This spring’s politics and current events titles reflect the pressure points already on display in the first months of 2016 election season—from domestic issues such as education, the economy, and the state of our democracy, to global ones, including a bumper crop of titles on the rise of ISIS, the Arab Spring, terrorism, and U.S. foreign policy.
Politics & Current Events Top 10
And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East
Richard Engel. Simon & Schuster, Feb. 9
NBC’s chief foreign correspondent offers an up-close account of the Arab Spring, war in the Middle East, and terrorism.
The Battle for Room 314: My Year of Hope and Despair in a New York City High School
Ed Boland. Grand Central, Feb. 9
Boland chronicles a year inside a troubled a New York City school and offers a searing indictment of how even reform-minded schools still fail their students.
Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why?
Chelsea Clinton and Devi Sridhar. Oxford Univ., June 1
Clinton and Sridhar offer their analysis of how global organizations can work together to more effectively prevent the spread of disease and chronic health problems like malnutrition.
Hurricane Street
Ron Kovic. Akashic, July 12
The author of the bestseller Born on the Fourth of July writes an impassioned and timely memoir about the 1974 American Veterans Movement that will strike a chord with veterans and their families today.
If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty
Eric Metaxas. Viking, June 14
Bestselling author Metaxas offers a sobering reminder of where America’s greatness comes from, and what it will take to keep it.
Lies, Incorporated: The World of Post-Truth Politics
Ari Rabin-Havt and Media Matters for America. Anchor, Apr. 19
Rabin-Havt (coauthor of The Fox Effect) shows how today’s politics is fueled by an army of ideological warriors who operate with only a loose connection (if any) to reality.
Ratf**ked: How the Democrats Won the Presidency but Lost America
David Daley. Norton/Liveright, June 6
Daley pulls back the curtain on how Republican legislators and political operatives have rigged American democracy through redistricting.
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging
Sebastian Junger. Hachette/Twelve, May 24
From the bestselling author of War and The Perfect Storm comes this journalistic look at what happens when our veterans return home from war.
Love Wins: The Lovers, Lawyers and Activists Who Brought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality
Debbie Cenziper and Jim Obergefell. Morrow, May 31
The inside story of the Supreme Court case that led to the legalization of same-sex marriage is told by one of the plaintiffs.
United States of Jihad: Americans Fighting for Radical Islam—from al-Qaeda to ISIS
Peter Bergen. Crown, Apr. 12
Veteran journalist Bergen looks at “homegrown” Islamic terrorism, from 9/11 to the present.
Politics & Current Events Listings
Adams Media
Trump Talk: Donald Trump in His Own Words by George Beahm (Mar. 3, trade paper, $12.99, ISBN 978-1-4405-9559-2). For decades Trump has flirted with the idea of running for president; now he’s doing it. Here is Trump in his own words, including his complete opening speech of the campaign, his feud with Rosie O’Donnell, and his attacks on news commentator Megyn Kelly.
Akashic
Hurricane Street by Ron Kovic (July 12, trade paper, $15.95, ISBN 978-1-61775-450-0). The author of the bestseller Born on the Fourth of July writes an impassioned, timely memoir about the 1974 American Veterans Movement, a story that will resonate deeply as politicians debate an overhaul of the Veterans Administration. 15,000-copy announced first printing.
Anchor
Lies, Incorporated: The World of Post-Truth Politics by Ari Rabin-Havt and Media Matters for America (Apr. 19, trade paper, $15, ISBN 978-0-307-27959-0). Rabin-Havt (coauthor of The Fox Effect) takes a granular and historical approach to counterfactual political agendas, tracing these distortions of truth to their origins, and showing how the post-truth landscape is fueled by an army of ideological warriors.
And Other Stories
(dist. by Consortium)
Crossing the Sea: With Syrians on the Exodus to Europe by Wolfgang Bauer, photos by Stanislav Krupar (Apr. 12, hardcover, $21.95, ISBN 978-1-908276-82-7). In 2014, journalist Wolfgang Bauer went undercover to document the flight of Syrian refugees firsthand. The result is an incisive portrait both of the lives behind the crisis, and the systemic problems that constitute it.
