The book reveals how the world is largely built for and by men, leading to a systemic disregard for women's experiences. This bias manifests itself in various aspects of life, from medical research to technology, workplaces, and even urban planning.

The author compiles an array of case studies, stories, and new research from around the globe, illustrating the 'invisible' ways in which women are consistently overlooked, and the significant consequences this has on their lives. Invisible Women uncovers the 'gender data gap,' which has led to widespread and systemic discrimination against women, affecting their health, safety, and economic well-being.

Through this compelling narrative, Perez advocates for change, urging us to view the world through a more equitable lens. This book is not just an eye-opener but a call to action for a more just society where both men and women are equally considered.

Midnight in Chernobyl

Midnight in Chernobyl is the definitive account of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, a story that is more complex, more human, and more terrifying than the Soviet myth. Journalist Adam Higginbotham uses his extensive research, including hundreds of hours of interviews, letters, unpublished memoirs, and documents from recently-declassified archives to bring the disaster to life through the eyes of those who witnessed it firsthand.

The explosion of Reactor Number Four on April 26, 1986, triggered one of the twentieth century's greatest disasters. For thirty years, Chernobyl has been a symbol of the horrors of radiation poisoning and the risks of dangerous technology. The true story of the accident, obscured by secrecy, propaganda, and misinformation, has long remained in dispute.

This masterful nonfiction thriller is an indelible portrait of human resilience and ingenuity, and the lessons learned when mankind seeks to bend the natural world to his will—lessons that, in the face of climate change and other threats, remain not just vital but necessary. Midnight in Chernobyl brings us closer to the truth behind this colossal tragedy and is a powerful investigation into how much can go wrong when a dishonest and careless state endangers its citizens and the entire world.

Becoming

2018

by Michelle Obama

An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States.

In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. 

Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.

Good and Mad

From Rebecca Traister, the New York Times bestselling author of All the Single Ladies, comes a vital, incisive exploration into the transformative power of female anger and its ability to transcend into a political movement.

In the year 2018, it seems as if women's anger has suddenly erupted into the public conversation. But long before Pantsuit Nation, before the Women's March, and before the #MeToo movement, women's anger was not only politically catalytic--but politically problematic. The story of female fury and its cultural significance demonstrates the long history of bitter resentment that has enshrouded women's slow rise to political power in America, as well as the ways that anger is received when it comes from women as opposed to when it comes from men. 

With eloquence and fervor, Rebecca tracks the history of female anger as political fuel--from suffragettes chaining themselves to the White House to office workers vacating their buildings after Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the Supreme Court. Here Traister explores women's anger at both men and other women; anger between ideological allies and foes; the varied ways anger is perceived based on its owner; as well as the history of caricaturing and delegitimizing female anger; and the way women's collective fury has become transformative political fuel--as is most certainly occurring today. She deconstructs society's (and the media's) condemnation of female emotion (notably, rage) and the impact of their resulting repercussions. 

The Casual Vacancy

2018

by J.K. Rowling

A big novel about a small town... When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils... Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town's council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity, and unexpected revelations?

Blackly comic, thought-provoking, and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling's first novel for adults.

White Fragility

White Fragility is an in-depth exploration of the counterproductive reactions white people exhibit when their assumptions about race are challenged. This phenomenon, known as white fragility, is characterized by a variety of emotions and behaviors, such as anger, fear, guilt, argumentation, and silence, which serve to reinstate white racial equilibrium and obstruct meaningful cross-racial dialogue.

Anti-racist educator Dr. Robin DiAngelo delves into the development of white fragility, how it upholds racial inequality, and provides insights on how to engage in more constructive conversations about race. Through this examination, DiAngelo sheds light on the societal and individual patterns that contribute to the persistence of racial tension and inequality.

Adjustment Day

2018

by Chuck Palahniuk

The author of Fight Club takes America beyond our darkest dreams in this timely satire. People pass the word only to those they trust most: Adjustment Day is coming. They’ve been reading a mysterious book and memorizing its directives. They are ready for the reckoning.

Adjustment Day, the author’s first novel in four years, is an ingeniously comic work in which Chuck Palahniuk does what he does best: skewer the absurdities in our society. Smug, geriatric politicians bring the nation to the brink of a third world war in an effort to control the burgeoning population of young males; working-class men dream of burying the elites; and professors propound theories that offer students only the bleakest future.

