A shelf of political books, reading notes, and published reading journal entries. Open a title for the book context, linked notes, and the reading journal attached to that book.
by George Orwell
A dystopian novel set in a totalitarian state called Oceania, ruled by the all-seeing figurehead Big Brother and the Party, which controls every aspect of life. The story follows Winston Smith, a low-ranking member of the Party who works at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting historical records to fit the Party’s ever-changing version of reality.
by Tad Stoermer
A Resistance History of the United States by Tad Stoermer is a bold retelling of American history through the people and movements who refused to accept injustice as inevitable. Rather than treating resistance as a side note to the national story, Stoermer places it at the center, showing how defiance against abusive power has shaped the country from its earliest conflicts through the long struggles over liberty, citizenship, slavery, democracy, and memory. Through episodes like the Salem Witch Trials, the American Revolution, the Underground Railroad, John Brown’s fight against slavery, and the Radical Republicans’ battle for Reconstruction, the book challenges sanitized myths about American progress. Stoermer argues that the United States has always been defined by a tension between its ideals and its realities, and that meaningful freedom has come not from power granting justice, but from ordinary people forcing power to bend.
by David Bohm
Never before has there been a greater need for deeper listening and more open communication to cope with the complex problems facing our organizations, businesses, and societies. Renowned scientist David Bohm, ‘one of the most searching thinkers in modern physics’ (Nature), believed there was a better way for humanity to discover meaning and to achiever harmony. He identified creative dialogue, a sharing of assumptions and understanding, as a means by which the individual, and society as a whole, can learn more about themselves and others, and achieve a renewed sense of purpose.
by Masha Gessen
Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen is a sharp, urgent analysis of how democratic norms erode under authoritarian rule. Drawing on their experience covering Putin’s Russia, Gessen examines the rise of autocratic behavior in the United States during the Trump era-showing how language, institutions, and truth itself become warped under sustained assault. The book is both diagnosis and warning: democracy doesn’t fall overnight, but through the steady normalization of lies, cruelty, and lawlessness. Gessen urges readers to resist that normalization, reclaim moral language, and defend the fragile habits of a free society.