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Matthew Yglesias's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Matthew Yglesias recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Matthew Yglesias's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1
The American Political Tradition is one of the most influential and widely read historical volumes of our time. First published in 1948, its elegance, passion, and iconoclastic erudition laid the groundwork for a totally new understanding of the American past. By writing a "kind of intellectual history of the assumptions behind American politics," Richard Hofstadter changed the way Americans understand the relationship between power and ideas in their national experience. Like only a handful of American historians before him—Frederick Jackson Turner and Charles A. Beard are... more
Recommended by Matthew Yglesias, and 1 others.

Matthew YglesiasI read this when I was a teenager. My father had it on his shelf. I’m sure it’s been superseded in the scholarly world by more up-to-date work, but Hofstadter is a great writer. He’s someone who is both an interpreter of historical figures, but also helped shaped the progressive tradition in America. The book is about a paradox that runs through American history, that a lot of progressive change... (Source)

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2

Justice, Gender, and the Family

In the first feminist critique of modern political theory, Okin shows how the failure to apply theories of justice to the family not only undermines our most cherished democratic values but has led to a major crisis over gender-related issues. less
Recommended by Matthew Yglesias, and 1 others.

Matthew YglesiasSusan Okin has written a book which is not visceral at all. It’s an intellectual book, it’s very abstract. It engages with all of the great men of political theory through a feminist lens, in a very rigorous and analytical way. (Source)

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3
Equality is the endangered species of political ideals. Even left-of-center politicians reject equality as an ideal: government must combat poverty, they say, but need not strive that its citizens be equal in any dimension. In his new book Ronald Dworkin insists, to the contrary, that equality is the indispensable virtue of democratic sovereignty. A legitimate government must treat all its citizens as equals, that is, with equal respect and concern, and, since the economic distribution that any society achieves is mainly the consequence of its system of law and policy, that requirement... more
Recommended by Matthew Yglesias, and 1 others.

Matthew YglesiasI really like this book a lot. Even though it’s not the best-known, big philosophical book in this regard, I think putting the value of equality front and centre really expresses progressive politics in the right way (Source)

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4
A groundbreaking work that identifies the real culprit behind one of the great economic crimes of our time— the growing inequality of incomes between the vast majority of Americans and the richest of the rich.

We all know that the very rich have gotten a lot richer these past few decades while most Americans haven’t. In fact, the exorbitantly paid have continued to thrive during the current economic crisis, even as the rest of Americans have continued to fall behind. Why do the “haveit- alls” have so much more? And how have they managed to restructure the economy to reap the...
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Keith EllisonWinner-Take-All Politics puts complex economic ideas into language that we understand. It takes a fresh look at the increase in inequality over the last thirty to forty years. (Source)

Matthew YglesiasIt’s had a huge impact among people who are inclined to read and talk about books. I’m not sure how far that goes in Washington. Unfortunately, one of the problems with becoming a powerful politician is that you don’t really have time to read anything. But its importance is definitely not just an idiosyncratic inclination of mine. Everyone has been reading it. Everyone has been writing and... (Source)

Robert J ShillerThis book is about rising inequality and it traces back to fundamental causes. I like books that get back to ultimate causes and that think like social scientists about these causes. The question is, ‘Why is inequality getting worse in so many different countries?’ This book particularly focuses on the US. There are a number of traditional answers, but the most prominent among them is this idea... (Source)

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5
In Jared Diamond’s follow-up to the Pulitzer-Prize winning Guns, Germs and Steel, the author explores how climate change, the population explosion and political discord create the conditions for the collapse of civilization

Environmental damage, climate change, globalization, rapid population growth, and unwise political choices were all factors in the demise of societies around the world, but some found solutions and persisted. As in Guns, Germs, and Steel, Diamond traces the fundamental pattern of catastrophe, and weaves an all-encompassing global thesis through a series of...
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Bill GatesI found this to be an interesting follow-up to the excellent Guns, Germs, and Steel. It examines the downfall of some of history's greatest civilizations. (Source)

Matthew YglesiasI wanted to get a book on my list that is actually enjoyable to read, so not everything is quite so dry and dull as a narrative. I also wanted to include something that reflects the growing importance of environmental and ecological concerns to progressive politics in America. This is relatively new to the agenda – it’s only been in the last 30 to 35 years. But going forward, one of the most... (Source)

Stefan LessardHe should read this book I’m almost finished with. Jared Diamond is one of my favorite historical authors. https://t.co/f9JLYlsc4v https://t.co/KtPgMZaWen (Source)

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6
Recommended by Matthew Yglesias, and 1 others.

Matthew YglesiasYears ago @DeanBaker13 and @econjared wrote a great little book called “The Benefits of Full Employment: When Markets Work for People.” Flipside of that is if you’ve lived most of your life in the 21st century you’ll think markets don’t work for people. (Source)

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7
Lost in the raging debate over the validity of social construction is the question of what, precisely, is being constructed. Facts, gender, quarks, reality? Is it a person? An object? An idea? A theory? Each entails a different notion of social construction, Ian Hacking reminds us. His book explores an array of examples to reveal the deep issues underlying contentious accounts of reality.

