Find the perfect book for the political junkie in your life! Recommended books -- from biographies to fiction -- for the politicos on your gift list, whether they sit on the right or left side of the aisle!
American Lion
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
Jon Meacham
Random House, $30
Andrew Jackson was President of the United States from 1829 to 1837. In this biography, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham argues that understanding Jackson and the era in which he lived can help us understand America today.
Check Prices
Jon Meacham
Random House, $30
Andrew Jackson was President of the United States from 1829 to 1837. In this biography, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham argues that understanding Jackson and the era in which he lived can help us understand America today.
Check Prices
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin: The Concise Story of an Extraordinary Man
Tim M. Berra
The Johns Hopkins University Press
This book coincides with the 200th anniversary (12 February 2009) of Darwin's birth. Learn about the man and the disruptive idea that is still a political hot potato (in some quarters) today.
Check Prices
Tim M. Berra
The Johns Hopkins University Press
This book coincides with the 200th anniversary (12 February 2009) of Darwin's birth. Learn about the man and the disruptive idea that is still a political hot potato (in some quarters) today.
Check Prices
Eats, Shoots and Leaves
Eats, Shoots and Leaves
Lynne Truss
Gotham, $25
A charming and illustrative treatise on punctuation and grammar that left me laughing out loud while sitting in the emergency room with my mother. It's a must-have for any writer on your gift list.
Check Prices
Lynne Truss
Gotham, $25
A charming and illustrative treatise on punctuation and grammar that left me laughing out loud while sitting in the emergency room with my mother. It's a must-have for any writer on your gift list.
Check Prices
The Hemingses of Monticello
The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family
Annette Gordon-Reed
W.W. Norton, $35
Winner of the National Book Award for nonfiction, this book explores the life of Sally Hemings, moving beyond her relationship to Thomas Jefferson to encompass the lives of her mother, siblings and children. How did she come to be slave and concubine to Thomas Jefferson? What was her relationship to Jefferson's wife, Martha Hemings? Find the answers to these questions in this long (798 pages, 667 before notes) and compelling history.
Check Prices
Annette Gordon-Reed
W.W. Norton, $35
Winner of the National Book Award for nonfiction, this book explores the life of Sally Hemings, moving beyond her relationship to Thomas Jefferson to encompass the lives of her mother, siblings and children. How did she come to be slave and concubine to Thomas Jefferson? What was her relationship to Jefferson's wife, Martha Hemings? Find the answers to these questions in this long (798 pages, 667 before notes) and compelling history.
Check Prices
Girls Like Us
Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon and the Journey of a Generation
Sheila Weller
Atria, $28
One thread that ties the lives of these three trailblazers together is singer-songwriter James Taylor. This long, detailed, insightful look at their lives also provides a lens to better understand the culture and politics of the 1960s. Linda Lowen reviewed the novel this summer.
Check Prices
Sheila Weller
Atria, $28
One thread that ties the lives of these three trailblazers together is singer-songwriter James Taylor. This long, detailed, insightful look at their lives also provides a lens to better understand the culture and politics of the 1960s. Linda Lowen reviewed the novel this summer.
Check Prices
Lincoln
Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer
Fred Kaplan
HarperCollins, $28
Most of us remember Abraham Lincoln as Honest Abe or as the man who held the nation together during the Civil War. For sure we know his "House Divided" speech and The Gettysburg Address. Author and English professor Fred Kaplan tells us that Lincoln was not comfortable speaking extemporaneously and wrote essays that became his speeches.
Check Prices
Fred Kaplan
HarperCollins, $28
Most of us remember Abraham Lincoln as Honest Abe or as the man who held the nation together during the Civil War. For sure we know his "House Divided" speech and The Gettysburg Address. Author and English professor Fred Kaplan tells us that Lincoln was not comfortable speaking extemporaneously and wrote essays that became his speeches.
Check Prices
Promised Land
Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America
Jay Parini
Doubleday, $25
Jay Parini provides a summary of each book featured in this collection as well as its social context and how it is perceived today, contrasted with its perception when first published. Books reviewed include: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, The Commonsense Book of Baby and Child Care (Dr. Spock), The Federalist Papers, The Feminine Mystique, How to Win Friends and Influence People, On the Road, and Uncle Tom's Cabin. Good for a review or introduction.
Check Prices
Jay Parini
Doubleday, $25
Jay Parini provides a summary of each book featured in this collection as well as its social context and how it is perceived today, contrasted with its perception when first published. Books reviewed include: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, The Commonsense Book of Baby and Child Care (Dr. Spock), The Federalist Papers, The Feminine Mystique, How to Win Friends and Influence People, On the Road, and Uncle Tom's Cabin. Good for a review or introduction.
Check Prices
Radioman
Radioman: An Eyewitness Account of Pearl Harbor and World War II In The Pacific
Carol Edgemon Hipperson
Thomas Dunne/St. Martins, $26
Military biographer Carol Edgemon Hipperson writes a first hand account of WWII from the perspective of veteran Ray Daves, using his handwritten notes.
Check Prices
Carol Edgemon Hipperson
Thomas Dunne/St. Martins, $26
Military biographer Carol Edgemon Hipperson writes a first hand account of WWII from the perspective of veteran Ray Daves, using his handwritten notes.
Check Prices
Rainbow's End
Rainbow's End
Vernor Vinge
Tor Science Fiction, $26
This near-future speculative science fiction novel features cybersecurity, duplicitious allies, crowdsourced environmental surveillance, bio-engineering and bio-terrorism. The themes may be serious, but the treatment is deft and light.
Check Prices
Vernor Vinge
Tor Science Fiction, $26
This near-future speculative science fiction novel features cybersecurity, duplicitious allies, crowdsourced environmental surveillance, bio-engineering and bio-terrorism. The themes may be serious, but the treatment is deft and light.
Check Prices
The Sixties
The Sixties: Recollections of the Decade from Harper's Magazine
Franklin Square Press, $15
This compilation from Harper's Magazine, the nation's oldest, includes profiles, interviews, essays and commentaries from the '60s, the decade of change. The focus is both political and cultural -- Vietnam, civil rights, the youth culture and three heart-wrenching assassinations.
Check Prices
Franklin Square Press, $15
This compilation from Harper's Magazine, the nation's oldest, includes profiles, interviews, essays and commentaries from the '60s, the decade of change. The focus is both political and cultural -- Vietnam, civil rights, the youth culture and three heart-wrenching assassinations.
Check Prices