When Adjustment Day arrives, it fearlessly makes real the logical conclusion of every separatist fantasy, alternative fact, and conspiracy theory lurking in the American psyche.

Minority Leader

2018

by Stacey Abrams

Minority Leader is a guide to harnessing the strengths of being an outsider by Stacey Abrams, who has made significant strides in her political career. This book serves as a beacon for those who find themselves as the 'New American Majority'—a diverse and often underrepresented group seeking to climb the career ladder.

Stacey Abrams, with her roots in a working-poor family from Gulfport, Mississippi, shares her journey to Yale Law School and her ascent in business and politics, eventually becoming the first woman to lead either party in the Georgia General Assembly and the first African American to lead in the House of Representatives.

Combining elements of memoir with actionable advice, Abrams provides insights for women and people of color to navigate spaces traditionally occupied by white men. She emphasizes the importance of leveraging one's unique perspective, finding mentors, advocating for oneself, and pursuing genuine passions.

The book applies these lessons across various scenarios, from a recent graduate with a startup idea to a Latino city councilman with mayoral aspirations, and to anyone seeking to ascend in their profession. Abrams's goal is to fill the gap in available wisdom for navigating such paths and to empower her readers to make real change.

The Republic of False Truths

The Republic of False Truths offers an intense and gripping narrative that takes us into the heart of the Egyptian revolution. This globally-acclaimed novel provides an intimate look at the struggle for freedom in a country under the grip of a repressive regime.

In the bustling streets of Cairo in 2011, tensions mount as a revolution brews. Characters from all walks of life are drawn into the chaos: General Alwany, a high-ranking government official entrenched in the security apparatus, balances his piety and love for his family with his role in torturing state enemies; Asma, a young teacher, fights against the rampant corruption at her school; Ashraf, an unemployed actor, is swept into the heart of Tahrir Square through a fortuitous encounter; and Nourhan, a television personality, staunchly defends those in power.

Their lives intertwine as a new generation raises its voice, love crosses social divides, and the revolution gains momentum. Even as the old regime clings to power, individuals like General Alwany face pivotal moments when their own kin join the protests. Alaa Al Aswany crafts a deeply human portrait of the Egyptian Revolution, offering a compelling and passionate recount of his country's recent history.

Feel Free

2018

by Zadie Smith

This electrifying new collection showcases Zadie Smith as a true literary powerhouse, demonstrating once again her credentials as an essential voice of her generation.

How much joy can a person tolerate? How many kinds of boredom make up a life? Who owns the story of black America? Should Justin Bieber be more like Socrates? And why is there a dead art collector floating in the swimming pool? Dazzlingly insightful, explosively funny and ever-timely, Zadie Smith is back with a second unmissable collection of essays. 

From German Old Masters to the new masters of East Coast rap, from social networks opening lines of communication to national referenda closing doors, Feel Free reaches out in all directions and draws back a rich feast of ideas. Here pop culture, high culture, social change and political debate all get the Zadie Smith treatment- dissected with razor-sharp intellect, set brilliantly against the context of the utterly contemporary, and considered with a deep humanity and compassion. 

With the easy intimacy of a local and the piercing clarity of an outsider, Feel Free casts a sharp critical eye over the creative luminaries that have shaped our world- from J. G. Ballard to Karl Ove Knausgaard, Orson Welles to Charlie Kaufman, Joni Mitchell to Beyonce, and far beyond. And it considers the points of contact where the author herself meets this world, where the political meets the personal and critique meets memoir. 

Braving the Wilderness

2017

by Brené Brown

In Braving the Wilderness, Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization. With her trademark mix of research, storytelling, and honesty, Brown will again change the cultural conversation while mapping a clear path to true belonging.

Brown argues that we're experiencing a spiritual crisis of disconnection, and introduces four practices of true belonging that challenge everything we believe about ourselves and each other. She writes, "True belonging requires us to believe in and belong to ourselves so fully that we can find sacredness both in being a part of something and in standing alone when necessary. But in a culture that's rife with perfectionism and pleasing, and with the erosion of civility, it's easy to stay quiet, hide in our ideological bunkers, or fit in rather than show up as our true selves and brave the wilderness of uncertainty and criticism. But true belonging is not something we negotiate or accomplish with others; it's a daily practice that demands integrity and authenticity. It's a personal commitment that we carry in our hearts." 

