The Ezra Klein Show
Book Recommendations

The Ezra Klein Show

Ezra Klein invites you into a conversation on something that matters. How do we address climate change if the political system fails to act? Has the logic of markets infiltrated too many aspects of our lives? What is the future of the Republican Party? What do psychedelics teach us about consciousne...

Episodes 550
Books 1,781
First Among Equals: U.S. Foreign Policy in a Multipolar World Cover

Emma Ashford

First Among Equals

U.S. Foreign Policy in a Multipolar World

The host introduced Emma Ashford as the author of the forthcoming title, noting its imminent release. The mention served to inform listeners about her upcoming work on U.S. foreign policy. No specific endorsement or critique was offered.

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: The Emergent Trump Doctrine

The host introduced Emma Ashford as the author of the forthcoming book First Among Equals, noting it would be released soon.

"

She is the author of the forthcoming book First Among Equals.

A Superpower Transformed: The Remaking of American Foreign Relations in the 1970s Cover

Daniel J. Sargent

A Superpower Transformed

The Remaking of American Foreign Relations in the 1970s

Emma Ashford said she had been reading A Superpower Transformed, which examines the overlapping changes in U.S. policy during the 1970s through Nixon, Ford, and Carter.

"

Well on the Nixon point actually I've been reading A Superpower Transformed by Dan Sargent which basically looks at all of those overlapping changes that happened in the 1970s through...

— Episode: The Emergent Trump Doctrine

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: The Emergent Trump Doctrine

Emma Ashford said she had been reading A Superpower Transformed, which examines the overlapping changes in U.S. policy during the 1970s through Nixon, Ford, and Carter.

"

Well on the Nixon point actually I've been reading A Superpower Transformed by Dan Sargent which basically looks at all of those overlapping changes that happened in the 1970s through Nixon Ford Carter so if that's a good model for this moment and maybe it is it's a really good read.

The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict Cover

Elbridge A. Colby

The Strategy of Denial

American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict

She recommended A Strategy of Denial as a valuable read for understanding U.S. defense policy and the Pentagon's view on Asia and Taiwan.

"

It's a really good read I think if you want to understand US defense policy it's worth picking up A Strategy of Denial by Elbridge Colby who's now at the Pentagon this is his book on US involvement in...

— Episode: The Emergent Trump Doctrine

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: The Emergent Trump Doctrine

She recommended A Strategy of Denial as a valuable read for understanding U.S. defense policy and the Pentagon's view on Asia and Taiwan.

"

It's a really good read I think if you want to understand US defense policy it's worth picking up A Strategy of Denial by Elbridge Colby who's now at the Pentagon this is his book on US involvement in Asia how he thinks about Taiwan and its importance.

A World Safe for Commerce: American Foreign Policy from the Revolution to the Rise of China (Princeton Studies in International History and Politics) Cover

Dale C. Copeland

A World Safe for Commerce

American Foreign Policy from the Revolution to the Rise of China (Princeton Studies in International History and Politics)

The host highlighted the book as a comprehensive historical analysis of how American foreign policy has been driven by trade and market access, noting its relevance to contemporary discussions. She recommended it as a valuable resource for understanding the evolution of U.S. strategy from the Revolution to the rise of China.

Highly Recommended
Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: The Emergent Trump Doctrine

She suggested A World Safe for Commerce as a lengthy historical treatment of how U.S. foreign policy has been shaped by trade and market access.

"

And then finally I would say A World Safe for Commerce by Dale Copeland which is this lengthy historical treatment of how the US and its foreign policy have been impacted by our trade with other countries which again seems very relevant for the current moment.

Lost & Found: A Memoir Cover

Kathryn Schulz

Lost & Found

A Memoir

The guest described it as an unusually beautiful memoir that intertwines the loss of her father with finding love, noting its moving meditation on how opposite experiences are connected.

"

I ran into this unusually beautiful book that's all about this experience. It's called Lost and Found. It's by Katherine Schultz, a writer at The New Yorker.

— Episode: Our Lives Are an Endless Series of 'And'

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Our Lives Are an Endless Series of 'And'

The guest described it as an unusually beautiful memoir that intertwines the loss of her father with finding love, noting its moving meditation on how opposite experiences are connected.

"

I ran into this unusually beautiful book that's all about this experience. It's called Lost and Found. It's by Katherine Schultz, a writer at The New Yorker.

For a while after my father died, I could not stop seeing the world as it really is, marked everywhere by the evidence of past losses and the imminence of future ones. This was not because his death was a tragedy. My father died peacefully at 74, tended throughout his final weeks by those he loved most.

Spent: A Comic Novel – A Masterful Political Autofiction About Climate Crisis, Privilege, and Humanity Cover

Alison Bechdel

Spent

A Comic Novel – A Masterful Political Autofiction About Climate Crisis, Privilege, and Humanity

He highlighted Spent as a graphic novel exploring a tough upbringing and later financial success, noted for its humor and insights.

"

Number two is a book that just is out this week, I believe, which is this wonderful graphic novel Spent by Alison Bechdel with beautiful color artwork by her partner, Holly Ray Taylor...