Basic
Engines of Liberty: The Power of Citizen Activists to Make Constitutional Law by David Cole (Mar. 29, hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-465-06090-0). Who determines whether gay Americans can marry? Who says whether citizens can own guns? And who decides the fate of prisoners taken in the “war on terror”? Cole, an award-winning legal scholar, offers a stirring argument about the central role of citizen activists in shaping our nation’s constitutional law.
The Limousine Liberal: How a Potent Image Gave Rise to Right-Wing Populism and Transformed American Politics by Steve Fraser (May 10, hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-465055-66-1). No political metaphor in recent American history has enjoyed the impact of the “limousine liberal,” argues historian Fraser, who traces the roots of a phrase that has animated right-wing populism for decades.
Bloomsbury
Nation on the Take: How Big Money Corrupts Our Democracy and What We Can Do About It by Wendell Potter and Nick Penniman (Mar. 1, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-1-63286-109-2). New York Times bestselling author Potter and investigative reporter Penniman expose legalized corruption across our political system and explain how we can reclaim our country. 60,000-copy announced first printing.
Counterpoint
(dist. by PGW)
Breakthrough: The Making of America’s First Woman President by Nancy L. Cohen (Feb. 9, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-1-61902-611-7). More than 50 nations around the world have elected women to lead them with one gigantic exception: the United States. As social change sweeps through the nation, and with Hillary Clinton on track to secure the Democratic nomination, are we finally at a turning point?
Crown
Rogue Justice: The Making of the Security State by Karen J. Greenberg (May 24, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-0-8041-3821-5) presents a timely, deeply reported look at how the architects of the “war on terror” transformed the Department of Justice into an arm of the intelligence community, hijacking an institution charged with upholding the Constitution and the rule of law and using it as legal cover for mass surveillance and torture.
United States of Jihad: Americans Fighting for Radical Islam—from al-Qaeda to ISIS by Peter Bergen (Apr. 12, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-0-8041-3954-0). Since 9/11, some 300 Americans—born and raised in Minnesota, Alabama, New Jersey, and elsewhere—have been indicted or convicted of terrorism charges. From veteran journalist Bergen comes this riveting, panoramic look at “homegrown” Islamist terrorism.
Crown Forum
America’s Aristocracy: How Political Royalty Has Overtaken Our Government, and How to Overthrow Them by Michelle Fields (Apr. 12, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-0-553-44755-2). Fox News star Michelle Fields profiles the lifestyles of America’s Royal Political Class, and presents the best proposals for overthrowing them.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to ISIS by Robert F. Worth (Apr. 5, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-0-374-25294-6). This definitive work illuminates the Arab Spring and the wave of revolution that spread through the Middle East beginning in 2011, captures the psychic and actual civil wars raging throughout the Middle East, and explains how the dream of an Arab renaissance has given way to discord.
FSG/Crichton
Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond by Sonia Shah (Feb. 23, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-0-374-12288-1) explores the origins of epidemics, drawing parallels between the story of cholera—one of history’s most disruptive and deadly pathogens—and the new pathogens that stalk humankind today, from Ebola and avian influenza to drug-resistant superbugs.
Grand Central
The Battle for Room 314: My Year of Hope and Despair in a New York City High School by Ed Boland (Feb. 9, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-1-4555-6061-5). In the tradition of the classic Up The Down Staircase comes an unforgettable book about a year inside a troubled New York City school, a searing indictment of reform-minded schools that claim to be progressive but still fail their students. 30,000-copy announced first printing.
Greystone
My Journey into the Heart of Terror: Ten Days in the Islamic State by Jürgen Todenhöfer (May 10, hardcover, $26.95, ISBN 978-1-77164-224-8).
An alarming and enlightening firsthand account of what’s really going on behind the borders of the Islamic State by a German journalist who went out of his way to get an invitation to visit ISIS fighters in Mosul to ask them to explain their beliefs.
Hachette/Twelve
The Intimidation Game: How the Left Is Silencing Free Speech by Kimberley Strassel (Apr. 19, hardcover, $30, ISBN 978-1-4555-9188-6). The political columnist and member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board argues that liberal governance and the Democratic machine bullies the political process. 50,000-copy announced first printing.
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger (May 24, hardcover, $20, ISBN 978-1-455566-38-9). The bestselling author of War and The Perfect Storm offers this journalistic look at how our veterans are returning home from combat. 150,000-copy announced first printing.
