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 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Historical Fiction, Military / War, Gender / Feminism, Politics / Government, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World
Publication year 2018
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Race / Racism, Black Lives Matter, Gender / Feminism, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Biography
When They Call You a Terrorist is a nonfiction memoir published in 2018 by the American authors and activists Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele. Subtitled A Black Lives Matter Memoir, the book chronicles Cullors’s early life in Los Angeles and her role in cofounding Black Lives Matter, a decentralized racial justice movement established after George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the Trayvon Martin shooting. The book’s title refers to accusations of terrorism lobbed at Cullors and her... Read When They Call You a Terrorist Summary
Publication year 1967
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Race, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Race / Racism, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Social Justice, Classic Fiction, Politics / Government, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 2009
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Society: War
Tags Military / War, War On Terrorism / Iraq War, Sports, History: World, Biography, Politics / Government
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman is a nonfiction book published in 2009 by the American journalist Jon Krakauer. It details the true story of Pat Tillman, a professional American football player who left his sports career to enlist in the army after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In 2004, Tillman died in Afghanistan as a result of friendly fire. Krakauer is known for his Outside magazine articles and several... Read Where Men Win Glory Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Crime / Legal, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Politics / Government
Publication year 1996
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Society: Politics & Government
Tags Education, Education, Sociology, History: World, Race / Racism, Crime / Legal, Politics / Government, Social Justice, History: U.S.
Publication year 2018
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Race / Racism, Social Justice, Black Lives Matter, Sociology, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Self Help, Politics / Government
Published in 2018, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo received critical acclaim and became a New York Times Bestseller for explaining how white people should address racism in the moment and how they can move into a new, healthier, less racist paradigm. DiAngelo holds a PhD in multicultural education and specializes in critical racial and social justice education.Plot SummaryDiAngelo stresses that all white people play... Read White Fragility Summary
Publication year 2006
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Community
Tags Race / Racism, History: U.S., Sociology, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Social Justice, Arts / Culture, Politics / Government
White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era is a 2006 nonfiction book by Shelby Steele, a Black conservative author who specializes in the study of race relations in the US. This guide refers to the e-book published in 2009 by HarperCollins. The title points to the book’s central theme: white guilt—the loss of moral authority—and the damaging responses it elicited in Black and White Americans in the... Read White Guilt Summary
Publication year 1998
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality
Tags History: U.S., Race / Racism, Politics / Government, Social Justice, Education, Education, Anthropology, Anthropology, Sociology, History: World
Publication year 1989
Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Equality, Identity: Race, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Community
Tags Race / Racism, Social Justice, Self Help, Politics / Government
Publication year 2016
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Community
Tags Sociology, Politics / Government, Black Lives Matter, Race / Racism, History: U.S., History: World, Social Justice
Carol Anderson's 2016 nonfiction book, White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide, looks at the way African-American progress has been halted and repressed, again and again, by a powerful cocktail of economic self-interest, fear, and hatred on the part of America's white elites, a philosophy she calls "white rage." The book’s five chapters examine five crucial turning points in the African-American struggle for freedom and equality: Reconstruction and the abolition of slavery, the... Read White Rage Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Natural World: Place, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government
Tags Race / Racism, History: U.S., Business / Economics, Sociology, History: World, Social Justice, Arts / Culture, Politics / Government
Publication year 2016
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Sociology, History: U.S., Class, Social Justice, Race / Racism, Business / Economics, History: World, Politics / Government
IntroductionIn White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America, Nancy Isenberg documents the historical and contemporary disdain of the upper and middle classes in America for the white poor and the resultant staying power of a class hierarchy. Isenberg, an award-winning historian, uses her expertise to contribute this non-fictional work to the academic literature on social class. Originally published in 2016, the book became a New York Times bestseller and was a finalist... Read White Trash Summary
Publication year 1997
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race
Tags Race / Racism, Psychology, Education, Education, Sociology, History: World, Psychology, Social Justice, Politics / Government
First published in 1997, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race addresses race and racism in the United States from a psychologist’s perspective. Beverly Daniel Tatum is a clinical psychologist with extensive experience in researching racial identity development. We need to learn how to have productive dialogues about race and racism, and to do that we need to understand how our racial identities form and how... Read Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Summary
Publication year 2017
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Society: Class, Society: Politics & Government
Tags Race / Racism, Gender / Feminism, Politics / Government, Social Justice, Black Lives Matter, History: African , Sociology, History: World
Publication year 1946
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Art, Society: Politics & Government, Identity: Language
Tags Politics / Government, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Biography
Publication year 2018
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Natural World: Environment
Tags Politics / Government, Philosophy, History: World, Education, Education, Social Science, Business / Economics, Sociology, Philosophy, Arts / Culture
Publication year 2012
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Economics, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Community
Tags Business / Economics, Politics / Government, History: World, Science / Nature, Sociology
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (2012) is a nonfiction book co-authored by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson. Acemoglu, an MIT economist renowned for his work on political economy, and Robinson, a political scientist and economist, combine their expertise to examine the reasons behind the varying levels of success and failure among nations. This interdisciplinary work, situated at the intersection of institutional economics, developmental economics, and economic history, examines a... Read Why Nations Fail Summary
Publication year 1964
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Tags History: U.S., Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Race / Racism, Black Lives Matter, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Social Justice, Classic Fiction, Politics / Government, Biography
Why We Can’t Wait is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s history of the Birmingham protests that took place in 1963 and his effort to explain the aims and goals of the Civil Rights Movement to a national audience. King explores the background of the protests in Birmingham, the importance of nonviolence as the primary approach to protest, how this approach played out in Birmingham, and the aftermath of the protests in an introduction and eight chapters... Read Why We Can't Wait Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Nation, Society: Community
Tags History: U.S., Psychology, Sociology, Politics / Government, Social Science, History: World, Psychology, Arts / Culture