Brown offers us the clarity and courage we need to find our way back to ourselves and to each other. And that path cuts right through the wilderness. 

The Illegal

2017

by Lawrence Hill

Keita Ali is on the run. Like every boy on the mountainous island of Zantoroland, running is all Keita’s ever wanted to do. In one of the poorest nations in the world, running means respect. Running means riches—until Keita is targeted for his father’s outspoken political views and discovers he must run for his family’s survival. He signs on with notorious marathon agent Anton Hamm, but when Keita fails to place among the top finishers in his first race, he escapes into Freedom State—a wealthy island nation that has elected a government bent on deporting the refugees living within its borders in the community of AfricTown. Keita can stay safe only if he keeps moving and eludes Hamm and the officials who would deport him to his own country, where he would face almost certain death. This is the new underground: a place where tens of thousands of people deemed to be “illegal” live below the radar of the police and government officials. As Keita surfaces from time to time to earn cash prizes by running local road races, he has to assess whether the people he meets are friends or enemies: John Falconer, a gifted student struggling to escape the limits of his AfricTown upbringing; Ivernia Beech, a spirited old woman at risk of being forced into an assisted living facility; Rocco Calder, a recreational marathoner and the immigration minister; Lula DiStefano, self-declared queen of AfricTown and madam of the community’s infamous brothel; and Viola Hill, a reporter who is investigating the lengths to which her government will go to stop illegal immigration. Keita’s very existence in Freedom State is illegal. As he trains in secret, eluding capture, the stakes keep getting higher. Soon, he is running not only for his life, but for his sister’s life, too. Fast moving and compelling, The Illegal casts a satirical eye on people who have turned their backs on undocumented refugees struggling to survive in a nation that does not want them. Hill’s depiction of life on the borderlands of society urges us to consider the plight of the unseen and the forgotten who live among us.

Why They Stay: Sex Scandals, Deals, and Hidden Agendas of Nine Political Wives

2017

by Anne Michaud

Why They Stay explores the possible reasoning and motivation behind why political wives stay with their husbands after the husbands cheat. Hillary Clinton couldn't have known in 1998 how her husband's high-profile philandering would play out. Would he be rehabilitated in the public eye? She couldn't be sure, but she took the gamble. Had she left the marriage, today she might be the spurned wife of a retired politician instead of the first American woman to run for president on a major party ticket.

Looking back on the path chosen by the nine political wives profiled in this book, we have the evidence to see a pattern—as old as the dynastic maneuverings of England's medieval queens. The women married to the "royalty" of our times—politicians—make similar cold calculations in order to hold onto their "thrones" and their family's history-making potential.

After covering politicians for decades, acclaimed columnist Anne Michaud switched her gaze to the women behind the cheating men. Drawing from multiple sources that span the Roosevelts' marriage to the more recent scandal involving Hillary Clinton's closest aide Huma Abedin (wife of "sexter," Anthony Weiner), Why They Stay: Sex Scandals, Deals, and Hidden Agendas of Nine Political Wives argues that when it comes to the "power behind the throne," women in the limelight weigh the risks and rewards. They remain loyal to their men, because of complex, often unconscious forces.

From mapping a path to power to laudable notions of holding the family together, Michaud examines the uniquely challenging Faustian bargains that political wives grapple with, even as the public spotlight illuminates their every move.

Utopia for Realists

2017

by Rutger Bregman

Universal basic income. A 15-hour workweek. Open borders. Does it sound too good to be true? One of Europe's leading young thinkers shows how we can build an ideal world today.

After working all day at jobs we often dislike, we buy things we don't need. Rutger Bregman, a Dutch historian, reminds us it needn't be this way—and in some places it isn't. Rutger Bregman's TED Talk about universal basic income seemed impossibly radical when he delivered it in 2014. A quarter of a million views later, the subject of that video is being seriously considered by leading economists and government leaders the world over. It's just one of the many utopian ideas that Bregman proves is possible today.

Utopia for Realists is one of those rare books that takes you by surprise and challenges what you think can happen. From a Canadian city that once completely eradicated poverty, to Richard Nixon's near implementation of a basic income for millions of Americans, Bregman takes us on a journey through history, and beyond the traditional left-right divides, as he champions ideas whose time have come.

