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 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
Publication year 1991
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Politics & Government
Tags History: Asian, Asian Literature, Asian Literature, History: World, Chinese Literature, Politics / Government, Biography
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China (1991) is a family history and autobiography by Chinese writer Jung Chang. Set against the backdrop of 20th-century China, in particular the first three decades of Communist rule (1949-1978), Wild Swans appeared in print at an important historical moment. Communism was under siege worldwide. In 1991, the year of the book’s original publication, the Soviet Union collapsed. Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist government’s violent crackdown on pro-freedom demonstrators at Tiananmen... Read Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, History: World, History: U.S., Race / Racism, Politics / Government, Crime / Legal, Social Justice
Publication year 2018
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose
Tags Politics / Government, Business / Economics, Social Justice, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Class, Sociology, History: World
Publication year 1952
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Life/Time: The Past, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil
Tags History: U.S., Cold War, Politics / Government, Philosophy, Christian literature, History: World, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Biography
Publication year 1975
Genre Novella, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Equality, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Gender / Feminism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, African Literature, Social Justice, Education, Finance / Money / Wealth, History: Middle Eastern, Love / Sexuality, Politics / Government, Incarceration, Crime / Legal, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Education, Classic Fiction
Woman at Point Zero, also titled Firdaus, is a 1975 novella by Nawal El Saadawi based on the true account of a woman named Firdaus who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1974. Saadawi was a prolific Egyptian feminist and physician, and she worked with Egyptian women who experienced various mental conditions that Saadawi saw largely as resulting from living in a patriarchal society. She had the privilege of meeting Firdaus on... Read Woman at Point Zero Summary
Publication year 1973
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Mothers
Tags Parenting, African American Literature, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Gender / Feminism, History: World, Arts / Culture, Politics / Government, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 1981
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Society: Class, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Gender / Feminism, Race / Racism, History: U.S., Politics / Government, Social Justice, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Sociology, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy
Publication year 2014
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Society: War
Tags Politics / Government, History: World, Science / Nature, Business / Economics, Philosophy, Philosophy
Publication year 2006
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Natural World: Environment, Society: Community, Society: Education, Society: Nation, Society: Class, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fantasy, Class, Disability, Depression / Suicide, Leadership/Organization/Management, Military / War, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Politics / Government
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is a horror fiction novel by Max Brooks published in 2006. The book was a critical and commercial success, generally receiving positive reviews and spending several weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. It has sold millions of copies around the world and was subsequently turned into a successful movie starring Brad Pitt, released in 2013, and a highly rated video game, released in... Read World War Z Summary