Harper
The Way of the Gun: A Bloody Journey into the World of Firearms by Iain Overton (Mar. 22, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-0-06-234606-3).
This compelling look at the lifecycle of the gun follows those who make firearms, sell them, use them, and die by them, with a special emphasis on the United States. 25,000-copy announced first printing.
Hill and Wang
Panic at the Pump: The Energy Crisis and the Transformation of American Politics in the 1970s by Meg Jacobs (Apr. 19, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-0-8090-5847-1) shows how a succession of crises beginning with the 1973 Arab oil embargo prompted American politicians to seek energy independence, and how their failure to do so has shaped the world we now live in.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Five Easy Theses: Commonsense Solutions to America’s Greatest Economic Challenges by James Stone (May 3, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-0-544-74900-9). Business leader and economic thinker Stone outlines simple solutions to America’s five most pressing public policy issues, including healthcare, education, and inequality. 15,000-copy announced first printing.
When Women Win: Emily’s List and the Rise of Women in American Politics by Ellen R. Malcolm, with Craig Unger (Mar. 8, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-0-544-44331-0). The dramatic inside story of the rise of women in elected office over the past quarter-century, from the pioneering founder of three-million-member Emily’s List, one of the most influential players in today’s political landscape. 25,000-copy announced first printing.
Metropolitan
Listen, Liberal by Thomas Frank (Mar. 15, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-1-62779-539-5). The bestselling author of What’s the Matter With Kansas presents a scathing look at the standard-bearers of liberal politics—a book that asks: what’s the matter with Democrats?
Morrow
Love Wins: The Lovers, Lawyers and Activists Who Brought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality by Debbie Cenziper and Jim Obergefell (May 31, hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-06-245608-3). The fascinating and very moving story of the lovers, lawyers, judges, and activists behind the groundbreaking Supreme Court case that led to one of the most important, national civil rights victories in decades—the legalization of same-sex marriage. 250,000-copy announced first printing.
Morrow/Dey Street
The Best Worst President: What the Right Gets Wrong About Barack Obama by Mark Hannah and Bob Staake (June 28, hardcover, $23.99, ISBN 978-0-06-244305-2). Political analyst and Democratic campaign veteran Hannah and renowned New Yorker illustrator Bob Staake give Barack Obama the victory lap in a compendium that takes the president’s critics head-on. 75,000-copy announced first printing.
Nation
People Get Ready: The Fight Against a Jobless Economy and a Citizenless Democracy by Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols (Mar. 8, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-56858-521-5) argues that the United States needs a new economy in which the benefits of revolutionary technologies are shared by everyone. The authors propose a bold strategy for fighting back and democratizing our digital destiny.
To Protect and to Serve: How to Fix America’s Police by Norm Stamper (June 7, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-56858-540-6) offers new insights into the conditions that have created what Stamper views as a crisis in American policing, and delivers a revolutionary new model for American law enforcement that calls for citizen participation in all aspects of police operations.
Norton
The Pragmatic Superpower: Winning the Cold War in the Middle East by Ray Takeyh and Steven Simon (Apr. 18, hardcover, $27.95, ISBN 978-0-393-08151-0). Foreign policy experts Takeyh and Simon reframe the legacy of U.S. involvement in the Middle East during the years 1945–1991, shedding new light on the makings of the contemporary Middle East and its challenges today.
Norton/Liveright
Ratf**ked: How the Democrats Won the Presidency but Lost America by David Daley (June 6, hardcover, $26.95, ISBN 978-1-63149-162-7) pulls back the curtain on one of the greatest heists in American political history—how Republican legislators and political operatives fundamentally rigged our American democracy through redistricting.
Oxford Univ.
Blood Year: The Unraveling of Western Counterterrorism by David Kilcullen (Mar. 1, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 978-0-19-060054-9). In 2008, it appeared that the U.S. might pull a modest stalemate from the jaws of defeat in Iraq, but years later the situation had reversed. Kilcullen offers a look at why a region the U.S. invaded a dozen years ago has collapsed into utter chaos, and what can alleviate the grim situation.
Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why? by Chelsea Clinton and Devi Sridhar (June 1, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 978-0-19-025327-1) provides an evenhanded and thorough empirical analysis of one of the most pressing topics in world affairs, shedding light on how organizations can more effectively prevent the spread of communicable diseases like AIDS and reduce pervasive chronic health problems like malnutrition.
