Scholarly Must-Reads: Part 5

On November 8, America finally learned who would be the president of the United States for the next four years. It is hard to disagree with the fact that this election was very intense and raised a lot of questions people wish they knew how to answer. That is why in this issue of the Concordian, we are publishing the top book recommendations from the Professors of Concord University’s Political Science Department to give our readers an idea of what they can read to learn more about politics.

Dr. James A. White. Professor of Political Science.

    1.     Robert Putnam. Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis. “Putnam’s book explores why towns like the one where he grew up no longer produce children whose opportunities almost always exceed those offered to their parents. Putnam suggests that his town is now a “split-screen nightmare,” with limitless opportunities for those from the right side of town and very limited opportunities for those born “on the wrong side of the tracks.” His research suggests that there are policies and practices we can undertake to ensure that more young people can experience economic and social mobility, regardless of their parentage.”

    2.    J.D. Vance. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. “This best-selling book can be read as a case study describing one person’s attainment of the American Dream while others around him fall short. Not a scholarly book, but one that I think asks interesting questions about the route to success (although Vance’s book should probably be read not only with Putnam’s Our Kids but also with other more scholarly books like White Trash: The 400 Year History of Class in America and The End of White, Christian America).”

    3.   Jeffrey Sachs. The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity. “Sachs, an economist, suggests that America’s contemporary problems stem from too much pursuit of consumption and insufficient nurturing of personal and civic virtues like moderation, compassion, cooperation and self-awareness. Sachs emphasizes the key role played by tax-payer funded collective action in helping individuals attain personal fulfillment through collective economic prosperity.”

Dr. Sally J. Howard. Professor of Political Science.

    1.  Glenn Greenwald.  No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA and the U.S. Surveillance State. “I think that everyone should be able to state how they feel about mass surveillance (and about Snowden in particular), and the way to do that is to be informed. This is a fascinating book about one of the most important issues of our day.”

    2. John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime. “This is a great account (written for the layman) about what we thought at the time was a wild and crazy presidential campaign. Little did we know… Even though the campaign has been surpassed for craziness by 2016, it’s still a fun read. And I’m a huge fan of Heilemann and Halperin.”

    3.  Michael Harris. The Atomic Times: My H-Bomb Year at the Pacific Proving Ground. “This is half a humorous memoir of the poor soldiers stuck on a tiny island as part of the U.S.’s H-bomb project, and half a frightening account of the lies they we told about the risks involved. It’ll definitely make you question what the government tells you.”