Every progressive milestone of civilization—from the end of slavery to the beginning of democracy—was once considered a utopian fantasy. Bregman's book, both challenging and bracing, demonstrates that new utopian ideas, like the elimination of poverty and the creation of the fifteen-hour workweek, can become a reality in our lifetime. Being unrealistic and unreasonable can in fact make the impossible inevitable, and it is the only way to build the ideal world.

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

2017

by Timothy Snyder

On Tyranny is a call to arms and a guide to resistance, offering invaluable ideas for preserving our freedoms in the uncertain years to come.

The Founding Fathers tried to protect us from the threat they knew: the tyranny that overcame ancient democracy. Today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitarianism of the twentieth century. We are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience.

Timothy Snyder reasons with unparalleled clarity, throwing the past and future into sharp relief. He has written the rare kind of book that can be read in one sitting but will keep you coming back to help regain your bearings.

Born a Crime

2016

by Trevor Noah

The memoir of one man’s coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed.

Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.

Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.

Our Revolution

2016

by Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders is one of the most influential voices in a global movement fighting injustice. He has dominated two Democratic primary races, and changed the political conversation around the world. But he began as an unknown underdog. So how did he get here?

In this remarkable memoir, Sanders shows how a young man from Brooklyn, via Civil Rights demonstrations and a lifetime of independent politics, became one of the most radical voices in America. He provides a unique insight into the campaign that galvanized a movement, and shares experiences from the campaign trail as well as the ideas and strategies that shaped it.

Drawing on decades of experience as an activist and public servant, he outlines his vision for continuing this revolution.

MĂ©xico racista

Con un afán polémico y un tono irreverente, este libro busca despertar el debate y denunciar la prevalencia de nuestras costumbres racistas y las formas de pensar que las acompañan.

A partir de ejemplos cercanos y actuales, el historiador Federico Navarrete realiza un original análisis de los vínculos entre el racismo y graves casos que han cimbrado a México desde los feminicidios en Juárez, pasando por la matanza de migrantes en San Fernando, hasta la desaparición forzada de los normalistas de Ayotzinapa.

El racismo impera en MĂ©xico. Es un hecho cotidiano que cobra forma lo mismo en una charla privada que en anuncios de tintes "aspiracionales" o en polĂ­ticas pĂşblicas excluyentes. Desafortunadamente, una gran parte de la poblaciĂłn es indiferente ante el fenĂłmeno.

Amén de ofrecer un examen de los orígenes históricos del racismo en México, vinculados con lo que llama la "leyenda del mestizaje", Federico Navarrete nos ofrece una serie de posibles caminos para liberarnos de esta lacerante situación en busca del respeto a las diferencias y la convivencia sensata. Su aviso es claro y estamos a tiempo de hacer de la pluralidad un germen de convivencia y esperanza.

Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement

In this collection of essays, interviews, and speeches, the renowned activist examines today’s issues—from Black Lives Matter to prison abolition and more.

Activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis has been a tireless fighter against oppression for decades. Now, the iconic author of Women, Race, and Class offers her latest insights into the struggles against state violence and oppression throughout history and around the world.

Reflecting on the importance of black feminism, intersectionality, and prison abolitionism, Davis discusses the legacies of previous liberation struggles, from the Black Freedom Movement to the South African anti-Apartheid movement. She highlights connections and analyzes today’s struggles against state terror, from Ferguson to Palestine.

Facing a world of outrageous injustice, Davis challenges us to imagine and build a movement for human liberation. And in doing so, she reminds us that “freedom is a constant struggle.”

This edition of Freedom Is a Constant Struggle includes a foreword by Dr. Cornel West and an introduction by Frank Barat.

On Palestine

Operation Protective Edge, Israel's most recent assault on Gaza, left thousands of Palestinians dead and cleared the way for another Israeli land grab. The need to stand in solidarity with Palestinians has never been greater.

Ilan Pappé and Noam Chomsky, two leading voices in the struggle to liberate Palestine, discuss the road ahead for Palestinians and how the international community can pressure Israel to end its human rights abuses against the people of Palestine.

On Palestine is the sequel to their acclaimed book Gaza in Crisis.

The Sympathizer

The Sympathizer explores a life between two worlds and examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today.

It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his trusted captain, drawing up a list of those who will be given passage aboard the last flights out of the country. The general and his compatriots start a new life in Los Angeles, unaware that one among their number, the captain, is secretly observing and reporting on the group to a higher-up in the Viet Cong.

