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Politics Books

Examine the complexities of democracy, policy, and international relations here in our Politics section at Thryft. Whether you’re interested in political theory, governance, or recent political events, we’ve got the titles to quench your curiosity. Engage with works by political scientists, renowned authors, and essential essays that shape today’s political discourse.

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Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Hollywood Media Empire
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James B. Stewart | Cornerstone Press

Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Hollywood Media Empire

$18.90

Goodreads rating: 3.75

$18.90

Prize-winning authors James B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams have both won Pulitzer Prizes for investigative reporting.
The White House Plumbers: The Seven Weeks That Led to Watergate and Doomed Nixon's Presidency
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Egil “Bud” Krogh | Swift Press

The White House Plumbers: The Seven Weeks That Led to Watergate and Doomed Nixon's Presidency

$11.90

Goodreads rating: 3.33

$11.90

SOON TO BE A FIVE-PART HBO SERIES, STARRING WOODY HARRELSON AND JUSTIN THEROUX. The true story of the White House Plumbers, a secret unit inside Nixon's White House, their ill-conceived plans to stop the leaks of the Pentagon Papers, and how they led to Watergate and the president's demise. On July 17, 1971, Egil "Bud" Krogh was summoned to a closed-door meeting by his mentor—and a key confidant of the president—John Ehrlichman. Expecting to discuss the most recent drug-control program launched in Vietnam, Krogh was shocked when Ehrlichman handed him a file and the responsibility for the Special Investigations Unit, or SIU, later to be notoriously known as "The Plumbers." The Plumbers' work, according to Nixon, was critical to national security; they were to investigate the leaks of top-secret government documents, including the Pentagon Papers, to the press. The White House Plumbers is Krogh's account of what really happened behind the closed doors of the Nixon White House, how a good man can make bad decisions, and the redemptive power of integrity. Including the story of how Krogh served time and later rebuilt his life, The White House Plumbers is gripping, thoughtful, and a cautionary tale of placing loyalty over principle.
The Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, Bill of Rights & Amendments
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Founding Fathers, Tony Darnell  | 12th Media Services

The Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, Bill of Rights & Amendments

$8.90

Goodreads rating: 4.44

$8.90

A comprehensive collection of the most important documents that shaped the United States. This book includes: The Declaration of Independence; The Articles of Confederation; The Constitution of the United States of America; The 1789 Joint Resolution of Congress Proposing 12 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution; The Preamble to the Constitution; The Bill of Rights: Amendments 1–10; The Constitution: Amendments 11–27; and Brief Histories of the Founding Fathers.
Down and Out in Paris and London
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George Orwell | Penguin

Down and Out in Paris and London

$8.90

Goodreads rating: 4.09

$8.90

52% off est. retail
To be poor and destitute in 1920s Paris and London was to experience life at its lowest ebb. George Orwell, penniless and with nowhere to go, found himself experiencing just this as he wandered the streets of both capitals in search of a job. By day, he tramped the streets, often passing time with 'screevers' or street artists, drunks and other hobos. At night, he stood in line for a bed in a 'spike' or doss house, where a cup of sugary tea, a hunk of stale bread and a blanket were the only sustenance and comfort on offer. Down and Out in Paris and London is George Orwell's haunting account of the streets and those who have no choice but to live on them.
Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins
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Annie Jacobsen | Little, Brown Paperbacks

Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins

$19.90

Goodreads rating: 4.31

$19.90

50% off est. retail
From Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen, the untold USA Today bestselling story of the CIA's secret paramilitary units. Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins. When diplomacy fails, and war is unwise, the president calls on the CIA's Special Activities Division, a highly classified branch of the CIA and the most effective, black operations force in the world. Originally known as the president's guerrilla warfare corps, SAD conducts risky and ruthless operations that have evolved over time to defend America from its enemies. Almost every American president since World War II has asked the CIA to conduct sabotage, subversion and, yes, assassination. With unprecedented access to forty-two men and women who proudly and secretly worked on CIA covert operations from the dawn of the Cold War to the present day, along with declassified documents and deep historical research, Jacobsen unveils -- like never before -- a complex world of individuals working in treacherous environments populated with killers, connivers, and saboteurs. Despite Hollywood notions of off-book operations and external secret hires, covert action is actually one piece in a colossal foreign policy machine. Written with the pacing of a thriller, Surprise, Kill, Vanish brings to vivid life the sheer pandemonium and chaos, as well as the unforgettable human will to survive and the intellectual challenge of not giving up hope that define paramilitary and intelligence work. Jacobsen's exclusive interviews -- with members of the CIA's Senior Intelligence Service (equivalent to the Pentagon's generals), its counterterrorism chiefs, targeting officers, and Special Activities Division's Ground Branch operators who conduct today's close-quarters killing operations around the world -- reveal, for the first time, the enormity of this shocking, controversial, and morally complex terrain. Is the CIA's paramilitary army America's weaponized strength, or a liability to its principled standing in the world? Every operation reported in this book, however unsettling, is legal.
The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations
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The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations

$17.90

$17.90

38% off est. retail
Daniel Yergin's The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations offers a comprehensive, timely account of how energy revolutions, climate policy, and geopolitics are reshaping the world. It explains how the shale boom transformed the United States into a leading energy power, how concerns about climate change intersect with energy demand, and how the rivalry among the United States, China, and other powers is redefining global politics. The book maps a new energy order where security, technology, markets, and policy interact to shape the future of nations.
Freedom
Just Arrived
Sebastian Junger | Fourth Estate

Freedom

$11.90

Goodreads rating: 3.76

$11.90

56% off est. retail
A profound rumination on the concept of freedom from the New York Times–bestselling author of Tribe. Throughout history, humans have been driven by the quest for two cherished ideals: community and freedom. The two don’t coexist easily; we value individuality and self-reliance yet are utterly dependent on community for our most basic needs. In this intricately crafted and thought-provoking book, Sebastian Junger examines the tension that lies at the heart of what it means to be human. For much of a year, Junger and three friends—a conflict photographer and two Afghan war vets—walk the railroad lines of the east coast of the United States. It is an experiment in personal autonomy, but also in interdependence. Dodging railroad cops, sleeping under bridges, cooking over fires and drinking from creeks and rivers, the four men forge a unique reliance on one another. In Freedom, Junger weaves his account of this journey with other topics: primatology and boxing strategy, the history of labour strikes and Apache renegades, the role of women in resistance movements, and the brutal reality of life on the Pennsylvania frontier. Written in exquisite, razor-sharp prose, the result is a powerful examination of the primary desire that defines us.
Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations Into Extrasensory Perception
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Annie Jacobsen | Little, Brown Paperbacks

Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations Into Extrasensory Perception

$12.90

Goodreads rating: 3.94

$12.90

69% off est. retail
The definitive history of the military's decades-long investigation into mental powers and phenomena, from the author of Pulitzer Prize finalist The Pentagon's Brain and international bestseller Area 51. This is a book about a team of scientists and psychics with top-secret clearances. For more than forty years, the U.S. government has researched extrasensory perception, using it in attempts to locate hostages, fugitives, secret bases, and downed fighter jets, to divine other nations' secrets, and even to predict future threats to national security. The intelligence agencies and military services involved include CIA, DIA, NSA, DEA, the Navy, Air Force, and Army—and even the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Now, for the first time, New York Times bestselling author Annie Jacobsen tells the story of these radical, controversial programs, using never-before-seen declassified documents as well as exclusive interviews with, and unprecedented access to, more than fifty of the individuals involved. Speaking on the record, many for the first time, are former CIA and Defense Department scientists, analysts, and program managers, as well as the government psychics themselves. Who did the U.S. government hire for these top-secret programs, and how do they explain their military and intelligence work? How do scientists approach such enigmatic subject matter? What interested the government in these supposed powers and does the research continue? Phenomena is a riveting investigation into how far governments will go in the name of national security.
The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top Secret Military Research Agency
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Annie Jacobsen | Back Bay Books