Penguin Press
The Opposite of Woe: My Life in Beer and Politics by John Hickenlooper and Maximillian Potter (May 17, hardcover, $30, ISBN 978-1-101-98167-2) is a personal and political memoir by the governor of Colorado.
Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror by Michael V. Hayden (Feb. 23, hardcover, $30, ISBN 978-1-59420-656-6). An unprecedented look at America’s intelligence wars comes from the only person ever to helm both the CIA and the NSA.
Penguin/Blue Rider
We’re Still Right—And They’re Still Wrong by James Carville (July 5, hardcover, $25, ISBN 978-0-399-57622-5). Political pundit Carville offers an updated plan of attack for liberals as the 2016 election approaches.
Penguin/Sentinel
Flyover Nation: You Can’t Run a Country You’ve Never Been To by Dana Loesch (June 21, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-0-399-56388-1). Blaze TV and radio host Loesch argues that the biggest political problem today is that the people who run this country have no idea what life is really like for ordinary Americans.
The Long Game by Mitch McConnell (May 24, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-0-399-56410-9). This memoir by the Kentucky senator and majority leader covers his entire life and career, from his childhood battle with polio to the most recent dramas on Capitol Hill.
Princeton Univ.
ISIS: A Short History by Fawaz A. Gerges (Feb. 26, hardcover, $27.95, ISBN 978-0-691-17000-8). One of the leading authorities on political Islam and jihadism offers an essential read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of ISIS and the social turmoil and political violence ravaging the Arab-Islamic world.
PublicAffairs
The Long Game: How Obama Defied Washington and Redefined America’s Role in the World by Derek Chollet (June 28, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-61039-660-8). Obama administration insider Chollet corrects common misperceptions to show how President Obama has done more to alter American foreign policy than any Democratic president since Kennedy.
We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrrl to CoverGirl, the Buying and Selling of a Political Movement by Andi Zeisler (May 3, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-61039-589-2). Feminism is no longer
a collective action on behalf of all women and those traditionally marginalized, argues Andi Zeisler, the founding editor and creative director of Bitch magazine, but more about self-actualization of the few.
Random House
The War of the End of Times by Graeme Wood (Mar. 22, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-0-8129-8875-8) looks at the distinctive history and psychology of ISIS, based on Wood’s unprecedented access to the Islamic State’s recruiters and supporters, and his extensive time reporting throughout the region.
America’s War for the Greater Middle East by Andrew J. Bacevich (April 5, hardcover, $30, ISBN 978-0-553-39393-4). A retired Army colonel and New York Times bestselling author offers a searing reassessment of U.S. military involvement in the Greater Middle East over the past four decades.
The Third War by Jay Solomon (June 6, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-0-8129-9364-6). A Wall Street Journal foreign affairs correspondent explores the decades-long hostility between Iran and the United States, and the historic, potentially dangerous, nuclear deal.
Random/Ballantine
United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing Common by Cory Booker (Feb. 16, hardcover, ISBN 978-1-101-96516-0). The U.S. senator from New Jersey sounds a call to reorient our civic discourse around the principles of empathy and solidarity.
Regnery
Defeating Jihad by Sebastian Gorka (Apr. 11, hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-62157-457-6). The counterinsurgency expert and professor at the Department of Defense’s National Defense University explains how America can win the war on terror quickly and decisively. 35,000-copy announced first printing.
Hillary’s America by Dinesh D’Souza (July 11, hardcover, $29.99, ISBN 978-1-62157-347-0). Dinesh D’Souza, conservative author of the New York Times bestseller America, argues that Hillary Clinton is a Nixonian political gangster out to control the country’s wealth. 300,000-copy announced first printing.
Scribner
Far and Away: Reports from the Brink of Change: Seven Continents, Twenty-Five Years by Andrew Solomon (Apr. 19, hardcover, $29, ISBN 978-1-4767-9504-1). From the winner of the National Book Award and the National Books Critics’ Circle Award, a collection of essays about places undergoing seismic shifts—political, cultural, and spiritual.
