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2020 Election: A Reading List
Books that examine prominent issues during this year’s presidential election.
Published on October 12, 2020
On Account of Race: The Supreme Court, White Supremacy, and the Ravaging of African American Voting Rights
On Account of Race: The Supreme Court, White Supremacy, and the Ravaging of African American Voting Rights
Lawrence GoldstoneWith the 2020 election fast approaching and people taking to the streets demanding racial justice, constitutional law expert Lawrence Goldstone’s history of voter suppression couldn’t be more urgent. Goldstone lays out how the US Supreme Court has failed again and again to strike down laws and practices blocking Black citizens from the constitutional right to vote for well over a century. An essential primer for understanding how people of color continue to be disenfranchised today.
Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man
Mary L. Trump, PhDThe much-anticipated political tell-all that some members of the Trump family didn’t want published. Mary Trump, President Donald Trump’s niece and a trained psychotherapist, attempts to explain what makes the 45th president tick. Having spent much of her young life in the house where Donald and his siblings grew up, Mary bore witness to the countless family traumas and strife that shaped the complicated man she calls the “world’s most dangerous.”
The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir
John BoltonFormer National Security Advisor John Bolton never testified in President Trump’s impeachment trial, but his memoir reveals his firsthand experiences inside a dysfunctional White House.
The Mueller Report
The Washington PostFor months, wonder swirled around what Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller would uncover about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. If you haven’t read the findings straight from the source yet, the period leading up to this year’s tumultuous election is definitely the time.
One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy
Carol AndersonVoter suppression and voter fraud have become hot topics in the lead-up to the 2020 election, as more and more people are turning to mail-in voting due to the pandemic and more and more polling stations closing. Carol Anderson, the author of “White Rage,” carefully and extensively chronicles the US’s history of voter suppression, and how it disproportionately affects minority voters.
Why We're Polarized
Ezra KleinAs “compromise” becomes a foreign word in US politics, everyone’s starting to wonder: How did we get into this viciously polarized mess? Vox co-founder Ezra Klein details how “mega-identities” started emerging in the 1960s and have been pulling us further apart ever since. A much-needed overview of the fraying of a nation.
Fear: Trump in the White House
Bob WoodwardVeteran journalist Bob Woodward’s expose takes readers into the White House for the inside story on President Trump. A follow-up, titled “Rage,” is set to come out in September.
Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House
Michael WolffThis inflammatory behind-the-scenes take on the Trump White House caused an uproar even before it was published and its contents have only become even more widely talked about since.
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
Richard RothsteinThis hard-hitting and deeply researched history exposes how governments across the country (local, state, and federal) created racially divided neighborhoods. Richard Rothstein shows how troubling polices from the past continue to affect our cities — and our justice system — today. A must-read as protests for racial equality continue across the nation.
Liberal Privilege: Joe Biden and the Democrats' Defense of the Indefensible
Donald Trump Jr.Love him or hate him, first son Donald Trump Jr. pulls no punches as he aims to go big game fishing in the Washington swamp. In this controversial book, Trump Jr. lays out his case that much of the country’s current strife owes itself to decades of bad ideas and failed policies by those on the left. If you loved Kimberly Guilfoyle’s speech at the Republican National Convention, you’re in luck: The Trump campaign spokesperson and former Fox News host narrates.