Marginal Revolution Book Rankings

Tyler and Alex's favorites from Marginal Revolution

How it works: I scraped every post categorized under 'books'. Then extracted book titles and relevant review context from each post. I then submitted a couple million pairs of reviews to an LLM to compare and determine which book review had more positive sentiment. I used these comparisons to fit a Bradley-Terry model which produces these rankings. I racked up a gemini bill so stopped shy of exhaustive 16 million comparisons, so it's not perfect, but roughly accurate.

Genre: American Politics ×
Showing 128 books in American Politics
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1. Congress and the Shaping of the Middle East
BT: 5.23 152 comparisons
american politics government middle east studies political science +2
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2. The Once and Future King: The Rise of Crown Government in America
BT: 4.90 166 comparisons
american politics canadian politics comparative politics constitutional studies +4
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3. Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed My Father — and How We Can Fix It
BT: 4.60 202 comparisons
american politics economics health policy healthcare economics +2
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4. Code Red: An Economist Explains How to Revive the Healthcare System Without Destroying It
BT: 4.54 182 comparisons
american politics economics health policy healthcare economics +1
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5. Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream
BT: 4.34 183 comparisons
american politics economics political science politics +1
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6. Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War
BT: 4.23 163 comparisons
american history american politics foreign policy history +4
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7. Public Choice Theory and the Illusion of Grand Strategy: How Generals, Weapons Manufacturers, and Foreign Governments Shape American Foreign Policy
BT: 4.21 182 comparisons
american politics defense policy economics foreign policy +2
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8. Thermonuclear Monarchy: Choosing Between Democracy and Doom
BT: 4.20 176 comparisons
american politics constitutional law history international relations +4
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9. Ideas, Persons, and Events
BT: 4.13 175 comparisons
american politics economics political philosophy politics
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10. The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution Failed
BT: 4.01 190 comparisons
american history american politics economic history history +3
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11. Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy
BT: 3.35 210 comparisons
american politics political science political theory politics
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12. The Social Order of the Underworld: How Prison Gangs Govern the American Penal System
BT: 3.34 204 comparisons
american politics criminal justice criminology economics +2
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13. Reputation and Power: Organizational Image and Pharmaceutical Regulation at the FDA
BT: 3.34 629 comparisons
american politics economics history political science +2
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14. The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What’s Wrong with America
BT: 3.26 222 comparisons
american politics economics libertarianism political philosophy +2
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15. The American Commonwealth
BT: 3.23 217 comparisons
american history american politics political science political theory +1
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16. Polarized: Making Sense of a Divided America
BT: 3.09 236 comparisons
american politics political science politics
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17. The Fractured Republic: Renewing America’s Social Contract in the Age of Individualism
BT: 2.92 220 comparisons
american politics political philosophy politics social commentary +1
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18. The Stakes: American at the Point of No Return
BT: 2.90 231 comparisons
american politics conservative politics political commentary politics +1
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19. Launching the Innovation Renaissance
BT: 2.89 2199 comparisons
american politics economics innovation intellectual property +3
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20. Everyday Freedom: Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society
BT: 2.64 252 comparisons
american politics law political philosophy politics +2
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21. Passing on the Right: Conservative Professors in the Progressive University
BT: 2.61 244 comparisons
american politics higher education political philosophy political science +2
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22. US Energy Policy and the Pursuit of Failure
BT: 2.57 266 comparisons
american history american politics economics energy policy +4
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23. In Search of Monsters to Destroy: The Folly of the American Empire and the Paths to Peace
BT: 2.51 248 comparisons
american politics foreign policy international relations political science +1
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24. The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era
BT: 2.40 219 comparisons
american history american politics contemporary history economics +3
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25. Why Congress
BT: 2.37 260 comparisons
american politics political science politics u.s. government
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26. The Republican War on Science
BT: 2.37 368 comparisons
american politics non-fiction politics science and politics