 The Sympathizer is the story of this captain: a man brought up by an absent French father and a poor Vietnamese mother, a man who went to university in America, but returned to Vietnam to fight for the Communist cause. A gripping spy novel, an astute exploration of extreme politics, and a moving love story.

Persona

Persona is an acerbic thriller set in a near-future world where celebrity ambassadors and assassins manipulate the media to the point where the only truth seekers left are the paparazzi. Suyana, the Face of the United Amazonia Rainforest Confederation, expects to solidify a relationship with the United States through a secret meeting with Ethan. However, her plans are upended by an unexpected assassination attempt.

Daniel, a teen runaway turned paparazzo, aiming for his big break, witnesses the attack on Suyana. Acting on impulse, he finds himself embroiled in the dangerous game of Faces, where the stakes are as high as life and death. Suyana and Daniel must navigate the treacherous political landscape, where one wrong move could be fatal.

The Broker

2014

by John Grisham

In his final hours in the Oval Office, the outgoing President grants a controversial last-minute pardon to Joel Backman, a notorious Washington power broker who has spent the last six years hidden away in a federal prison. What no one knows is that the President issues the pardon only after receiving enormous pressure from the CIA. It seems Backman, in his power broker heyday, may have obtained secrets that compromise the world's most sophisticated satellite surveillance system.

Backman is quietly smuggled out of the country in a military cargo plane, given a new name, a new identity, and a new home in Italy. Eventually, after he has settled into his new life, the CIA will leak his whereabouts to the Israelis, the Russians, the Chinese, and the Saudis. Then the CIA will do what it does best: sit back and watch. The question is not whether Backman will survive—there is no chance of that. The question the CIA needs answered is, who will kill him?

Bad Feminist

2014

by Roxane Gay

In these funny and insightful essays, Roxane Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman of color while also taking readers on a ride through culture of the last few years and commenting on the state of feminism today. The portrait that emerges is not only one of an incredibly insightful woman continually growing to understand herself and our society, but also one of our culture.

Bad Feminist is a sharp, funny, and spot-on look at the ways in which the culture we consume becomes who we are, and an inspiring call-to-arms of all the ways we still need to do better.

Men Explain Things To Me

2014

by Rebecca Solnit

In her comic, scathing essay "Men Explain Things to Me," Rebecca Solnit took on what often goes wrong in conversations between men and women. She wrote about men who wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume women don't, about why this arises, and how this aspect of the gender wars works, airing some of her own hilariously awful encounters. She ends on a serious note-- because the ultimate problem is the silencing of women who have something to say, including those saying things like, "He's trying to kill me!" 

This book features that now-classic essay with six perfect complements, including an examination of the great feminist writer Virginia Woolf 's embrace of mystery, of not knowing, of doubt and ambiguity, a highly original inquiry into marriage equality, and a terrifying survey of the scope of contemporary violence against women.

Vita

Zones of social abandonment are emerging everywhere in Brazil's big cities—places like Vita, where the unwanted, the mentally ill, the sick, and the homeless are left to die. This haunting, unforgettable story centers on a young woman named Catarina, increasingly paralyzed and said to be mad, living out her time at Vita.

Anthropologist JoĂŁo Biehl leads a detective-like journey to know Catarina; to unravel the cryptic, poetic words that are part of the "dictionary" she is compiling; and to trace the complex network of family, medicine, state, and economy in which her abandonment and pathology took form. As Biehl painstakingly relates Catarina's words to a vanished world and elucidates her condition, we learn of subjectivities unmade and remade under economic pressures, pharmaceuticals as moral technologies, a public common sense that lets the unsound and unproductive die, and anthropology's unique power to work through these juxtaposed fields.

Vita's methodological innovations, bold fieldwork, and rigorous social theory make it an essential reading for anyone who is grappling with how to understand the conditions of life, thought, and ethics in the contemporary world.

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

Acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates Lincoln's political genius in this highly original work, as the one-term congressman and prairie lawyer rises from obscurity to prevail over three gifted rivals of national reputation to become president.

On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry.

Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to secession and civil war. That Lincoln succeeded, Goodwin demonstrates, was the result of a character that had been forged by experiences that raised him above his more privileged and accomplished rivals. He won because he possessed an extraordinary ability to put himself in the place of other men, to experience what they were feeling, to understand their motives and desires.

