In this section you can read reviews of academic books covering the USA, and its continental neighbours, Canada and Mexico. Each weekend we publish two reviews, aiming to cover a wide range of books on all aspects of public policy and politics.
GalleryBook Review: Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime by Bruno Latour
In Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime, Bruno Latour explores the political and philosophical challenges proper to a time defined by an environmental and socio-economic crisis. Rodrigo Muñoz-González welcomes this energetic, compelling and provocative attempt to find an alternative vision to the contradictory and flawed project of modernity.
Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime. Bruno Latour (trans. by Catherine […]
GalleryBook Review: Dissident Knowledge in Higher Education edited by Marc Spooner and James McNinch
In Dissident Knowledge in Higher Education, editors Marc Spooner and James McNinch bring together contributors including Noam Chomsky, Linda Tuhiwai Smith and Eve Tuck to offer critical perspectives on the impact of neoliberalism and new managerialism on universities. Grounded in rigorous research, this is a worthy read for scholars, policymakers and education practitioners, writes Khalaf Mohamed Abdellatif.
Dissident Knowledge in Higher Education. Marc Spooner and […]
GalleryBook Review: Vexy Thing: On Gender and Liberation by Imani Perry
In Vexy Thing: On Gender and Liberation, Imani Perry offers a powerful historical analysis of patriarchy and domination that draws on a plethora of philosophical, theoretical and artistic texts. Weaving together a unique tapestry to interrogate the structures of patriarchy and to reimagine liberation, this book should be on the shelf of any graduate student working in the fields of feminist and […]
GalleryBook Review: Robot Rights by David J. Gunkel
In Robot Rights, David J. Gunkel explores the question of whether rights should be extended to robots, examining the philosophical foundations of four key positions and their implications. Gunkel’s interrogation of what has been seen as an ‘unthinkable’ idea offers a valuable and accessible contribution that will prompt reflection on the place of humans in the world and our relationship with other entities of […]
GalleryBook Review: The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap by Mehrsa Baradaran
In The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap, Mehrsa Baradaran studies the crucial role that financial structures have played in creating and maintaining racial inequalities in the United States. This book is not only a valuable historical commentary on the relationship between wealth inequity and racial discrimination, writes Juvaria Jafri, but also contains rich material on the political economy […]
GalleryBook Review: Counter Institution: Activist Estates of the Lower East Side by Nandini Bagchee
In Counter Institution: Activist Estates of the Lower East Side, Nandini Bagchee shifts our focus from the public spaces of New York City to the buildings that have served as hubs of activism. This is a fascinating read that shows how buildings are not solely civic infrastructure, but also crucial spaces for political participation that enable protest to foment, writes Nabaparna Ghosh.
Counter […]
GalleryBook Review: White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo
In White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism, Robin DiAngelo deftly articulates the need for white people to understand and discuss racism by showing how all white Americans share complicity in maintaining racism as the bedrock of US society. The book should encourage white people to intentionally take steps in their own lives to dismantle white supremacy, […]
GalleryBook Review: A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism by Jeffrey D. Sachs
In A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism, Jeffrey D. Sachs argues that the Trump adminstration is a particularly severe episode in a centuries-long tradition of misguided exceptionalist US foreign policy. Instead, he suggests that the US could and should re-commit to international institutions and multilateralism in a book that offers a broad alternative vision not only to the approach of the […]
GalleryLong Read Book Review: Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century by Kehinde Andrews
In Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century, Kehinde Andrews offers a new critical history of Black radical politics, exploring its foundations and key tenets and critiquing its applications in order to outline a vision of Black radicalism for the present. In this long read review, Amal Abu-Bakare examines the book’s contribution, reflecting particularly on the limitations of its understanding of […]
GalleryBook Review: Strangers in their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild
In Strangers in their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right, Arlie Russell Hochschild explores the ‘deep story’ behind the rise of the Tea Party and Donald Trump in the USA, drawing on close contact with her research subjects over a five-year period of living in Louisiana. While the book may struggle to ultimately explain the origins of this […]
