This is a short list of titles which can help put our current challenges in perspective. We would highly recommend the first in the list – The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. It’s long but engaging – a page-turner revealing how a corrupt leader can manipulate an entire population with devastating effects.

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The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer, 1960: a comprehensive historical account of Nazi Germany. Essential reading for understanding authoritarian politics and where it can lead.

1984 by George Orwell, 1949: a dystopian novel that has become a playbook for modern authoritarians.

On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder, 2017: a quick read that offers historical lessons from 20th-century Europe to identify and resist modern authoritarian tendencies.

Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic by David Frum, 2018: an examination of the ways in which the first Trump presidency challenged and potentially corrupted American democratic institutions.

Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L Trump, 2020: an intimate exploration of the family disfunction that incubated narcissism and sociopathic tendencies.

Confidence Man by Maggie Haberman, 2022: A scathing exposé of Donald Trump’s lifelong pattern of deception and self-serving ambition.

Fear and Rage by Bob Woodward, 2019 & 2021: detailed and often alarming looks at the inner workings and chaos of the first Trump White House.

On Heroism by Jeffrey Goldberg, 2024: explores Trump’s cowardice and his dismissal of courage in others.

It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis, 1935: eerily prescient, the story of the rise of a populist demagogue and the establishment of a fascist regime in the United States.

Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, 1951: if “On Tyranny” above wasn’t enough, this 700-page book analyzes the roots of totalitarian movements, focusing on Nazism and Stalinism.