It was this capacity that enabled Lincoln as president to bring his disgruntled opponents together, create the most unusual cabinet in history, and marshal their talents to the task of preserving the Union and winning the war.

We view the long, horrifying struggle from the vantage of the White House as Lincoln copes with incompetent generals, hostile congressmen, and his raucous cabinet. He overcomes these obstacles by winning the respect of his former competitors, and in the case of Seward, finds a loyal and crucial friend to see him through.

This brilliant multiple biography is centered on Lincoln's mastery of men and how it shaped the most significant presidency in the nation's history.

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72

Hilarious, terrifying, insightful, and compulsively readable, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 remains a cornerstone of American political journalism and one of the bestselling campaign books of all time. Thompson’s searing account of the battle for the 1972 presidency—from the Democratic primaries to the eventual showdown between George McGovern and Richard Nixon—is infused with the characteristic wit, intensity, and emotional engagement that made Thompson “the flamboyant apostle and avatar of gonzo journalism” (The New York Times).

This epic political adventure captures the feel of the American democratic process better than any other book ever written—and that is just as relevant to the many ills and issues roiling the nation today. As Johnny Knoxville writes in his foreword to this 50th anniversary edition: “Hunter predicted it all.”

Insurgent

2012

by Veronica Roth

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian DIVERGENT series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

The Righteous Mind

2012

by Jonathan Haidt

'A landmark contribution to humanity's understanding of itself' The New York Times.

Why can it sometimes feel as though half the population is living in a different moral universe? Why do ideas such as 'fairness' and 'freedom' mean such different things to different people? Why is it so hard to see things from another viewpoint? Why do we come to blows over politics and religion?

Jonathan Haidt reveals that we often find it hard to get along because our minds are hardwired to be moralistic, judgemental and self-righteous. He explores how morality evolved to enable us to form communities, and how moral values are not just about justice and equality - for some people authority, sanctity or loyalty matter more. Morality binds and blinds, but, using his own research, Haidt proves it is possible to liberate ourselves from the disputes that divide good people.

The Orphan Master's Son

2012

by Adam Johnson

The Orphan Master's Son is a Pulitzer Prize–winning, New York Times bestselling novel of North Korea: an epic journey into the heart of the world’s most mysterious dictatorship. “Imagine Charles Dickens paying a visit to Pyongyang, and you see the canvas on which [Adam] Johnson is painting here.”—The Washington Post

Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother—a singer “stolen” to Pyongyang—and an influential father who runs a work camp for orphans. Superiors in the North Korean state soon recognize the boy’s loyalty and keen instincts. Considering himself “a humble citizen of the greatest nation in the world,” Jun Do rises in the ranks. He becomes a professional kidnapper who must navigate the shifting rules, arbitrary violence, and baffling demands of his overlords in order to stay alive. Driven to the absolute limit of what any human being could endure, he boldly takes on the treacherous role of rival to Kim Jong Il in an attempt to save the woman he loves, Sun Moon, a legendary actress “so pure, she didn’t know what starving people looked like.”

Part breathless thriller, part story of innocence lost, part story of romantic love, The Orphan Master’s Son is also a riveting portrait of a world heretofore hidden from view: a North Korea rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love.

Destiny of the Republic

2011

by Candice Millard

James A. Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired reformist congressman. Nominated for president against his will, he engaged in a fierce battle with the corrupt political establishment. But four months after his inauguration, a deranged office seeker tracked Garfield down and shot him in the back.

But the shot didn’t kill Garfield. The drama of what hap­pened subsequently is a powerful story of a nation in tur­moil. The unhinged assassin’s half-delivered strike shattered the fragile national mood of a country so recently fractured by civil war, and left the wounded president as the object of a bitter behind-the-scenes struggle for power—over his administration, over the nation’s future, and, hauntingly, over his medical care. A team of physicians administered shockingly archaic treatments, to disastrous effect. As his con­dition worsened, Garfield received help: Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, worked around the clock to invent a new device capable of finding the bullet.

Meticulously researched, epic in scope, and pulsating with an intimate human focus and high-velocity narrative drive, The Destiny of the Republic will stand alongside as a classic of narrative history.

Leviathan Wakes

Leviathan Wakes is the explosive first book in The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey, a pseudonym for authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Set in a future where humanity has colonized the solar system, the novel introduces us to James Holden, the executive officer of an ice mining ship, and Detective Miller, who is on the hunt for a missing girl.

