Best Books for July 4th/Independence Day

“Tocqueville, in a way, was the first sociologist, though that field didn’t exist in the 1830s, when he wrote the book. In it, he looks at the formal institutions of American democracy—Congress, and the presidency, and so forth—but what everybody really takes away from it is that those institutions ride on top of the morals and mores and habits of the underlying society…Tocqueville gives you a different analysis that looks beneath the surface of the visible institutions and tries to understand the moral habits that underlie the workings of those institutions. It’s really looking at the society rather than just the formal laws and whatnot.” Read more...

The best books on Liberal Democracy

Francis Fukuyama, Political Scientist

“Zinn’s book has sold over two million copies. It’s probably the most popular work of nonfiction that any radical has written in American history. It’s a history of what he calls the ‘1%” and the “99%’. It’s an interpretation of all of American history, from the Native Americans before European settlement all the way up to 9/11 in the last edition. In his telling, workers, blacks, women, Native Americans, Chicanos and other groups struggled for higher wages, truer democracy and sometimes a different kind of society entirely, but they keep getting defeated.” Read more...

The best books on The Roots of Radicalism

Michael Kazin, Historian

“Instead of writing a massive 700-page book, Ellis just gives you seven events which will tell you everything you need to know.” Read more...

The best books on Horticulture

Andrea Wulf, Historian