Simon & Schuster
American Amnesia: How the War on Government Led Us to Forget What Made America Rich by Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson (Mar. 15, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-1-4516-6782-0). The author team behind the bestselling Winner-Take-All Politics brings a timely and topical work that examines what’s good for American business and what’s good for Americans—and why those interests are often misaligned.
And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East by Richard Engel (Feb. 9, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-1-4516-3511-9). Based on two decades of reporting, NBC’s chief foreign correspondent submits his riveting story of the Middle East revolutions, the Arab Spring, war, and terrorism seen up close—sometimes dangerously so.
S&S/Threshold
Buyer’s Remorse: How Obama and the Democrats Let Progressives Down by Bill Press (Feb. 2, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-1-4767-9261-3). The prominent liberal syndicated radio and television host explains the many ways President Obama has failed to live up to his progressive potential, leaving Democrats disillusioned.
Skyhorse
Inside the Middle East: Making Sense of the Most Dangerous and Complicated Region on Earth by Avi Melamed (Feb. 23, hardcover, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-634505-72-7). An Israeli intelligence analyst challenges widely accepted perceptions and provides a guide to make sense of the events unfolding in the region. 30,000-copy announced first printing.
Skyhorse/Arcade
(dist. by Perseus)
The Mind of a Terrorist: David Headley, the Mumbai Massacre, and His European Revenge by Kaare Sørensen, trans. by Cory Klingsporn (June 7, hardcover, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-62872-514-8). In a dramatic feat of reportage, veteran journalist Sørensen reconstructs the movements of the American-born Headley, based on emails and chatroom caches of more than 9,000 messages, revealing the disturbing story of the mastermind behind the 2008 attack in Mumbai that killed 166 people. 10,000-copy announced first printing.
Skyhorse/Hot Books
American Nuremberg: The U.S. Officials Who Should Stand Trial for Post-9/11 War Crimes by Rebecca Gordon (Mar. 1, hardcover, $21.99, ISBN 978-1-5107-0333-9) takes on the explosive task of “indicting” the officials who, Gordon believes, should be put on international trial for war crimes. 50,000-copy announced first printing.
Food Chained: How the Agri-Business Oligarchy Has Monopolized the World Food Supply and the Disastrous Results for Farmers and Consumers by Mark Schapiro (July 5, hardcover, $21.99, ISBN 978-1-5107-0576-0) investigates concerns about climate change, chronic drought in essential farm states like California, the persistence of junk food culture, the proliferation of GMOs, and the alarming domination of the seed market and our very life cycle by global giants like Monsanto. 30,000-copy announced first printing.
St. Martin’s
The Big Letdown: How Medicine, Big Business, and Feminism Undermine Breastfeeding by Kimberly Seals Allers (July 5, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-250-02696-5). An author and breastfeeding advocate offers a fascinating sociohistorical look into the hotly contested controversies surrounding breastfeeding.
Blackballed: The Black and White Politics of Race on America’s Campuses by Lawrence Ross (Feb. 2, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-250-07911-4). An explosive and controversial book rips the lid off the racism often seen on the campuses of American colleges and universities.
St. Martin’s/Dunne
Poison Tea: How Big Oil and Big Tobacco Invented the Tea Party and Captured the GOP by Jeff Nesbit (May 3, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-250-07610-6). An exposé of the Koch brothers and the tobacco industry’s 20-year plot to manufacture a phony grassroots uprising, the Tea Party.
RIP GOP: The Decline and Fall of a Once-Great Party by Martin Schram (Apr. 5, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-250-06976-4). The award-winning author and Washington-based journalist predicts the downfall of the Republican Party, using numerical analysis.
Verso
The Killing of Osama Bin Laden: The Real Story Behind the Lies by Seymour M. Hersh (Apr. 12, hardcover, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-78478-436-2) argues that the official narrative of the killing of Osama bin Laden is a lie, one of many lies world’s leaders now tell us with seeming impunity.
Viking
If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty by Eric Metaxas (June 14, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-1-101-97998-3). New York Times–bestselling author Metaxas offers a sobering reminder that America’s greatness cannot continue unless we truly understand what our founding fathers meant for us to be.
While the City Slept: A Love Lost to Violence and a Young Man’s Descent into Madness by Eli Sanders (Feb. 2, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-0-670-01571-9). A Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter’s gripping account of one young man’s path to murder—and a wake-up call for mental health care in America.
