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PerseusWizardry  1yr ago (text post)   1006 thread views

What are the best textbooks for understanding American politics/contemporary public issues?

I am embarking on a self-study of American politics in the hopes of becoming generally fluent and comfortable understanding the issues of our day. That said, I don't want to study at such a narrow level (i.e. the news cycle) that what I learn will stop being relevant in two weeks. I have a sense of which general areas I should study, but not which textbooks are ideal. I am open to suggestions! (My background: I just have a BA in philosophy and a BA in psych.)

I assume I should probably read a textbook on:

  1. Economics

  2. The American Public Policy Process

  3. American History

  4. World History, esp Modern Europe and the Americas since 1800

  5. Comparative Politics/History of Major Political Ideas?/Explanation of major ideologies?

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Check out AL Frankens autobiography. It won’t give you truly what you’re looking for, but there’s a lot to be learned from it.

I think biographies are generally the best way to understand American politics. You might consider Nixons biography as I believe a lot of the 1970s set up politics for a generations.

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