In the Mood for: Politics

If you're anything like me then over the last week you've been struggling against the intense desire to binge-watch House of Cards (I'm up to episode 8 - no spoilers). I study political science at university and so I guess that my love for a good-old Machiavellian political drama is to expected but I though that today I would give some of you some book recommendations that you can sink your teeth into if you are done with the third season, or are just looking for something a little political to read. I've actually been meaning to do this post for a while with it first coming into my mind around the time of the NZ elections last year. All of the books below were written for a popular (wide) audience and are accessible so even if you don't think you have a great political mind you can enjoy them too.

Guantanamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi (edited by Larry Siems) (Canongate Books Ltd.)

I haven't read this book yet but I have ordered it online and am waiting for it to arrive. This is the publication of Ould Slahi's diary as he is currently incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay.

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Dirty Politics by Nicky Hager (Craig Potton Publishing)

If you're more interested in reading something about NZ politics then I suggest you give Hager's book a go. Hager is NZ's most well-known investigative journalist and this was his major work last year which uncovered some of the 'dirty politics' that political parties in NZ employed during their most recent political campaign. This might not be the most shocking of reads for someone in politics themselves (or those with a healthy distrust of the political machine) but it caused quite a stir in NZ when it was released. More recently, Hager has been writing about spying that NZ is doing on behalf of the NSA. His house was recently searched by police and the documents of what he was working on were taken. He is currently trying to stop the police from looking at them in order to protect his sources. Here is his website and here is his blog if you're interested in investigative journalism and want to find out more.

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The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley (Penguin Modern Classics)

This is a bit of controversial choice for some but this is an incredibly important book and Malcolm X was an incredibly significant and important man. Although it is said to be an autobiography of the civil rights activist it is largely known to be embellished and presented in a specific way to suit Malcolm X's own ends. I don't really see this as an issue as long as the reader is aware of it before hand. The specific narrative arch that Malcolm X employs in this novel is actually very interesting and gives a lot of information away about what he wanted his legacy to be.

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Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (Penguin Classics)

Whether you believe with Communist ideology or not, heck, whether you are right or left politically doesn't matter. If you are interested in politics then this is a must read. It is one of the most important political writings in history. I really like this edition of the manifesto because it contains the manifesto itself but also includes a wide-range of essays about it in order to help give context and understand its importance.

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Vindication on the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft (Penguin Great Ideas)

Do you want to read about 19th Century feminism written by the mother of Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein? Of course you do. Even today this remains a passionate and modern piece on how important equal rights between genders are.

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Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (Penguin Modern Classics)

And I bet you thought I would never get to fiction. This is kind of a no-brainer but I am always shocked by how many people just haven't read this yet. It is incredibly accessible, thrilling, depressing and thought-provoking (especially when you think about the use of information and media and then compare it to the current-day political climate). If you haven't read this already it's about time.

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A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (Penguin Modern Classics)

This is quite similar to Nineteen Eighty-Four in that everyone seems to have heard of it and yet relatively few have taken the time to actually read it. It is actually quite interesting to read alongside Orwell's work and compare alternative dystopian futures.

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Midnight's Children and Shame by Salman Rushdie (Vintage)

These books are a little bit different in that they are not explicitly about politics but rather they deal with issues over state-hood and independent nation-hood. Midnight's Children deals with India, told through the life of a young man; Shame is about Pakistan and is told through the story of two families. Both are gorgeous narratives and incorporate elements of magical realism which balance nicely against the dramatic and sometimes violent events. If I had to pick I would say that I prefer Shame but you wouldn't make me choose, would you?

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What are some of your favourite political reads? Feel free to let me know in the comments! I always appreciate input into what I should be reading. Most of these books are written from a Western perspective so if you know of some others from a different perspective I would very much be interested.

Lots of love,
xo

*This post was not sponsored, all opinions are my own. Images in text are not mine and are sourced in the body.