LearnHub

World politics offers an interesting perspective on the struggle of power and peace between states. Because politics is always changing, it can be difficult to keep up with current affairs. These 10 books are well written and engaging - perhaps by reading them, you can find a topic of interest in politics that may never have occurred to you before. It is always important to understand your world and how it is managed - it also makes for a good debate with Dad at the dinner table!

1. Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World (alternative title: Nixon in China)
by Margaret MacMillan
This book by the University of Toronto historian who also wrote Paris, 1919 describes the beginning of Chinese-American relations. President Nixon and Chairman Mao Zedong's meeting in 1972 was important because it marked the start of a strong relationship between China and the U.S. which continues today. This book describes the visit, their interactions, and an introduction to the Chinese culture and market. It's particularly interesting because for so long, the communist People's Republic of China had been shrouded in secrecy from the world.

2. Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone
by Rajiv Chandrasekaran
The Emerald City is a reference to The Wizard of Oz, but in reality this is the Green Zone - the area around Saddam Hussein's former palace. He is an American journalist who was in Iraq while it was occupied by the United States. He describes the failure of the Bush adminstration and Americans living there who ignored the brutal conditions the local people endured because of their presence. This is a great book if you want to read about the daily life of those living in Baghdad, as well as the politics and military operations which brought them about.

3. The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy
by Pietra Rivoli
This economics professor from Georgetown University follows the entire process of making and selling a T-shirt - cotton farmers in Texas, to labourers in South America, and even used clothing vendors in Tanzania. If you ever wonder how the T-shirt you're wearing was made and got to you, this is an entertaining read. It also looks at the world's economies and the problems we face in globalized trade.

4. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
by John Perkins
This man had started the book over 20 years ago. After 9/11, this chief economist decided to finally expose himself as an "economic hit man", a highly paid professional who cheats Third World countries out of "trillions of dollars". He aided U.S. intelligence agencies and multinationals into blackmailing foreign leaders into serving U.S. foreign policy, awarding contracts to U.S. companies and piling the debt onto the Third World country. He even details the influence and control over the United Nations and the World Bank these type of businessmen have. His game at the world economy is fascinating in how simply it can be done, and the devastating consequences - this is definitely a must read!

5. The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It
by Paul Collier
The title of this book is self-explanatory, but Collier manages to make this book extremely easy to read and comprehend. He describes different "traps" that a failed country may find itself a victim of - the natural resource trap, the bad governance trap, the landlocked country trap, etc. Of course, there are no overnight solution to these issues - if there were, then these problems would be gone - but he manages to addresses what works and what doesn't, as well as the next steps.

6. Out of Poverty
by Paul Polak
This book is similar to The Bottom Billion because it examines the effects of globalization on developing countries and how to solve world poverty. This is an interesting read because he says poverty will not be solved through donation, national economic growth or big business - all seemingly reasonable solutions. Instead, he says there are opportunities which exist for the poor which have untapped potential.

7. Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy
by Kevin Bales
I highly recommend this book because it shows specific case studies of individuals who fit the profile of "new slavery". New slavery means that these individuals may be living in free countries who are "free" people in the legal sense of the term, but are actually bounded in a vicious cycle of slavery in reality. The worst part is that they are simply disposed of once they are no longer needed for economic needs. Bales interviews specific individuals in Thailand, Mauritania, Brazil, Pakistan, and India. To read about the lives they live are absolutely devastating - particularly the study on prostitution in Thailand - and is a far cry from the privileged world many of us live in today.

8. "Exterminate All the Brutes": One Man's Odyssey into the Heart of Darkness and the Origins of European Genocide
by Sven Lindqvist
If you've ever read Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness you'll recognize the title of this book. This book is extremely well written because his writing style is like that of a detective story, the missing links unfolding as you turn each page. He is incredibly witty, even though the content is quite serious. His examination of European colonialism, particularly in Africa, is insightful and very imaginative.

9. Darfur's Sorrow: A History of Destruction and Genocide
by M. W. Daly
The conflict zone in the Darfur region of Sudan is an extremely popular subject today. The issue of "saving Darfur" is complicated because there are so many complex underlying problems. Many writings on Darfur can be dense and difficult to understand, but this book explains the history of Darfur in a nice streamlined way. While it doesn't offer any solutions up front, it's a great starting point to know the root causes and history of Darfur conflict.

10. An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems
by Glenn Beck
I figure after some heavy reading, you might want to invest in a laugh or two. Glenn Beck is the host of a national radio show and a host on his CNN show. One of his arguments is that global warming has actually decreased the number of deaths from extreme weather. Maybe not a convincing statistic in actuality, but it's still entertaining. Plus, it's always important to hear another side of the story. Keep in mind that this is a conservative point of view and not something to take too seriously!

Images:
Amazon