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27. One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger
BT: 2.31 251 comparisons
american politics demographics economics politics +2
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28. Can it Happen Here?: Authoritarianism in America
BT: 1.96 793 comparisons
american history american politics essay collection history +3
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29. Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (And Stick You With the Bill)
BT: 1.81 281 comparisons
american politics economics politics public policy +1
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30. Putting Medicare Consumers in Charge: Lessons from the FEHBP
BT: 1.70 269 comparisons
american politics economics health care policy health economics +1
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31. The Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy
BT: 1.69 284 comparisons
american politics economics politics social commentary +1
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32. The American Dream is Not Dead (But Populism Could Kill It)
BT: 1.67 262 comparisons
american politics economics politics public policy +1
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33. The End of White Christian America
BT: 1.62 301 comparisons
american history american politics cultural studies demographics +5
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34. The Myth of Independence: How Congress Governs the Federal Reserve
BT: 1.51 304 comparisons
american politics economics monetary policy political science +1
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35. The New Right: A Journey to the Fringe of American Politics
BT: 1.45 336 comparisons
american politics contemporary history cultural studies politics +1
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36. Heads in the Sand: How the Republicans Screw Up Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy Screws Up the Democrats
BT: 1.40 331 comparisons
american politics foreign policy international relations political science +1
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37. The Wilderness: Deep Inside the Republican Party’s Combative, Contentious, Chaotic Quest to Take Back the White House
BT: 1.35 318 comparisons
american politics contemporary american history journalism political history +1
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38. Red Ink: Inside the High-Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget
BT: 1.35 580 comparisons
american politics economics politics public finance
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39. State Capture: How Conservative Activists, Big Businesses, and Wealthy Donors Reshaped the American States — and the Nation
BT: 1.09 324 comparisons
american history american politics political science politics +1
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40. The Nonsense Factory: The Making and Breaking of the American Legal System
BT: 0.82 440 comparisons
american law american politics law non-fiction +1
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41. Mismatch: How Affirmative Action Hurts Students It’s Intended to Help, and Why Universities Won’t Admit It
BT: 0.81 331 comparisons
american politics education legal studies politics +2
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42. First Principles: Five Keys to Restoring America’s Prosperity
BT: 0.77 320 comparisons
american economics american politics economics macroeconomics +2
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43. The Captured Economy: How the Powerful Slow Down Growth, Enrich Themselves, and Increase Inequality
BT: 0.76 852 comparisons
american politics crony capitalism economics inequality +2
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44. The Retreat of Western Liberalism
BT: 0.61 642 comparisons
american politics contemporary politics european politics history +5
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45. The Polarizers: Postwar Architects of Our Partisan Era
BT: 0.59 337 comparisons
american history american politics history political science +1
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A
46. Almanac of American Politics
BT: 0.52 336 comparisons
american politics political science politics reference
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47. Is Administrative Law Unlawful?
BT: 0.50 330 comparisons
administrative law american politics constitutional law law +2
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48. The Presidents and the Constitution
BT: 0.45 510 comparisons
american history american politics constitutional law history +4
MR Post MR Post
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49. Winner-Take-All Politics
BT: 0.41 376 comparisons
american history american politics economics history +2
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50. Overhaul: An Insider's Account of the Obama Administration's Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry
BT: 0.39 276 comparisons
american history american politics business economic policy +4
MR Post
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51. A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist
BT: 0.33 349 comparisons
american politics biography law legal theory +2
MR Post
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52. The Conservatarian Manifesto: Libertarians, Conservatives, and the Fight for the Right’s Future
BT: 0.31 340 comparisons
american politics conservatism libertarianism political philosophy +2
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53. Red State Blue State: Why Americans Vote the Way They Do
BT: 0.31 349 comparisons
american politics political science politics
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54. This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral-Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking!, in America’s Gilded Capital
BT: 0.26 382 comparisons
american politics political science politics washington d.c.
