10 Best Political Literature Criticism Books

“A must-read for this era. “–Jake Tapper, CNN Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent An insightful, urgent, and perennially relevant handbook that lays out in common sense language how the United States Constitution works, and how its protections are eroding before our eyes–essential reading for anyone who wants to understand and parse the constantly breaking news about the backbone of American government. The Constitution is the most significant document in America. But do you fully understand what this valuable document means to you? In How to Read the Constitution–and Why , legal expert and educator Kimberly Wehle spells out in clear, simple, and common sense terms what is in the Constitution, and most importantly, what it means. In compelling terms and including text from the United States Constitution, she describes how the Constitution’s protections are eroding–not only in express terms but by virtue of the many legal and social norms that no longer shore up its legitimacy–and why every American needs to heed to this “red flag” moment in our democracy. This invaluable–and timely–resource includes the Constitution in its entirety and covers nearly every significant aspect of the text, from the powers of the President and how the three branches of government are designed to hold each other accountable, to what it means to have individual rights– including free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right to an abortion. Finally, the book explains why it has never been more important than now for all Americans to know how our Constitution works–and why, if we don’t step in to protect it now, we could lose its protections forever. How to Read the Constitution–and Why is essential reading for anyone who cares about maintaining an accountable government and the individual freedoms that the Constitution enshrines for everyone in America–regardless of political party.

The Washington Post ‘ s Pulitzer Prize-winning book critic uses the books of the Trump era to argue that our response to this presidency reflects the same failures of imagination that made it possible. As a book critic for The Washington Post , Carlos Lozada has read some 150 volumes claiming to diagnose why Trump was elected and what his presidency reveals about our nation. Many of these, he’s found, are more defensive than incisive, more righteous than right. In What Were We Thinking , Lozada uses these books to tell the story of how we understand ourselves in the Trump era, using as his main characters the political ideas and debates at play in America today. He dissects works on the white working class like Hillbilly Elegy ; manifestos from the anti-Trump resistance like On Tyranny and No Is Not Enough ; books on race, gender, and identity like How to Be an Antiracist and Good and Mad ; polemics on the future of the conservative movement like The Corrosion of Conservatism ; and of course plenty of books about Trump himself. Lozada’s argument is provocative: that many of these books–whether written by liberals or conservatives, activists or academics, Trump’s true believers or his harshest critics–are vulnerable to the same blind spots, resentments, and failures that gave us his presidency. But Lozada also highlights the books that succeed in illuminating how America is changing in the 21st century. What Were We Thinking is an intellectual history of the Trump era in real time, helping us transcend the battles of the moment and see ourselves for who we really are.

George Orwell’s collected nonfiction, written in the clear-eyed and uncompromising style that earned him a critical following   One of the most thought-provoking and vivid essayists of the twentieth century, George Orwell fought the injustices of his time with singular vigor through pen and paper. In this selection of essays, he ranges from reflections on his boyhood schooling and the profession of writing to his views on the Spanish Civil War and British imperialism. The pieces collected here include the relatively unfamiliar and the more celebrated, making it an ideal compilation for both new and dedicated readers of Orwell’s work.

“A must-read for this era.” (Jake Tapper, CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent) An insightful, urgent, and perennially relevant handbook that lays out in common-sense language how the United States Constitution works, and how its protections are eroding before our eyes – essential listening for anyone who wants to understand and parse the constantly breaking news about the backbone of American government. The Constitution is the most significant document in America. But do you fully understand what this valuable document means to you? In How to Read the Constitution – and Why , legal expert and educator Kimberly Wehle spells out in clear, simple, and common-sense terms what is in the Constitution and most importantly, what it means. In compelling terms and including text from the United States Constitution, she describes how the Constitution’s protections are eroding – not only in express terms but by virtue of the many legal and social norms that no longer shore up its legitimacy – and why every American needs to heed to this “red flag” moment in our democracy. This invaluable – and timely – resource includes the Constitution in its entirety and covers nearly every significant aspect of the text, from the powers of the president and how the three branches of government are designed to hold each other accountable, to what it means to have individual rights – including free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right to an abortion. Finally, the audiobook explains why it has never been more important than now for all Americans to know how our Constitution works – and why, if we don’t step in to protect it now, we could lose its protections forever. How to Read the Constitution – and Why is essential listening for anyone who cares about maintaining an accountable government and the individual freedoms that the Constitution enshrines for everyone in America – regardless of political party. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

The New York Times bestselling author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor uses the same skills to teach how to access accurate information in a rapidly changing 24/7 news cycle and become better readers, thinkers, and consumers of media. We live in an information age, but it is increasingly difficult to know which information to trust. Fake news is rampant in mass media, stoked by foreign powers wishing to disrupt a democratic society. We need to be more perceptive, more critical, and more judicious readers. The future of our republic may depend on it. How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor is more careful, more attentive, more aware reading. On bookstore shelves, one book looks as authoritative as the next. Online, posts and memes don’t announce their relative veracity. It is up to readers to establish how accurate, how thorough, how fair material may be. After laying out general principles of reading nonfiction, How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor offers advice for specific reading strategies in various genres from histories and biographies to science and technology to social media. Throughout, the emphasis will be on understanding writers’ biases, interrogating claims, analyzing arguments, remaining wary of broad assertions and easy answers, and thinking critically about the written and spoken materials readers encounter. We can become better citizens through better reading, and the time for that is now.