— Episode: Our Lives Are an Endless Series of 'And'

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Our Lives Are an Endless Series of 'And'

He highlighted Spent as a graphic novel exploring a tough upbringing and later financial success, noted for its humor and insights.

"

Number two is a book that just is out this week, I believe, which is this wonderful graphic novel Spent by Alison Bechdel with beautiful color artwork by her partner, Holly Ray Taylor. It's about the experience of growing up in a relatively hardscrabble family and living this kind of marginal artistic existence and then suddenly finding yourself reasonably well-off.

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century Cover

Barbara W. Tuchman

A Distant Mirror

The Calamitous 14th Century

Ezra described it as a favorite recent read that vividly portrays 14thcentury France during the Black Plague and Hundred Years' War.

"

So one book I've been reading recently that I really love is called A Distant Mirror, The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman.

— Episode: The Growing Scandal of $TRUMP

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: The Growing Scandal of $TRUMP

Ezra described it as a favorite recent read that vividly portrays 14thcentury France during the Black Plague and Hundred Years' War.

"

So one book I've been reading recently that I really love is called A Distant Mirror, The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman.

Gretel and the Great War: A Novel Cover

Adam Ehrlich Sachs

Gretel and the Great War

A Novel

Ezra said it was a novel of interconnected fables set in early20thcentury Vienna, offering a literary puzzle of preNazism Jewish Europe.

"

Then a novel I really liked recently is called Gretel and the Great War, it's by Adam Sachs.

— Episode: The Growing Scandal of $TRUMP

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: The Growing Scandal of $TRUMP

Ezra said it was a novel of interconnected fables set in early20thcentury Vienna, offering a literary puzzle of preNazism Jewish Europe.

"

Then a novel I really liked recently is called Gretel and the Great War, it's by Adam Sachs.

Shy: A Novel Cover

Max Porter

Shy

A Novel

He praised the posthumous memoir by Mary Rodgers (with Jesse Green), describing it as a delightful, gossipy account of mid20thcentury Broadway, including her relationship with Stephen Sondheim.

"

My third recommendation is going to be Shy, which is the musical composer Mary Rodgers' memoir, published posthumously with Jesse Green, who is the theater critic here at the Times. ....

— Episode: Trump’s Big Budget Bomb

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Trump’s Big Budget Bomb

He praised the posthumous memoir by Mary Rodgers (with Jesse Green), describing it as a delightful, gossipy account of mid20thcentury Broadway, including her relationship with Stephen Sondheim.

"

My third recommendation is going to be Shy, which is the musical composer Mary Rodgers' memoir, published posthumously with Jesse Green, who is the theater critic here at the Times. ... It's like very diShy. There's a lot in it about, you know, mid-20th century gossip from Broadway and how she dated Stephen Sondheim, who recently passed away ... It's just a delightful, delightful, gossipy memoir.

Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again Cover

Jake Tapper

Original Sin

President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again

Original Sin was described as a new paperback that reconstructs what Democrats should have known about Biden's decline, the alleged coverup, and his decision to run again.

"

Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's new book Original Sin President Biden's decline Its cover-up And his disastrous choice to run again Is a reconstruction of what Democrats should have k...

— Episode: How Groupthink Protected Biden and Re-el...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: How Groupthink Protected Biden and Re-elected Trum...

Original Sin was described as a new paperback that reconstructs what Democrats should have known about Biden's decline, the alleged coverup, and his decision to run again.

"

Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's new book Original Sin President Biden's decline Its cover-up And his disastrous choice to run again Is a reconstruction of what Democrats should have known And when they should have known it

Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich Cover

Richard J. Evans

Hitler's People

The Faces of the Third Reich

Hitler's People was cited as a hardcover that explores how the Holocaust came about in Germany and builds on earlier scholarship.

"

There is a book called Hitler's People, I think it's called, by Richard Evans, which is about how it came to be that the Holocaust happened in Germany

— Episode: How Groupthink Protected Biden and Re-el...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: How Groupthink Protected Biden and Re-elected Trum...

Hitler's People was cited as a hardcover that explores how the Holocaust came about in Germany and builds on earlier scholarship.

"

There is a book called Hitler's People, I think it's called, by Richard Evans, which is about how it came to be that the Holocaust happened in Germany

Holy Roller Vol. 1 Cover

Rick Remender

Holy Roller Vol. 1

In the episode, the hosts highlighted the graphic novel as an enjoyable and weird story about a Jewish bowling superhero from Ohio, noting its unique premise and the involvement of notable creators. They mentioned it in passing while discussing broader topics, without providing a deep analysis or recommendation.

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: How Groupthink Protected Biden and Re-elected Trum...

The Holy Roller was highlighted as a graphic novel by Andy Samberg, Joe Trohman and Rick Remender featuring a Jewish bowling superhero from Ohio.

"

There is a graphic novel that is written by Andy Samberg and some others with him called The Holy Roller, which is about a Jewish bowling Ohio superhero that I have started and is enjoyable and weird

The Reactionary Spirit: How America's Most Insidious Political Tradition Swept the World Cover

Zack Beauchamp

The Reactionary Spirit

How America's Most Insidious Political Tradition Swept the World

The host described the book as examining how competitive authoritarianism is unfolding worldwide, positioning it as the author's perspective on global trends.

