Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




The Best Political Books of 2010


Showing

Cover art for CASTLES MADE OF SAND
NONFICTION
Released: Dec. 1, 2010

"Those who suspect espionage is a mug's game will find plenty of evidence here, as well as a great deal of amusement."
A chronicle of the failures of Western intelligence operations in the Middle East. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE WHITES OF THEIR EYES
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 12, 2010

"Learned, lively and shrewd."
Lepore (American History/Harvard Univ.; New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan, 2005, etc.) explores the nexus of the American Revolution, the understanding and telling of history and today's Tea Party. Read full book review >
Cover art for YOUNG MR. OBAMA
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 12, 2010

"An engaging overview of the president's early political education."
Journalist McClelland (The Third Coast: Sailors, Strippers, Fishermen, Folksingers, Long-Haired Ojibway Painters, and God-Save-the-Queen Monarchists of the Great Lakes, 2008, etc.) looks at the effect of President Obama's years in Chicago. Read full book review >
Cover art for HERDING DONKEYS
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 5, 2010

"Engaging and balanced--a stand-out book."
As The Nation political correspondent Berman ably shows, many factors led to the success of President Obama's election campaign, but a crucial aspect is often overlooked--the role played by Howard Dean as chairman of the Democratic Party Read full book review >
Cover art for REASONS TO KILL
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 1, 2010

"A lively, contrarian view of history--fruitful reading for peaceniks and warfighters alike."
A provocative essay on our war-loving, bullying nation. Read full book review >
Cover art for MY NUCLEAR FAMILY
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 24, 2010

"Witty, insightful, scathing, appalling and inspiring--a must-read book on the Iraq war."
A former Naval officer examines his time as a member of an energy task force in Baghdad. Read full book review >
Cover art for MAKING OUR DEMOCRACY WORK
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 14, 2010

"Speaking out without talking down, Breyer renders a signal service to his fellow citizens."
For the general reader, a sitting Justice explains how the Supreme Court won the public trust and what it must do to keep it. Read full book review >
Cover art for CULTURES OF WAR
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 7, 2010

"An unrelenting, incisive, masterly comparative study."
Pulitzer Prize– and National Book Award–winning historian Dower (Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II, 1999, etc.) draws astute ironies between Pearl Harbor and 9/11 in terms of the overweening arrogance of military superpowers. Read full book review >
Cover art for POISONING THE PRESS
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 7, 2010

"Entertaining and enlightening, with lots of fresh reporting for politics buffs."
Award-winning journalist Feldstein (Media and Public Affairs/George Washington Univ.) scrutinizes the clash between Richard Nixon and eagle-eyed, muckraking newspaper columnist Jack Anderson. Read full book review >
Cover art for NECESSARY SECRETS
NONFICTION
Released: May 24, 2010

"A timely, sure-to-be controversial take on a problem that has no easy resolution."
A Hudson Institute scholar examines the enduring tension between the government's need to preserve certain secrets and the role of a free press. Read full book review >
Cover art for ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 5, 2010

"A timely analysis of the forces that will collide as President Obama ponders the way forward in Afghanistan."
Wide-ranging examination of the nexus between domestic politics and foreign policy during the past 60 years. Read full book review >