With the Republican and Democratic National Conventions happening this month, the 2016 presidential race shows no signs of slowing until November. Whether you lean left or right, there’s a book about politics for every reader:
OUR REVOLUTION: A Future to Believe In by Bernie Sanders
The book by the U.S. Senator and former Democratic presidential candidate “offers both an account of Sanders’s campaign for the presidency and an argument for the progressive economic, environmental, racial, and social justice agenda he proposes to create jobs, raise wages, protect the environment, and provide health care for all.” Library Journal, pre-pub alert
THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUMP by Michael D’Antonio
Now in trade paperback, the revealing unauthorized biography about the Presidential candidate, including firsthand interviews with “the Donald” himself and others, by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Michael D’Antonio.
GIVE US THE BALLOT: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America by Ari Berman
Soon to be available in trade paperback, Berman’s book on voting rights was a New York Times Notable Book of 2015, a 2015 National Book Critics Circle Awards Finalist, shortlisted for the 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellent in Nonfiction, and a RUSA 2016 Notable Nonfiction Book! “Berman does a superb job of making the history of the right to vote in America not only easily understandable, but riveting. This is the best kind of popular history—literate, passionate, and persuasive, balancing detail with accessibility.” Publishers Weekly, starred review
ENOUGH SAID: What’s Gone Wrong with the Language of Politics? by Mark Thompson
A wide-ranging, provocative examination of free speech, political rhetoric, and the distortion of our common language by the CEO of The New York Times Company. “Thompson’s writing packs a high percentage of insights per page and his book manages to be an exemplary investigation, a history, an autopsy, a practical manual, and a cautionary tale all at once.” Publishers Weekly, starred review
CRISIS POINT: Why We Must–and How We Can–Overcome Our Broken Politics in Washington and Across America by Trent Lott & Tom Daschle with Jon Sternfeld
Two eminent former senators reach across the political aisle to identify the most corrosive sources of our current political dysfunction, and to point the way forward. “An important contribution to an ongoing debate.” Kirkus Reviews
THE FIGHT: A Secret Service Agent’s Inside Account of Security Failings and the Political Machine by Dan Bongino
What events led a veteran Secret Service agent at the top of his profession, with no political experience, to resign his position and run for office, nearly pulling off the unlikeliest of upsets as a Republican in a deep-blue state? Bongino’s mix of current events, insider’s analysis, and tales from his time protecting three presidents, shows where America has gone wrong and how we can fight back.
OFF SCRIPT: An Advance Man’s Guide to White House Stagecraft, Campaign Spectacle, and Political Suicide by Josh King
An illuminating journey through the most catastrophic scenes of political stagecraft since the “Age of Optics” in 1988 from former presidential events production director at the White House. “King presents one of the liveliest and funniest political books of recent years; it will keep political junkies and campaign professionals guffawing and learning. He has done for advance men and women what Timothy Crouse’s THE BOYS ON THE BUS did for print journalists almost a half-century ago. His book pairs nicely with David Greenberg’s scholarly REPUBLIC OF SPIN.”
Library Journal, starred review
THE BELTWAY BIBLE: A Totally Serious A-Z Guide to Our No-Good, Corrupt, Incompetent, Terrible, Depressing, and Sometimes Hilarious Government by Eliot Nelson
Arranged from A-Z, Nelson’s humorous guide looks at politics and government from an insider’s perch, breaking the bureaucracy into easily-digested entries on fundamental subjects like how legislation is formed, the scope of the president’s power, and an overview of primary federal agencies.
LISTEN, LIBERAL: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? by Thomas Frank
“Frank, best known for his scathing commentary about Republicans in books like WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS and THE WRECKING CREW, turns his sights on the Democrats, the supposed party of the people. Still, he offers a tough and thought-provoking look at what’s wrong with America.” Booklist
FUTURE RIGHT: Forging a New Republican Majority by Donald Critchlow
Critchlow proposes political strategies for Republicans to take advantage of trends, mobilize new constituencies, and create a vibrant new majority that reflects the times. “Well-researched and detailed to the point of repetitiveness, Critchlow’s study—in which Donald Trump’s name goes conspicuously unmentioned may be just what Republican loyalists need to realize that a different approach is needed.”
Publishers Weekly
THE ART OF BEING FREE: Alexis de Tocqueville and the Way We Live Now by James Poulos
“De Tocqueville’s seminal work, Democracy in America, is still surprisingly resonant, argues Poulos, as he explores how a modern reading of the classic text might help alleviate our uniquely American malaise.” Publishers Weekly, Fall 2016 Politics & Current Events preview
THE TRUE FLAG: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire by Stephen Kinzer
How should the United States act in the world? Bestselling author Kinzer’s new book brings to life the forgotten political debate that set America’s interventionist course in the world for the twentieth century and beyond. “Kinzer, a best-selling author who had a longtime career as a foreign correspondent (he was the New York Times’s bureau chief in Turkey, Germany, and Nicaragua and as the Boston Globe’s Latin America correspondent), considers the issue by going back to when the question first emerged. Heatedly relevant; with a five-city tour.” Library Journal, pre-pub alert