When Holden and his crew discover a derelict ship, The Scopuli, they are thrust into a dangerous conspiracy that threatens to destabilize the fragile balance of power in the system. Miller's investigation into the girl's disappearance leads him to Holden and the secrets hidden aboard The Scopuli. Together, they must navigate the tensions between Earth's government, outer planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations. Amidst political intrigue and looming war, Holden and Miller's actions could alter the course of human history.

Poor Economics

Poor Economics presents an insightful and disruptive portrait of how poor people actually live, challenging the most common assumptions about economics. Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, Nobel Prize-winning economists and MIT professors, delve into the real-life decisions and dilemmas faced by the poor based on extensive field research conducted worldwide.

Poor Economics demonstrates that to create a world free of poverty, it is crucial to understand the everyday choices confronting those living on less than a dollar a day. This book offers a profound rethinking of the economics of poverty, providing readers with a closer look at life through the lens of economic decisions, and suggesting that the battle against poverty starts with proper comprehension of these daily struggles.

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

2011

by Michael Lewis

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine is a #1 New York Times bestseller and a major motion picture from Paramount Pictures. Michael Lewis, the author of The Blind Side and Moneyball, tells the compelling story of four outsiders in the high-finance world who predicted the credit and housing bubble collapse before anyone else.

The narrative starts with the silent crash that took place in the obscure markets of bonds and real estate derivatives. These are the places where complex securities are created to profit from the financial struggles of lower- and middle-class Americans. Lewis provides a character-driven narrative filled with indignation and dark humor, presenting a group of unlikely heroes whose stories are as compelling as they are improbable, establishing him yet again as an exceptional and witty chronicler of our times.

El Arte de la Guerra

2010

by Sun Tzu

El Arte de la Guerra, traducido por primera vez por un jesuita en 1772 con el título de Los Trece Capítulos, que lo dio a conocer en Europa, se convirtió rápidamente en un texto fundacional de estrategia militar para las distintas cortes y estados mayores europeos.

Pocas veces un libro antiguo (escrito entre los siglos VI y III a.C.) se ha mantenido tan moderno, porque esta filosofía de la guerra y la política basada en la astucia y el fingimiento, más que en la fuerza bruta, que describe, sigue siendo actual. Incluso fuera de lo "militar", Sun Tzu sigue siendo una gran referencia para descifrar la estrategia de empresa y la política. La formulación precisa y pictórica de Sun Tzu añade al interés del texto un toque de sabiduría milenaria.

The Lacuna

In her most accomplished novel, Barbara Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities. Born in the United States, reared in a series of provisional households in Mexico—from a coastal island jungle to 1930s Mexico City—Harrison Shepherd finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey.

Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers who put him to work in the kitchen, errands he runs in the streets, and one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. He discovers a passion for Aztec history and meets the exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo, who will become his lifelong friend. When he goes to work for Lev Trotsky, an exiled political leader fighting for his life, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, newspaper headlines and howling gossip, and a risk of terrible violence.

Meanwhile, to the north, the United States will soon be caught up in the internationalist goodwill of World War II. There in the land of his birth, Shepherd believes he might remake himself in America's hopeful image and claim a voice of his own. He finds support from an unlikely kindred soul, his stenographer, Mrs. Brown, who will be far more valuable to her employer than he could ever know. Through darkening years, political winds continue to toss him between north and south in a plot that turns many times on the unspeakable breach—the lacuna—between truth and public presumption.

With deeply compelling characters, a vivid sense of place, and a clear grasp of how history and public opinion can shape a life, Barbara Kingsolver has created an unforgettable portrait of the artist—and of art itself. The Lacuna is a rich and daring work of literature, establishing its author as one of the most provocative and important of her time.

The Life You Can Save

2009

by Peter Singer

In The Life You Can Save, Peter Singer compellingly lays out the case for why and how we can take action to provide immense benefit to others, at minimal cost to ourselves. Using ethical arguments, illuminating examples, and case studies of charitable giving, he shows that our current response to world poverty is not only insufficient but morally indefensible. And he provides practical recommendations of charities proven to dramatically improve, and even save, the lives of children, women and men living in extreme poverty.

The Life You Can Save teaches us to be a part of the solution, helping others as we help ourselves.

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