3.89 avg rating — 3,783 ratings

"Mann & Ornstein literally wrote the book on dysfunction in Congress and (asymmetric) political polarization. We use this in our Intro to American Politics course. Mann & Ornstein are still writing today, so read this for a primer and then dive into their essays.
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3.95 avg rating — 675 ratings

"Dyson is one of my favorite writers on race in America. This is his sober assessment how Obama's presidency in light of all the hype beforehand and backlash afterward. Dyson faults Obama for many shortcomings as the first black president, but I liked his assessment of the racial landscape and constraints on Obama to act in that role. Some of the other books on this list about white backlash were helpful to contextualizing the opposition Obama faced in office."

4.40 avg rating — 366,082 ratings

"Instant classic. Not sure I can add anything about this book that hasn't already been said."

4.10 avg rating — 325 ratings

"An in-depth analysis of George Zimmerman's trial and the failures of the justice system, the media, and society at large. "

4.05 avg rating — 1,871 ratings

4.14 avg rating — 49 ratings

4.31 avg rating — 4,034 ratings

4.47 avg rating — 14,767 ratings

"10/10 recommend this to anyone interested in learning why people of color can't get ahead politically in this country. Every step forward for black and brown people, from colonial times to the first black president, has been met with a disproportionate backlash from white Americans. Forgotten to history are the white riots that lynched black folks and burned down cities all across the country in the late 19th and early 20th century. Chinese and Hispanic advancement was also met with arson, murder, and other forms of intimidation from whites. Over time, white rage was mobilized to achieve political ends during the Civil Rights era and Nixon's campaigns, so that today we see myriad political positions and causes that can be understood as thinly-veiled white backlash."

4.13 avg rating — 2,065 ratings

4.10 avg rating — 25,421 ratings

3.79 avg rating — 119 ratings

3.76 avg rating — 115 ratings

"A reporter's book on right-wing extremist groups in the Midwest in the early 1980s. Centered on Gordon Kahl, a tax evader who would go on to kill 3-4 law enforcement offiers, this 1990 book tells a story about how "economic anxiety" over the farm crisis and high interest rates led to an explosion of extremist anti-government groups, hate groups, and millenialist religious sects. A timely read written even before the militia movement, OKC bombing, Ruby Ridge, and Waco. "

3.14 avg rating — 165 ratings

4.12 avg rating — 17,862 ratings

4.23 avg rating — 32,227 ratings

3.77 avg rating — 25,069 ratings

"Everyone who is concerned about classism, elitism, meritocracy, and social justice should read this tome. "

3.84 avg rating — 503,793 ratings

"Somewhere deep inside me there's an essay that explains my dissatisfaction with the coverage of this 2016 best seller. I felt a deep personal connection to the author and his familial background, not least because my own fucked up family is hardly ever represented in the national media or best-selling books. The author's personal politics and the marketing for the book ("here's why Trump is winning") distracted a lot of readers from the cultural commentary and the objective sadness and despair inherent to the Appalachian experience. Yes, there are black Appalachians too. Yes, there are Ohioans who believe, unlike Vance, that government can do a lot of good for poor people. Yes, he can be really condescending to other poor people. But there's a lot to take away from the memoir side of the book, and its a great conversation starter. "

3.81 avg rating — 5,721 ratings

"Murray is a controversial author, and this book isn't innocent of his many shortcomings. Still, I think its worth reading a conservative libertarian's take on the growing distance between rich and poor in America. "

4.26 avg rating — 10,893 ratings

"One of the best historians of American conservatives and the Republican Party."

4.24 avg rating — 3,403 ratings

3.36 avg rating — 322 ratings

"A terrific history of America's gun obsession. The hypothesis is pedestrian but almost certainly correct: gun manufacturers in the 19th century sold arms to warring European powers to justify expanding their expensive factories, and when business subsided they turned to the American consumer to unload the surplus. Haag details the corporate history of Winchester and other arms companies, and their innovative marketing campaigns to convince Americans that owning guns, and more of them than your neighbor, was a true sign of patriotism and independence. "

4.20 avg rating — 14,816 ratings

"I'm not usually a fan of socio-cultural theories of American politics, but this book (which pretty much lifts its central hypothesis from previous work) is an entertaining introduction to regional cultural history. I'd like to see an in-depth county-level analysis of Woodward's claims about voting patterns and ideology. If you've drive around any part of this country, you'll have fun thinking about the "borders" between regions and how those region map onto, say, the Electoral College."

3.83 avg rating — 383 ratings

"A primer on tax reform written a Reagan adviser turned moderate Republican voice of reason. I read this in college and still think its one of the clearest introductions to tax reform in the last 40 years. Bartlett still writes today and is a huge critic of Trump and extremism in the GOP. "

3.99 avg rating — 6,073 ratings