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55. Tyranny Comes Home: The Domestic Fate of U.S. Militarism
BT: 0.25 337 comparisons
american politics foreign policy military history politics
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56. Injustice For All: How Financial Incentives Corrupted and Can Fix the US Criminal Justice System
BT: 0.24 372 comparisons
american politics criminal justice economics law +2
MR Post
A
57. A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (And Some Bears)
BT: 0.23 334 comparisons
american politics libertarianism narrative non-fiction non-fiction +2
MR Post
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58. Prison Break: Why Conservatives Turned Against Mass Incarceration
BT: 0.16 348 comparisons
american politics criminal justice politics public policy
MR Post
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59. The Monetary Policy of the Federal Reserve: A History
BT: 0.16 372 comparisons
american history american politics economics history +1
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60. Deep Roots: How Slavery Still Shapes Southern Politics
BT: 0.14 340 comparisons
american history american politics history political science +3
MR Post
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61. The Gamble: Choice and Chance in the 2012 Presidential Election
BT: -0.09 362 comparisons
american politics election studies political science politics
MR Post
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62. Open Secrets of American Foreign Policy
BT: -0.11 352 comparisons
american history american politics foreign policy history +2
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63. The Permanent Tax Revolt: How the Property Tax Transformed American Politics
BT: -0.13 373 comparisons
american history american politics economics history +4
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64. Congressional Procedure: A Practical Guide to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress
BT: -0.33 402 comparisons
american politics politics us government
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65. The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century
BT: -0.39 316 comparisons
american politics current events economic policy economics +2
MR Post
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66. Seeds of Destruction: Why the Path to Economic Ruin Runs through Washington, And How to Reclaim American Prosperity
BT: -0.46 396 comparisons
american economics american politics economics politics +1
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67. Bleeding Talent
BT: -0.46 371 comparisons
american politics military studies organizational management public policy +1
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68. 10% Less Democracy: Why You Should Trust the Elites a Little More and the Masses a Little Less
BT: -0.59 977 comparisons
american politics economics political philosophy political science +2
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69. The Ten Year War: Obamacare and the Unfinished Crusade for Universal Coverage
BT: -0.60 357 comparisons
american history american politics healthcare policy history +1
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70. Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know About How America Nominates its Presidential Candidates
BT: -0.77 358 comparisons
american politics electoral politics political science politics
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71. Spheres of Justice
BT: -0.88 429 comparisons
american politics philosophy political philosophy politics
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72. Throw Them All Out
BT: -0.99 339 comparisons
american politics economics finance government ethics +3
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73. Superior, Nebraska: The Common Sense Values of America’s Heartland
BT: -1.11 373 comparisons
american culture american politics politics social commentary +1
MR Post
B
74. By the People: Rebuilding Liberty Without Permission
BT: -1.12 395 comparisons
american politics political science politics public policy +1
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75. The Audacity of Hope
BT: -1.13 350 comparisons
american politics autobiography memoir politics
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76. Letter from Birmingham Jail
BT: -1.14 402 comparisons
american history american politics civil rights history +3
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77. A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism
BT: -1.28 391 comparisons
american politics foreign policy international relations politics
MR Post
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78. Nanny State: How Food Fascists, Teetotaling Do-Gooders, Priggish Moralists, and Other Boneheaded Bureaucrats are Turning American into a Nation of Children
BT: -1.31 391 comparisons
american politics political philosophy politics public policy +1
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R
79. Rich People’s Movements: Grassroots Campaigns to Untax the One Percent
BT: -1.37 378 comparisons
american politics economics political history politics +2
MR Post
R
80. Right-Wing Critics of American Conservatism
BT: -1.39 347 comparisons
american history american politics history political science +1
MR Post
D
81. Discourses on Davila
BT: -1.57 378 comparisons
american history american politics history political philosophy +1
MR Post
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82. Saving Can-Do: How to Revive the Spirit of America
BT: -1.58 368 comparisons
american politics government reform legal reform politics +2
MR Post
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83. Never Enough: America's Limitless Welfare State
BT: -1.64 364 comparisons
american politics economics politics public policy +1
MR Post
D
84. Democracy in America
BT: -1.70 1259 comparisons
american history american politics political philosophy political science +3
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85. Majority Minority
BT: -1.76 367 comparisons
american politics comparative studies demography politics +2
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86. The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America
BT: -1.84 758 comparisons
american politics political philosophy politics race relations +2
MR Post MR Post
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87. Political Standards: Corporate Interest, Ideology, and Leadership in the Shaping of Accounting Rules for the Market Economy
BT: -1.87 377 comparisons
accounting american business american politics business +4
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88. Why We’re Polarized
BT: -1.87 335 comparisons
american politics politics social science
MR Post
A
89. American Amnesia: How the War on Government Led Us To Forget What Made America Prosper
BT: -1.90 309 comparisons
american history american politics economics politics +2
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90. The Triumph of Politics
BT: -1.93 604 comparisons
american politics economics politics public choice
