What people recommend, in their own words, with the receipt.
Political scientist writing Drezner's World on international relations, American politics and the marketplace of ideas; author of The Ideas Industry.
8 things
The Mercy of GodsBook James S.A. Corey
I read the first book, The Mercy of Gods, way back in March and enjoyed it immensely. I say this even though it was intense book, beginning with a plot about the politics of science labs and ending somewhere rather different and dark — about the politics of survival under occupation and captivity.
Newsletter post about the books he brought on a trip to Northeast Asia
danieldrezner.substack.com ↗·2026-06-18
How to Win a Trade War: An Optimistic Guide to an Anxious Global EconomyBook Soumaya Keynes and Chad Bown
First, it is incredibly accessible to anyone who is well-versed about the international political economy — no mean feat, as someone who has to teach this stuff. Second, it is forthright in explaining, kinda like an IPE Dalton from Road House, that nobody wins a trade war but sometimes they are gonna be fought no matter what, so it’s good to go in fully informed. Third, it contains bits and pieces that even policy wonks will find new and interesting.
Newsletter post about books he brought on a trip; he discloses in the same post that the authors quote and thank him in the book's acknowledgments
danieldrezner.substack.com ↗·2026-06-18
The Elephants in the Room: How Trump Voters Seized the Party from Republican LeadersBook Seth Masket
Masket provides an excellent, concise, data-driven explanation. Much of the data from repeated surveys of GOP local leaders, along with Masket’s on-the-ground field research in Iowa and New Hampshire. The sweat equity on display in the book is impressive.
Newsletter post about the books he brought on a trip to Northeast Asia
danieldrezner.substack.com ↗·2026-06-18
The Secret HistoryBook Donna Tartt
Tartt’s first book, The Secret History, is one of my favorite novels ever.
Newsletter post listing the fiction he brought on vacation
danieldrezner.substack.com ↗·2026-03-16
The GoldfinchBook Donna Tartt
I enjoyed her third book The Goldfinch so much that I felt sad as I was approaching its ending.
Newsletter post listing the fiction he brought on vacation
danieldrezner.substack.com ↗·2026-03-16
The Little FriendBook Donna Tartt
As a completist, I am now reading her middle book, which reads an awful lot like a gender-flipped updating of To Kill A Mockingbird so far. It’s chock-full of Tartt’s exquisite prose, and that is what I need on my vacation.
Newsletter post listing the fiction he brought on vacation; The Little Friend is Tartt's 'middle book' named earlier in the same post
danieldrezner.substack.com ↗·2026-03-16
This Is Not About UsBook Allegra Goodman
A collection of interconnected short stories about three generations of a “strange and estranged family—their unspoken expectations, silent feuds, exhausting birthdays” that is also riotously funny — at least it is to me.
Newsletter post listing the fiction he brought on vacation
danieldrezner.substack.com ↗·2026-03-16
Backfire: How Sanctions Reshape the World Against U.S. InterestsBook Agathe Demarais
The result is something of a muddle, however. Demarais claims in the preface that “this book is not for or against sanctions (xii)” but declares in the conclusion that “the time of peak US sanctions has passed (200).”
Newsletter post sharing his H-Diplo|RJISSF roundtable review of Backfire; he later still calls the book 'a great entryway to thinking about' economic statecraft
danieldrezner.substack.com ↗·2024-12-20
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