The 100 best books on politics and society

No. 11 on this list. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity · Judith Butler · 1990

Gender Trouble is taught on virtually every gender studies, feminist theory, and queer theory syllabus globally, appearing widely in sociology, philosophy, cultural studies, and political science courses. Butler's text has been described by scholars as one of the most influential academic books of the 20th century and is as close to canonical as any work in the humanities published after 1980. Its position on university reading lists across North America, Europe, and beyond is unambiguous — a status granted to very few academic monographs.

No. 12 on this list. The United States Constitution · Founding Fathers · 2011

The Constitution is the founding document of the United States and is taught at every level of American education, in history, civics, law and political theory. It is among the most widely taught texts in the world, though this particular free edition is just one copy of it.

No. 13 on this list. Democracy in America · Alexis de Tocqueville · 1835

Required reading in virtually every political theory, American history, and comparative politics curriculum worldwide. The book has never left print since 1835 and is foundational to democratic theory in political science, sociology, and history departments alike. With Wikipedia articles in over 80 languages and presence on thousands of university syllabi across disciplines, it ranks among the most institutionally canonical works of political thought.

No. 14 on this list. Song of Solomon · Toni Morrison · 1977

Morrison sent a young Black man on a mythic quest through four generations of his family's buried history, fusing African-American folklore, biblical allusion, and the cadences of blues and gospel into a narrative structure no American novel had attempted before. The novel proved that flight — literal and metaphorical — could carry the full weight of Black American experience from slavery to self-knowledge.

No. 15 on this list. The Wretched of the Earth · Frantz Fanon · 1961

The Wretched of the Earth appears on syllabi in postcolonial studies, African studies, political philosophy, sociology, and literary theory programs worldwide — among the most-assigned theoretical texts of the 20th century. Its Wikipedia article exists in over 40 languages. It is routinely listed alongside Fanon's Black Skin, White Masks as required reading for anyone working in fields touching on race, colonialism, or global politics.

No. 16 on this list. The Autobiography of Malcolm X · Malcolm X · 1965

It is widely taught in American history and literature courses, is named among Time's most important nonfiction books of the century, and is an essential text in African American studies.

No. 17 on this list. The Handmaid's Tale · Margaret Atwood · 2017

Taught in schools: AQA GCSE and A-level English Literature (UK), OCR GCSE and A-level English Literature (UK), Pearson Edexcel GCSE and A-level English Literature (UK)

The novel is a staple of high school and university courses on dystopia and feminist literature. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, appears on the 1001 Books list, and is published as a Penguin Modern Classic.

No. 18 on this list. The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money · John Maynard Keynes · 1936

The founding text of macroeconomics, the General Theory is standard reading in economics and history of economic thought courses and is assigned in politics and history courses on the Depression and the postwar settlement. It appears on most lists of the most important books of the twentieth century.

No. 19 on this list. The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley · Malcolm X · 1991

It is widely assigned in American history, African American studies and literature courses, and it appears on many lists of essential twentieth-century nonfiction. Time magazine named it among the most important nonfiction books of the century.

No. 20 on this list. Politics and the English Language · George Orwell · 1946

One of the most anthologized and assigned essays in the English language, a fixture of first-year composition, rhetoric, and journalism curricula worldwide. Its six rules and the phrase 'political language' recur in countless style guides and writing handbooks. No syllabus or Wikipedia-language data was available in our database, but its teaching presence rivals the most-taught novels.

No. 21 on this list. This Bridge Called My Back · Cherrie Moraga · 1981

This Bridge Called My Back is required reading in women's studies, ethnic studies, and American literature courses across the United States and beyond. Since its 1981 publication it has appeared on thousands of university syllabi, ranking among the most-taught feminist texts in higher education, comparable in academic penetration to Beloved within its fields. It is listed on essential reading guides across multiple disciplines and remains continuously in print.

No. 22 on this list. Perpetual Peace · Immanuel Kant · 1795

Perpetual Peace is standard reading in political theory and international relations courses worldwide, and anchors the study of liberal internationalism and the democratic peace. It sits below Kant's Critiques in general philosophy syllabi.

No. 23 on this list. Bodies That Matter · Judith Butler · 1993

Bodies That Matter is a foundational text of queer theory and gender studies, assigned in virtually every graduate curriculum in those fields worldwide alongside Gender Trouble. It is one of the defining theoretical works of the 1990s in the humanities and remains a live reference in current scholarship.

No. 24 on this list. The Histories · Herodotus · c. 430 BCE

Herodotus traveled from Egypt to Scythia, interviewed locals, and wrote down everything—the Persian Wars, the customs of distant peoples, talking foxes, flying snakes—inventing both history and ethnography in a single narrative. Cicero called him the father of history; the label has never been seriously challenged.

No. 25 on this list. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life · Erving Goffman · 1956

Appears on thousands of sociology, communication studies, and social psychology syllabi worldwide and is the foundational text for dramaturgical theory in social science. No comparable introduction to microsociology is as widely assigned across disciplines — sociology, anthropology, communication, performance studies, and cultural theory all treat it as required reading.

No. 26 on this list. Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays · George Orwell · 1950

Orwell's essays are standard fixtures in English literature and university composition courses worldwide. 'Shooting an Elephant' and 'Politics and the English Language' rank among the most-assigned essays in undergraduate curricula, appearing across literature, political science, and writing programs. Individual essays have been continuously reprinted since their first collection in the late 1940s.

No. 27 on this list. Administrative behavior · Herbert Alexander Simon · 1947

Administrative Behavior is foundational in organizational theory and public administration curricula worldwide. It is assigned in business schools, public policy programs, and political science departments as a standard text. Simon received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1978 partly on the basis of the theory of bounded rationality developed here, cementing the book's place in the canonical literature of multiple disciplines.

No. 28 on this list. Eichmann in Jerusalem · Hannah Arendt · 1963

Eichmann in Jerusalem appears on syllabi across political philosophy, Holocaust studies, Jewish studies, ethics, history, and law — among the most assigned works of political non-fiction of the 20th century. It is standard reading in any course addressing totalitarianism, moral responsibility, or the Holocaust. The phrase "banality of evil" has entered the language as a fixed concept, which is the clearest measure of canonical status a non-fiction work can achieve.

No. 29 on this list. Grimm's Fairy Tales · Brothers Grimm · 1812

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected Cinderella, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, and Rumpelstiltskin from oral sources and fixed them in print, giving Western childhood its permanent mythology. The collection launched the discipline of folklore studies and remains the most influential story anthology ever published.

No. 30 on this list. The Savage Mind · Claude Lévi-Strauss · 1962

The Savage Mind is the foundational text of structural anthropology and is widely taught across anthropology, cultural studies, philosophy, and literary theory departments worldwide. It appears on syllabi across disciplines — not just anthropology but semiotics, postcolonial theory, and philosophy of mind. Wikipedia editions exist in over 25 languages. It holds canonical status comparable to Beloved in its field, though its audience is academic rather than general.