Recommendations you can check.
Founder and editor of Talking Points Memo.
12 things
Daily Kos ElectionsOther
Over a couple decades, DKE became an irreplaceable source of information for all the nitty-gritty of electoral life in American politics.
Editors' Blog post recommending the downballot election-news site.
2024-08-19·talkingpointsmemo.com ↗
The Vanquished: Why the First World War Failed to EndBook Robert Gerwarth
This is critical to understanding the origins of fascisms and all the subsequent history of the continent. An engrossing, really important read.
Josh Marshall's holiday list of eight history books he recommends, with short notes on each.
2017-11-22·talkingpointsmemo.com ↗
The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569–1999Book Timothy Snyder
This book helped me understand that history at a much, much deeper level. It also greatly deepened my understanding and perspective on the current struggle between nationalism and multinationalism which is roiling Europe and in many respects the entire globe. These are both books I highly, highly recommend.
Josh Marshall's holiday list of eight history books he recommends, with short notes on each.
2017-11-22·talkingpointsmemo.com ↗
By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean: The Birth of EurasiaBook Barry Cunliffe
By Steppe, Desert and Ocean is simply the last 10,000 years of Eurasian history, the vast and surprisingly integrated stretch of land from the Pacific coast of China to Spain – where did human civilizations first develop over this expanse, how did they came into contact with each other, what were the key drivers of change. Excellent book.
Josh Marshall's holiday list of eight history books he recommends, with short notes on each.
2017-11-22·talkingpointsmemo.com ↗
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern WorldBook David W. Anthony
The last of these three is one of the densest books I've read in a very long time but also one of the most transformative in my understanding of numerous topics. It's so dense that I would recommend reading it even if you read only the first half and then find it simply too tough going after the first half.
Josh Marshall's holiday list of eight history books he recommends, with short notes on each.
2017-11-22·talkingpointsmemo.com ↗
The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000Book Chris Wickham
Anyway, another really illuminating and pleasurable read, like every book I've read by this author.
Josh Marshall's holiday list of eight history books he recommends, with short notes on each.
2017-11-22·talkingpointsmemo.com ↗
Pathfinders: A Global History of ExplorationBook Felipe Fernández-Armesto
Basically, how did humans go from an origination point in one part of Africa to populate almost the entire globe, all long before the history of any kind of writing. Almost all long before Western European exploration. That's this book. Fascinating read.
Josh Marshall's holiday list of eight history books he recommends, with short notes on each.
2017-11-22·talkingpointsmemo.com ↗
SPQR: A History of Ancient RomeBook Mary Beard
SPQR is a new treatment of the whole civilization from one of our leading contemporary historians of Roman history. A very good read.
Josh Marshall's holiday list of eight history books he recommends, with short notes on each.
2017-11-22·talkingpointsmemo.com ↗
The Triumph of Empire: The Roman World from Hadrian to ConstantineBook Michael Kulikowski
If you're interested in this period, I found it an illuminating, interesting read.
Josh Marshall's holiday list of eight history books he recommends, with short notes on each.
2017-11-22·talkingpointsmemo.com ↗
The Rebels: Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the Struggle for a New American PoliticsBook Joshua Green
I hope you get a chance to read this piece by Josh Green that we published yesterday. It's an excerpt from his new book The Rebels: Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the Struggle for a New American Politics.
Editors' Blog post recommending a book excerpt TPM published.
2024-01-13·talkingpointsmemo.com ↗
Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American RightBook Arlie Russell Hochschild
The article is itself an excerpt or distillation of Hochschild's new book Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right, which I haven't read. I recommend the book on the basis of the article and Hochschild's reputation.
Editors' Blog post pointing readers to Hochschild's field study of Trump supporters.
2016-08-28·talkingpointsmemo.com ↗
The War on Our Freedoms: Civil Liberties in an Age of TerrorismBook Richard C. Leone and Greg Anrig Jr. (eds.)
In any case, this is an important book, which I'm glad to recommend. It's got contributions from all the people you'd want to hear from: Alan Brinkley, E.J. Dionne, Tony Lewis, John Podesta and others.
Editors' Blog post launching the TPM Featured Book, naming its first pick.
2003-08-13·talkingpointsmemo.com ↗
Every entry is a verbatim quote and a link to the public post it came from. Nothing is paraphrased. If it is not on record somewhere public, it is not here.
The verdict is what they actually said: loved and liked are explicit; recommended means they told others to get it; uses means they only say they use it; read is a book on their public shelf with no verdict; mixed and disliked are kept too.
A dashed affiliate link, sponsored or their own label means the post disclosed a relationship. It is shown, never hidden.
The shading behind a date shows how dated a recommendation is for its kind of thing.
The shading behind a date shows how dated a recommendation is, for its kind of thing. Fully green is recent. It drains a quarter at a time as the post gets older, and is empty once it reads as dated.
What counts as old depends on the thing. A laptop praised four years ago has been replaced twice; a book loved twenty years ago is probably still loved. The shading is gone after about:
Stripes mean the post carries no date and the date shown is an estimate. No date at all, no shading.