The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top Secret Military Research Agency

$12.90

Goodreads rating: 4.0

$12.90

71% off est. retail
National Bestseller. A Pulitzer Prize Finalist, and the definitive history of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, from the author of the New York Times bestseller Area 51. No one has ever written the history of the Defense Department's most secret, most powerful, and most controversial military science R&D agency. In the first-ever history of the organization, New York Times bestselling author Annie Jacobsen draws on inside sources, exclusive interviews, private documents, and declassified memos to paint a picture of DARPA, or "the Pentagon's brain," from its Cold War inception in 1958 to the present. This is the book on DARPA—a compelling narrative about this clandestine intersection of science and the American military—and the often frightening results.
Surprised by Scripture: Engaging with Contemporary Issues
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N.T. Wright | Spck

Surprised by Scripture: Engaging with Contemporary Issues

$8.90

Goodreads rating: 4.12

$8.90

64% off est. retail
In this challenging collection of Tom Wright’s recent sermons and speeches, Surprised by Scripture offers case studies showing how the Bible can be applied to pressing contemporary issues. It explores loving the Bible while affirming evolution, how belief in heaven can motivate Christians to be at the forefront of the environmental movement, and why Christians today should engage more fully in politics. Helpful and practical, the book demonstrates how to affirm the Bible in today’s world and maps out new ways to apply its principles in everyday life.
The World We See - Leadership Lessons From Australia's Iconic Change Makers
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Sarah Liu | Sarah Liu, The Dream Collective

The World We See - Leadership Lessons From Australia's Iconic Change Makers

$9.90

Goodreads rating: 3.5

$9.90

The World We See is not just a compilation of leadership insights from 30 iconic Australian leaders, but a collective declaration that we will create a world where gender parity is not a dream, but a reality. In this book, female and male leaders share their life lessons and vision for a better tomorrow, where every single one of us, regardless of gender, can rise up to get us one step closer to the world we envision.
How to Speak Money: What the Money People Say – And What It Really Means
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John Lanchester | W. W. Norton & Company

How to Speak Money: What the Money People Say – And What It Really Means

$14.90

Goodreads rating: 3.73

$14.90

63% off est. retail
How finance really works — by the writer hailed for “explaining complex stuff in a down-to-earth and witty style” (Economist). To those who don’t speak it, the language of money can seem impenetrable and its ideas too complex to grasp. How to Speak Money is acclaimed writer John Lanchester’s entertaining and informative attempt to bridge the gap between the money people and the rest of us. With characteristic wit and candor (“wickedly funny” — Dwight Garner, New York Times), Lanchester shows how the world of finance and economics really works — from the terms and conditions of your personal checking account to the evasions of bankers appearing in front of Congress. How to Speak Money reveals how the language of money is often a tool to conceal and mislead; he explains hundreds of common economic terms, from GDP to the IMF, amortization to securitization to collateralized debt obligation; and he argues that we all need to speak money lest those who do write the financial rules for themselves.
Red Roulette: An Insider's Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption and Vengeance in Today's China
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Desmond Shum | Simon & Schuster Uk

Red Roulette: An Insider's Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption and Vengeance in Today's China

$13.90

Goodreads rating: 3.91

$13.90

This powerful and disturbing New York Times bestseller is written by Desmond Shum, and centers on his wife Whitney Duan, who, together, rose to the top levels of power and wealth—then fell out of favor. Whitney had disappeared four years earlier, but the book chronicles her dramatic reemergence. As Desmond Shum grew up impoverished in China, he vowed his life would be different. Through hard work and tenacity he earned an American college degree and returned to his native country to establish himself in business. There, he met his future wife, Whitney Duan, who was determined to make her mark within China's male-dominated society. Whitney and Desmond formed an effective team and, aided by relationships with top members of China’s Communist Party—the so-called red aristocracy—he vaulted into China’s billionaire class. They developed major projects, traveled on private jets, funded multi-million-dollar buildings and endowments, and purchased expensive homes, vehicles, and art. But in 2017, their fates diverged irrevocably when Desmond, while residing overseas with his son, learned that his now-ex-wife Whitney had vanished along with three coworkers.
Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell
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John Preston | Viking

Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell

$8.90

Goodreads rating: 4.21

$8.90

68% off est. retail
A dramatic, gripping account of the rise and fall of the notorious business tycoon Robert Maxwell from the acclaimed author of A Very English Scandal — available for pre-order now. In February 1991, Robert Maxwell made a triumphant entrance into Manhattan harbour on board his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine. He had come to complete his purchase of the ailing New York Daily News. Crowds lined the quayside to watch his arrival. Taxi drivers stopped their cabs to shake his hand, children asked for his autograph and when Maxwell went to dine in the most fashionable Chinese restaurant in Manhattan, all the diners gave him a standing ovation. 10 months later, he disappeared off the same yacht and was found dead in the water. Within a few days, Maxwell was being reviled as the embodiment of greed and unscrupulousness. No one had ever fallen so far and so quickly. What went so wrong? How did a man who had once laid such store on the importance of ethics and good behaviour become reduced to a bloated, amoral wreck? 'Preston is a natural storyteller' The Times
Reporter: A Memoir
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Seymour M. Hersh | Penguin

Reporter: A Memoir

$10.90

Goodreads rating: 4.13

$10.90

61% off est. retail
"Reporter is just wonderful. Truly a great life, and what shines out of the book, amid the low cunning and tireless legwork, is Hersh's warmth and humanity. Essential reading for every journalist and aspiring journalist the world over." — John le Carré In the early 1950s, teenage Seymour Hersh was finishing high school and university — while running the family's struggling dry cleaning store in a South Side Chicago ghetto. Today, he is one of America's premier investigative journalists, whose fearless reporting has earned him fame, front-page bylines in virtually every newspaper in the world, a staggering collection of awards, and no small amount of controversy. Reporter is the story of how he did it. It is a story of slog, ingenuity and defiance, following Hersh from his first job as a crime reporter for the Chicago City News Bureau, through his Pulitzer Prize-winning freelance investigative exposes, to the heights of his reporting for The New York Times and The New Yorker. It is a tale of night-time encounters with great Civil Rights leaders, unauthorised meetings with Pentagon officials, raucous dinners with Canadian soldiers in Hanoi, tense phone calls with Secretaries of State, desperate to save face; of exposing myriad military and political wrongdoing, from My Lai to Watergate to Abu Ghraib, and the cynical cover-ups that followed in Washington and New York. Here too are unforgettable encounters with some of the most formidable figures from recent decades, from Saul Bellow to Martin Luther King Jr., from Henry Kissinger to Bashar al-Assad. Ultimately, in unfurling Seymour Hersh's life and career, Reporter tells a story of twentieth-century America, in all its excitement and darkness.
At War With War: 5,000 Years of Conquests, Invasions, and Terrorist Attacks — An Illustrated Timeline
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Seymour Chwast, Victor S. Navasky  | Seven Stories Press

At War With War: 5,000 Years of Conquests, Invasions, and Terrorist Attacks — An Illustrated Timeline

$11.90

Goodreads rating: 3.06

$11.90

80% off est. retail
At War with War visualizes humanity’s 5,000-year-long state of conflict on a continuous timeline. Seventy pages of stark black-and-white pen-and-ink drawings and woodcuts illustrate history’s most notorious battles—from 3300 BCE to the present day. Interspersed are contemplations on war from thinkers including excerpts from The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The Complaint of Peace by Desiderius Erasmus, and The State by Randolph Bourne. Searing and sardonic, balancing anger and despair with wit and humanity, these illustrations recall the work of social satirists such as Honoré Daumier, Frans Masereel, Felix Vallotton, and Otto Dix. Seymour Chwast, a design legend and co-founder of Push Pin Studios, turns his pen to a subject that has long preoccupied him—the fight against war, humankind’s enduring scourge.
Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Characters
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Andy Mangels | Del Rey

Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Characters

$13.90

Goodreads rating: 3.99

$13.90

44% off est. retail
Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Characters features updated text and more than 130 full-color illustrations by new artist Michael Sutfin. This updated guide profiles more than 130 characters from across the Star Wars galaxy, including Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, and Mara Jade, as well as Episode II characters such as Jango Fett, Count Dooku, Anakin Skywalker, and Zam Wesell, and Episode I: The Phantom Menace figures like Queen Amidala, Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, and Darth Maul. It includes updated coverage of the novels from the New Jedi Order and the classic movies, books, comics, TV specials, games, and the rest of the Star Wars universe. The book describes each character with essential history, vital statistics, homeworlds, and political affiliations. More characters, more information, and brilliant artwork—the Essential Guides are hotter than ever.
China's Youth: Increasing Diversity Amid Persistent Inequality
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Li Chunling, John L. Thornton, Cheng Li  | Brookings Institution Press

China's Youth: Increasing Diversity Amid Persistent Inequality

$25.90

Goodreads rating: 3.4

$25.90

Understanding the young adults who came of age during the rise of China's economic and global power, this book by a prominent Chinese sociologist explores how China's youth will influence the country's future. Focusing on millennials — those born between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s — the book examines the status, lifestyles, attitudes, values, and behaviors of this key segment of the country's population. Li Chunling's study presents a native Chinese perspective on the increasingly diverse generation that will, at some point, assume leadership of the country. Among the key questions addressed: How do Chinese millennials differ from preceding generations in China and from their counterparts around the world? How can current and future relations between Chinese millennials and the Chinese government be assessed? And, what are the factors or fault lines that have shaped intra-generational differences among China's young people? Members of this age cohort are extraordinary, and in some respects unique, in contemporary China. Their ascent has accompanied five historic developments: China's rapid economic rise, the one-child policy, the largest domestic rural-to-urban migration in Chinese history, the opening of extensive educational opportunities abroad, and the arrival of the digital era. Young Chinese citizens have developed a comprehensive understanding of the world much faster than previous generations; millennials see themselves not as extensions of the past, but as the innovators of the country's future. Through expansive and in-depth empirical research on Chinese millennials and younger age cohorts (people in their late teens and early 20s), Dr. Li's book illustrates how China's younger adults reflect the growing diversity and persistent inequality in society. The book also explores how their distinct characteristics and views will shape the country's trajectory. For the outside world, developing a better understanding of this unique generation is an urgent task, given that China now has more influence on the global economy and regional security than at any other point in modern history.
10 Rules for Talking: An Expert's Guide to Mastering Difficult Conversations
Tim Harkness | Blink Publishing

10 Rules for Talking: An Expert's Guide to Mastering Difficult Conversations

$6.90

Goodreads rating: 3.17

$6.90

If you find yourself struggling in today's polarized world to have constructive conversations with those who hold different views, "10 Rules for Talking" could be a game-changer for you. It's not just about talking but about making real progress in our discussions. Tim Harkness offers practical advice, focusing on respect and effective persuasion, a must-read to master the art of difficult conversation and keep dialogue open and meaningful.
The Traitor
André Gorz | Verso

The Traitor

$12.90

Goodreads rating: 3.88

$12.90

"The Traitor" is a compelling dive into the turbulent mind of André Gorz. At a point where personal agony meets the broader social and political landscape, this book promises to be an intense journey that challenges you to confront the depths of personal despair and the redemptive power of political engagement. Gorz's introspection, influenced by both Marxism and psychoanalysis, could offer you a truly profound reading experience that resonates with the complexities of human struggle and ideological awakening.

Navigate the World of Politics

Our Politics section at Thryft features titles on global and regional politics, commentaries, and detailed analyses of current affairs. Whether you’re looking into political theory or getting up to date with recent global events, our collection is here to enlighten and provoke thought.