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 1971

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Identity: Race, Society: Globalization, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Society: Nation

Tags Politics / Government, Business / Economics, History: U.S., American Literature, History: World


Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Natural World: Climate, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Natural World: Environment

Tags Science / Nature, Climate Change, Journalism, History: World, Politics / Government


Publication year 2018

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Nation, Identity: Race

Tags Race / Racism, History: U.S., Sociology, History: World, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Biography

Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist (2018) is a biography of disavowed white nationalist Derek Black, authored by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eli Saslow.Derek is a former white nationalist wunderkind. Derek is the son of former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard and Stormfront online hate group creator, Don Black, and the godson of former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, white supremacist politician, and notorious public figure, David Duke. Derek’s parents remove... Read Rising Out of Hatred Summary


Publication year 1989

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags History: European, Military / War, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, WWI / World War I, Arts / Culture, Politics / Government

Modris Eksteins’s 1989 nonfiction book, Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age, takes its title from a scandalous 1913 Russian ballet. Critics believed that the ballet’s complex, atonal score, stomping choreography, and the feature of a virginal sacrifice mocked classical ballet conventions. Eksteins—a Canadian historian and author—argues that the juxtaposition of violence and creativity in the ballet echoed in both World War I—“The Great War”—and its aftermath.Eksteins focuses on... Read Rites of Spring Summary


Publication year 2021

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Tags American Civil War, History: U.S., Politics / Government, Race / Racism, Military / War, History: World, Biography


Publication year 2023

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Self Discovery, Relationships: Fathers, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Politics / Government, History: U.S., History: World, Biography, Religion / Spirituality


Publication year 2023

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Class, Society: Community, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Teams

Tags Health / Medicine, Sociology, Poverty, Class, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Biography


Publication year 1969

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government, Society: Community, Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Social Justice, Politics / Government, Psychology, Sociology, History: World, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy


Publication year 2021

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Identity: Race, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Historical Fiction, History: U.S., Politics / Government, Social Justice, Civil Rights / Jim Crow


Publication year 2013

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Health / Medicine, Business / Economics, Science / Nature, History: World, Self Help, Food, Politics / Government

Salt Sugar Fat is a 2013 nonfiction book by Michael Moss. It describes the modern American food industry. The author visits the corporate headquarters, scientific research facilities, and marketing departments of major food manufacturers. He also talks with consumer advocates and other involved parties to understand the ongoing obesity epidemic.Through industrial processes, food companies remove nutritious components and substitute cheaper, harmful ingredients. The key ingredients in most processed foods are salt, sugar, and fat. Manufacturers... Read Salt Sugar Fat Summary


Publication year 1991

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Education

Tags Education, Race / Racism, Education, Sociology, History: World, Social Justice, Poverty, Politics / Government

Jonathan Kozol's 1991 book, Savage Inequalities, is a critical look at the American educational system and its failures. The main argument of the book is that a tremendous divide exists between rich and poor in education, a divide intensified by ethnic and racial prejudice. Kozol claims that in many communities and localities, American schools remain effectively segregated, more than 50 years after the criminalization of such practices. Kozol argues that while the letter of the... Read Savage Inequalities Summary


Publication year 2015

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Business / Economics, Sociology, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics / Government


Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Crime / Legal, History: European, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Military / War, History: World, Irish Literature, Politics / Government

Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland interprets the Irish “Troubles” in which clashing state and paramilitary forces in Northern Ireland fought an unofficial ethno-nationalist war. Though the monograph is a work of non-fiction investigative journalism, it unfolds like a murder mystery, focusing on the case of Jean McConville, a widowed mother of 10 that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) abducted and secretly killed in 1972. The... Read Say Nothing Summary


Publication year 2013

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Class, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose

Tags Psychology, Business / Economics, Science / Nature, Sociology, Self Help, Politics / Government, Philosophy, Psychology, Philosophy


Publication year 1982

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Identity: Race, Society: War

Tags Historical Fiction, Holocaust, WWII / World War II, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Race / Racism, History: World, Immigration / Refugee, Incarceration, Military / War, Politics / Government, Social Justice, Sociology, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Classic Fiction, Biography

Schindler’s List (originally titled Schindler’s Ark) is a 1982 historical novel by Australian author Thomas Keneally. It tells the story of Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi party who used his position as a German industrialist to save more than 1,200 people’s lives during the war. In protecting as many people as he could from the genocidal Nazi regime, Schindler risked being sent to a concentration camp himself. Keneally wrote the novel with the... Read Schindler's List Summary


Publication year 1689

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Politics / Government, Philosophy, Age of Enlightenment, Education, Education, History: World, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

The Second Treatise of Government is a philosophical text written by Enlightenment thinker and “Father of Liberalism” John Locke in 1689. When the treatise was published in the late 17th century, England was in a state of political unrest. King William III and Queen Mary II were in power, as monarch King James II had been deposed two years earlier. This period of history is known as the Glorious Revolution, and it followed years of... Read Second Treatise of Government Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Biography, Social Justice, Religion / Spirituality, Politics / Government, Gender / Feminism


Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Identity: Race, Identity: Indigenous

Tags Politics / Government, Crime / Legal, Race / Racism, Social Justice, Mystery / Crime Fiction, History: World


Publication year 1970

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Gender / Feminism, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Love / Sexuality, Sociology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics / Government

Kate Millett’s 1970 book Sexual Politics is a groundbreaking feminist critique of literature and social organization that is widely regarded as an essential radical feminist text.It opens with brief exploration of fiction by Henry Miller, Norman Mailer, and Jean Genet. Presenting these as “Incidents of Sexual Politics,” Millett examines how power operates within sexual relationships and builds an argument that the relationship between the sexes is a political issue revolving around the dominance of one... Read Sexual Politics Summary


Publication year 2003

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government, Society: Globalization, Society: War, Society: Colonialism

Tags History: African , Politics / Government, Military / War, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, History: World, Biography

Lt. General Roméo Dallaire is a Canadian officer who was assigned as the force commander in the United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda (UNAMIR), a UN peacekeeping mission to facilitate negotiations after the Rwandan Civil War. He wrote about his experiences witnessing the breakdown of the peace process and the Rwandan Genocide in Shake Hands With The Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. Published in 2003, the book won the 2004 Governor General’s Award... Read Shake Hands with the Devil Summary