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 2005

Genre Book, Nonfiction

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

Tags Race / Racism, Social Science, Business / Economics, History: World, Sociology, Social Justice, Poverty, Politics / Government

In The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (2005), leading economist Jeffrey D. Sachs draws on his extensive global experience to identify a path to end extreme poverty within 20 years. This work is inspired by, and in some ways modeled after, the classic John Maynard Keynes essay Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren (1930). In the depths of the Great Depression, Keynes outlined a pathway to ending poverty in the industrialized countries near... Read The End of Poverty Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Globalization, Society: Economics, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags Politics / Government, Business / Economics, History: U.S., Agriculture, Class, Finance / Money / Wealth, Food, History: World, Immigration / Refugee, Military / War, Technology, Urban Development


Publication year 2006

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Indigenous, Society: Colonialism, Society: War, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags History: Middle Eastern, Race / Racism, Military / War, History: World, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Religion / Spirituality


Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Teams, Relationships: Siblings, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Education, Education, History: World, Biography, Social Justice, Politics / Government

In The Far Away Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life (2017), Lauren Markham tells the true story of 17-year-old Salvadoran twins, Ernesto and Raúl Flores, who flee violence in El Salvador to build new lives for themselves in America. It follows the twins from their initial exodus from El Salvador, across the Rio Grande, and into the United States, where a world of both unbounded possibility and undeniable danger await... Read The Far Away Brothers Summary


Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Historical Fiction, Latin American Literature, Classic Fiction, Politics / Government

The Feast of the Goat, written by Peruvian Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, is a work of historical fiction originally published in Spanish in 2000 and translated into English by Edith Grossman in 2001. The novel chronicles the final days of Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship over the Dominican Republic from three points of view: through the eyes of his assassins in 1961, from the time they wait to ambush him until their final moments; through Trujillo’s... Read The Feast of the Goat Summary


Publication year 1787

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government

Tags Politics / Government, History: U.S., American Revolution, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

The Federalist Papers is a collection of 85 essays, most of which were published as serialized articles between October 1787 and April 1788, by the American statesmen Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. Released under the pseudonym Publius, a common name in ancient Rome derived from the word for “the people” or “of the people,” The Federalist Papers were written to persuade the voters of New York state to ratify the US Constitution. The... Read The Federalist Papers Summary


Publication year 1970

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Family

Tags Gender / Feminism, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Sociology, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics / Government


Publication year 1963

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Society: Education, Society: Economics

Tags Gender / Feminism, History: U.S., History: World, Love / Sexuality, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Sociology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics / Government

Betty Friedan’s 1963 The Feminine Mystique is considered a classic text of feminist non-fiction. It was enormously influential in kick-starting the second wave of feminism, a movement that began in the 1960s advocating increased rights and new social roles for women. By voicing the despair that many women felt, The Feminine Mystique galvanized readers across the US to join the feminist movement and prompted others to at least to take its criticisms of mid-century American... Read The Feminine Mystique Summary


Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Society: Politics & Government, Natural World: Climate

Tags Politics / Government, History: U.S., Science / Nature, Business / Economics, History: World


Publication year 1963

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Tags LGBTQ, Existentialism, African American Literature, Black Lives Matter, Creative Nonfiction, Race / Racism, History: World, Social Justice, Classic Fiction, Politics / Government

James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time (1963) comprises two autobiographical essays in which the author confronts the racial issues and tensions that he believes corrupt and deform American life and the American dream. Baldwin’s essays exemplify and precursor many of the elements and arguments central to the Civil Rights movement. Please note: Throughout the text, Baldwin uses the racial labels/language common at the time he was writing. This study guide, which uses the Vintage Reissue... Read The Fire Next Time Summary


Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Black Lives Matter, Creative Nonfiction, Race / Racism, History: World, Social Justice, Politics / Government

The Fire This Time is a contemporary anthology responding to America’s turbulent racial climate. Jesmyn Ward, associate professor of English at Tulane University, edited the anthology. She has won numerous awards for her fiction writing, and in this book she seeks to present a collection of writing poetry from varied voices to illustrate the current moment and imagine a possible future. The book, which contains 14 essays and four poems, was published in 2016. In her... Read The Fire This Time Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Identity: Race, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Education, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Historical Fiction, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Politics / Government, Gender / Feminism, History: World


Publication year 1689

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: Fathers

Tags Philosophy, Politics / Government


Publication year 1999

Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: War, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Society: Politics & Government

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


Publication year 1973

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Flora/plants, Natural World: Environment

Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, African American Literature, Race / Racism, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Reconstruction Era, Love / Sexuality, Gender / Feminism, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics / Government

“The Flowers,” a short story by Alice Walker, considers the impact of the Jim Crow South on a young Black girl’s emotional development and social awareness. Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983—along with a National Book Award—for her critically acclaimed work The Color Purple (1982). Her experience growing up poor in the segregated sharecropping community of Eatonton, Georgia, as well as her advocacy as a Womanist activist, inform the personal and social... Read The Flowers Summary


Publication year 1943

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags Classic Fiction, American Literature, Philosophy, Politics / Government, Philosophy, Arts / Culture

Published in 1945, The Fountainhead was written by Russian American author Ayn Rand (1905-1982) and focuses on the genius architect Howard Roark as he struggles to pursue a career of innovation and integrity in an increasingly hostile society of altruists and con men led by the Machiavellian humanitarian Ellsworth Toohey.In The Fountainhead, Rand promotes values such as radical individualism and the primacy of objective reason, both of which would later form the foundation of her... Read The Fountainhead Summary


Publication year 1996

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Nation, Life/Time: The Future, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags History: U.S., Sociology, Politics / Government, Business / Economics, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy


Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Natural World: Environment, Society: Politics & Government, Natural World: Climate, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Society: Community

Tags Science / Nature, Climate Change, Politics / Government


Publication year 1989

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Fate, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Colonialism, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Politics / Government, Latin American Literature, History: World


Publication year 1932

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Politics / Government

The German Ideology is a set of pamphlets written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1846. This was the first book cowritten by Marx and Engels. However, the authors could not find a publisher and the text wasn’t published until 1932. The book is divided into three main sections. The Introduction is the most widely referenced part of The German Ideology. The other sections, Volume 1 and Volume 2, are polemical responses to popular... Read The German Ideology Summary