MR Post MR Post
D
91. Deliberating American Monetary Policy: A Textual Analysis
BT: -1.97 357 comparisons
american politics computational social science economics monetary policy +4
MR Post
A
92. An Anxious Age: The Post-Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of America
BT: -2.12 378 comparisons
american history american politics cultural studies history +3
MR Post
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93. When the President Calls: Conversations with Economic Policymakers
BT: -2.14 353 comparisons
american politics economics interviews politics +1
MR Post
T
94. The Shape of the River
BT: -2.18 342 comparisons
american politics education law politics +2
MR Post
T
95. The Best American Political Writing
BT: -2.24 297 comparisons
american politics anthology journalism politics
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T
96. The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous America
BT: -2.32 334 comparisons
american politics conservative thought economics political science +2
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T
97. The Conservative Heart
BT: -2.46 312 comparisons
american politics conservatism political science politics
MR Post
T
98. The Federalist Society: How Conservatives Took the Law Back from Liberals
BT: -2.53 397 comparisons
american history american politics law legal history +1
MR Post
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99. 13 Bankers
BT: -2.67 314 comparisons
american politics banking economics finance +2
MR Post
A
100. Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America
BT: -2.71 307 comparisons
american politics economics political economy political science +2
MR Post
T
101. The Left Behind: Decline and Rage in Rural America
BT: -2.74 326 comparisons
american politics american studies politics rural studies +2
MR Post
A
102. Artists of the Possible: Governing Networks and American Policy Change Since 1945
BT: -2.76 298 comparisons
american history american politics history political science +2
MR Post
C
103. Constitutional Chaff
BT: -2.87 293 comparisons
american history american politics constitutional law history +3
MR Post
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104. Empathy Economics: Janet Yellen’s Remarkable Rise to Power and Her Drive to Spread Prosperity to All
BT: -2.93 301 comparisons
american history american politics biography economics +1
MR Post
A
105. A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia
BT: -3.01 336 comparisons
american politics asian studies china geopolitics +2
MR Post
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106. Polarized Degrees: How the Diploma Divide and the Culture War Transformed American Politics
BT: -3.06 361 comparisons
american history american politics education politics +2
MR Post
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107. Lawless: The Obama Administration’s Unprecedented Assault on the Constitution and the Rule of Law
BT: -3.15 345 comparisons
american politics constitutional law current events law +2
MR Post
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108. We’ve Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health Care
BT: -3.28 323 comparisons
american politics economics health care policy health economics +2
MR Post
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109. Limitless: The Federal Reserve Takes on a New Age of Crisis
BT: -3.30 338 comparisons
american politics central banking current events economics +2
MR Post
D
110. Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House
BT: -3.32 326 comparisons
american history american politics contemporary history history +2
MR Post
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111. Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy
BT: -3.40 340 comparisons
american politics economics foreign policy geopolitics +2
MR Post
C
112. Can American Capitalism Survive?: Why Greed is Not Good, Opportunity is Not Equal, and Fairness Won’t Make Us Poor
BT: -3.43 381 comparisons
american politics economics political economy politics +1
MR Post
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113. The Right: The Hundred Year War for American Conservatism
BT: -3.43 343 comparisons
american history american politics conservatism history +2
MR Post
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114. Science-Mart: Privatizing American Science
BT: -3.49 305 comparisons
american history american politics economics politics +2
MR Post
T
115. The Accountability State: US Federal Inspectors General and the Pursuit of Democratic Integrity
BT: -3.55 322 comparisons
american politics government law political science +2
MR Post
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116. Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography
BT: -3.59 288 comparisons
american history american politics biography history +2
MR Post
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117. The Fifth Risk
BT: -3.87 194 comparisons
american politics current events non-fiction politics +1
MR Post
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118. Why Religion is Good for American Democracy
BT: -3.92 219 comparisons
american politics political science politics religion
MR Post
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119. American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secrets to Healing Our Nation
BT: -3.95 269 comparisons
american politics current affairs intellectual history philosophy +3
MR Post
T
120. The Big Con: The True Story of How Washington Got Hoodwinked and Hijacked by CrackpotEconomics
BT: -4.03 165 comparisons
american history american politics economics non-fiction +2
MR Post
C
121. Common Sense
BT: -4.11 186 comparisons
american politics conservative politics political commentary politics
MR Post
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122. You’re Hired! Untold Successes and Failures of a Populist President
BT: -4.16 199 comparisons
american history american politics economics political science +1
MR Post
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123. The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives
BT: -4.17 230 comparisons
american law american politics business corporate crime +3
MR Post
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124. What’s the Matter with Kansas?
BT: -4.50 214 comparisons
american politics american studies politics social commentary +1
MR Post
E
125. Equal is Unfair: America’s Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality
BT: -4.65 171 comparisons
american politics economics politics
MR Post
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126. The Right Talk: How Conservatives Transformed the Great Society into the Economic Society
BT: -4.86 145 comparisons
american history american politics economics history +3
MR Post
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127. FDR: A New Political Life
BT: -5.98 104 comparisons
american history american politics biography history +1
MR Post
T
128. The Age of Austerity
BT: -6.08 106 comparisons
american politics economics politics public economics +1
MR Post