History & Politics

Close your eyes and imagine an America whose elected representatives belong to a secret institution that longs to harness the fanaticism of history’s tyrants in service to Christ. Imagine these free market fundamentalists believing themselves divinely appointed to lead America in that direction. Now, imagine the mansion where the “new chosen” reside and support each other’s self-serving delusions. That mansion is C Street. You can open your eyes now, if you dare. —Joe

There’s no denying Junger has immense skill with nonfiction narrative. This chronicle of the time he spent with soldiers in Afghanistan is brutal and bloody. I didn’t expect to like this book but I was won over by his immense respect for their situation and his willingness to delve into the psychological dimensions of what he experiences. He paints a picture that is neither positive nor negative but rather incredibly human. —Nici

A finalist for the National Book Award, this collection of anecdotal observations by Los Angeles Times foreign correspondent Megan Stack details her time in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Israel, and Egypt, post-9/11. While Stack’s writing style is somewhat staccato—each chapter jumps to a different country, making it difficult to address the roots behind her assessments of women’s rights, rebel fighters, and secular versus religious doctrines—given these revolutionary times, this is a great first-hand account of life in these countries before their uprisings. —Adrienne

The revolution has been televised, tweeted, and Facebooked. The world has watched as the people of North Africa and the Middle East have demanded freedom from nonrepresentative governments, but what do we know of the lead-up to these events? This is an amazing primer about the decades-long struggle in Iran that has been building a foundation for a movement of change that seemed to materialize before our global eyes. —Adrienne