Politics & Economics

How to Spend a Trillion Dollars
Rowan Hooper
A compelling thought experiment that will lead to hours of fruitful debate

The Economist Guide to Commodities 2nd edition
Caroline Bain
The latest comprehensive overview of the forces at work in the world of commodities.

The Descent of Woman
Elaine Morgan
According to the Book of Genesis, God first created man. This justified treating women as inferior. Until this book.Elaine Morgan argues for equal rol…

Active Measures
Thomas Rid
This startling history of secret psychological operations traces the century-long rise of organized deception from the Russian Revolution to contempor…

Why We're Polarized
Ezra Klein
Polarisation is often invoked as proof that our societies are broken but what if it's really the system working as intended?

The Pink Line
Mark Gevisser
Eye-opening, moving, and crafted with expert research, this is a vital journey of epic scope, across the world's most challenging new frontiers

The Address Book
Deirdre Mask
An exuberant work of popular history: why something as seemingly mundane as an address can save lives or serve the powerful

The Classical School
Callum Williams
A breezy, bracingly irreverent introduction to the founders of economics – how they lived, what they thought, what they got wrong and which of their i…

The Velvet Rope Economy
Nelson Schwartz
A gripping expose of the way inequality is built into our everyday world – and who profits

How Should A Government Be?
Jaideep Prabhu
When the art of government itself is changing, the old political divisions no longer make sense. Join organisation expert Jaideep Prabhu on a tour of…

What We Need to Do Now
Chris Goodall
A manifesto for groups around the world that are seeking urgent action on climate breakdown and other threats

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Philip Coggan
A panoramic history of trade, industry and economic thought, from prehistoric times to the present.

The Colonizer and the Colonized
Albert Memmi
In this classic study of European colonialism, Albert Memmi examines the psychological effects of colonial ideology and system on both the colonizer a…

Strongmen
Ruth Ben-Ghiat
A leading academic exposes the historical and cultural contexts which allow political strongmen to thrive

Unconventional Wisdom
Tom Standage
Another bestselling collection of astonishing explainers from The Economist

How Bad Are Bananas?
Mike Berners-Lee
Packed full of information yet always entertaining. From text messages and plastic bags to wars and volcanoes, How Bad Are Bananas? has the carbon ans…

People Like Us
Hashi Mohamed
One man's story of social mobility and inequality – and a searching analysis of what needs to change

How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division
Elif Shafak
The Booker Prize-shortlisted author on how staying optimistic can make our world better