Especially troublesome in this dispute is the status of the natural sciences, and this is where Hacking finds some of his most telling cases, from the conflict between biological and social...
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Recommended by Matthew Yglesias, and 1 others.

Matthew Yglesias@karlbykarlsmith I don’t love the phrase “social construct” in any context but I think Ian Hacking’s book The Social Construction of What? is a useful discussion. (Source)

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8

Billionaires and Stealth Politics

In 2016, when millions of Americans voted for Donald Trump, many believed his claims that personal wealth would free him from wealthy donors and allow him to “drain the swamp.” But then Trump appointed several billionaires and multimillionaires to high-level positions and pursued billionaire-friendly policies, such as cutting corporate income taxes. Why the change from his fiery campaign rhetoric and promises to the working class? This should not be surprising, argue Benjamin I. Page, Jason Seawright, and Matthew J. Lacombe: As the gap between the wealthiest and the rest of us has widened,... more
Recommended by Matthew Yglesias, and 1 others.

Matthew YglesiasIn their great book “Billionaires and Stealth Politics” what Page, Seawright, and Lacomb find is that most billionaires don’t seek publicity for their activities & mostly donate to right-wing causes like regressive tax cuts & lower government spending. https://t.co/yjhJszalUX (Source)

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9

Deep Roots

How Slavery Still Shapes Southern Politics

The lasting effects of slavery on contemporary political attitudes in the American South

Despite dramatic social transformations in the United States during the last 150 years, the South has remained staunchly conservative. Southerners are more likely to support Republican candidates, gun rights, and the death penalty, and southern whites harbor higher levels of racial resentment than whites in other parts of the country. Why haven't these sentiments evolved or changed? Deep Roots shows that the entrenched political and racial views of contemporary white southerners...
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Recommended by Matthew Yglesias, and 1 others.

Matthew YglesiasWell deserved recognition for a great book. Also nice to see the discipline of political science honoring one of the greatest first officers in Starfleet history. https://t.co/lz2jnsbA5e (Source)

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10

The Crimean War

A History

From "the great storyteller of modern Russian historians," (Financial Times) the definitive account of the forgotten war that shaped the modern age

The Charge of the Light Brigade, Florence Nightingale—these are the enduring icons of the Crimean War. Less well-known is that this savage war (1853-1856) killed almost a million soldiers and countless civilians; that it enmeshed four great empires—the British, French, Turkish, and Russian—in a battle over religion as well as territory; that it fixed the fault lines between Russia and the West; that it set in motion the...
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Recommended by Matthew Yglesias, and 1 others.

Matthew Yglesias@cjane87 I liked Orlando Figes’ book in Crimea but it’s the only one I’ve read so I can’t say if it’s best (Source)

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Don't have time to read Matthew Yglesias's favorite books? Read Shortform summaries.

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11
The Economists' Hour is the biography of a revolution: The story of how economists who believed in the power and the glory of free markets transformed the business of government, the conduct of business and, as a result, the patterns of everyday life. In the four decades between 1969 and 2008, these economists played a leading role in reshaping taxation and public spending and clearing the way for globalization. They reshaped the government's approach to regulation, assigning a value to human life to determine which rules are worthwhile. Economists even convinced President Nixon to end... more

Greg Sargent.@BCAppelbaum has written a great new book -- a scathing indictment of the economics profession and its dogmatic faith in markets, and their role in creating our current disastrous mess. I spoke to Appelbaum about his book. A fascinating conversation: https://t.co/xbrTbBESPW (Source)

Matthew YglesiasI podcasted with @BCAppelbaum about his great new book about how economists ruined everything. https://t.co/4cD0bX7Byl (Source)

John HarwoodBinyamin’s book provides the intellectual backstory for how we got to where we are today. (Source)

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12
A nonfiction investigation into masculinity, For the Love of Men provides actionable steps for how to be a man in the modern world while also exploring how being a man has evolved.

In 2019, traditional masculinity is both rewarded and sanctioned. Men grow up being told that boys don’t cry and dolls are for girls. They learn they must hide their feelings and anxieties, that their masculinity must constantly be proven. They must be the breadwinners. They must be the romantic pursuers. This hasn’t been good for the culture at large: 99% of school shooters are male; men...
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Arianna Huffington.@feministabulous's new and vital book, "For the Love of Men," is not just about our misguided notions of masculinity, it’s a guide for how we can get to a better place for both men and women. https://t.co/W8uT1WKHQk (Source)

Brett S. VergaraThis was SUCH a great and fun talk around masculinity and I can’t recommend it + reading @feministabulous new book on it enough 📚 💯 @viallnicholas28 https://t.co/XZVVIyOIB1 (Source)

Cindy Gallop@3PercentConf "I cannot recommend to you too highly, white men in advertising, but also to everyone in this audience, please read @feministabulous's brilliant book, 'For The Love Of Men: A New Vision For Mindful Masculinity'" @3PercentConf https://t.co/fvNRLNrysR #changetheratio #diversity (Source)

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Don't have time to read Matthew Yglesias's favorite books? Read Shortform summaries.

Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:

  • Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
  • Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
  • Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.