"

His book, The Reactionary Spirit, looks at the way this has been happening worldwide.

— Episode: Is Trump Losing? A Debate

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Is Trump Losing? A Debate

The host described the book as examining how competitive authoritarianism is unfolding worldwide, positioning it as the author's perspective on global trends.

"

His book, The Reactionary Spirit, looks at the way this has been happening worldwide.

Political Liberalism (Columbia Classics in Philosophy) Cover

John Rawls

Political Liberalism (Columbia Classics in Philosophy)

Klein identified Political Liberalism as his political lodestar, suggesting it offers foundational principles for navigating the current crisis.

"

my political lodestar is John Rawls in his book Political Liberalism.

— Episode: Is Trump Losing? A Debate

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Is Trump Losing? A Debate

Klein identified Political Liberalism as his political lodestar, suggesting it offers foundational principles for navigating the current crisis.

"

my political lodestar is John Rawls in his book Political Liberalism.

Melting Point: Family, Memory, and the Search for a Promised Land Cover

Rachel Cockerell

Melting Point

Family, Memory, and the Search for a Promised Land

Klein mentioned picking up Melting Point, describing it as a collection of primary sources that immerses readers in early Zionist history.

"

I just picked this up a couple of days ago. It's called Melting Point, and it's all primary sources.

— Episode: Is Trump Losing? A Debate

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Is Trump Losing? A Debate

Klein mentioned picking up Melting Point, describing it as a collection of primary sources that immerses readers in early Zionist history.

"

I just picked this up a couple of days ago. It's called Melting Point, and it's all primary sources.

The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better Cover

Jenny Anderson

The Disengaged Teen

Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better

It was presented as a guide to help kids learn better, feel better, and live better. The host highlighted a character from the book who transformed her engagement through projectbased studios.

"

My guest today is Rebecca Winthrop, the director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. Her latest book coauthored with Jenny Anderson is The Disengaged Teen

— Episode: ‘We Have to Really Rethink the Purpose o...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: ‘We Have to Really Rethink the Purpose of Educatio...

It was presented as a guide to help kids learn better, feel better, and live better. The host highlighted a character from the book who transformed her engagement through projectbased studios.

"

My guest today is Rebecca Winthrop, the director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. Her latest book coauthored with Jenny Anderson is The Disengaged Teen, helping kids learn better, feel better, and live better.

We have a great character in the book I've done with Jenny Anderson, The Disengaged Teen, named Kia. She was totally disengaged, doom scrolling in middle school, and then these studios showed up. She got super into it because she was learning history and science...

Democracy and Education Cover

John Dewey

Democracy and Education

It was recommended as a classic work whose ideas about reflection and meaningmaking are still relevant for modern schooling. The guest praised its lasting insight into democratic purposes of education.

"

So, the first one is Democracy and Education by John Dewey, which is over 100 years old. ... He has some great discussions around the importance of reflection, not just ingesting know...

— Episode: ‘We Have to Really Rethink the Purpose o...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: ‘We Have to Really Rethink the Purpose of Educatio...

It was recommended as a classic work whose ideas about reflection and meaningmaking are still relevant for modern schooling. The guest praised its lasting insight into democratic purposes of education.

"

So, the first one is Democracy and Education by John Dewey, which is over 100 years old. ... He has some great discussions around the importance of reflection, not just ingesting knowledge, but reflecting on it, making meaning, figuring out how to do things with it.

Unwired: Gaining Control over Addictive Technologies Cover

Gaia Bernstein

Unwired

Gaining Control over Addictive Technologies

It was highlighted as a useful overview of the incentives behind addictive technologies and strategies for resisting them, especially for kids and young people. The guest expressed personal appreciation for the book.

"

The second book is by Gaia Bernstein. It's called Unwired, Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies. ... I really enjoy this book because it gives a really good overview, particula...

— Episode: ‘We Have to Really Rethink the Purpose o...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: ‘We Have to Really Rethink the Purpose of Educatio...

It was highlighted as a useful overview of the incentives behind addictive technologies and strategies for resisting them, especially for kids and young people. The guest expressed personal appreciation for the book.

"

The second book is by Gaia Bernstein. It's called Unwired, Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies. ... I really enjoy this book because it gives a really good overview, particularly around kids and young people, of the incentives that commercial tech has and what are some strategies for resisting that and getting to a better place.

Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts Cover

Margaret Atwood

Book of Lives

A Memoir of Sorts

It was mentioned as an upcoming memoir slated for release in the fall.

"

When we spoke, she just published an essay collection, Burning Questions. And she has a new book coming out in the fall, Book of Lives, A Memoir of Sorts.

— Episode: Best Of: Margaret Atwood on American Myt...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Best Of: Margaret Atwood on American Myths and Aut...

It was mentioned as an upcoming memoir slated for release in the fall.

"

When we spoke, she just published an essay collection, Burning Questions. And she has a new book coming out in the fall, Book of Lives, A Memoir of Sorts.

How To Draw Everything: 300 Drawings of Cute Stuff, Animals, Food, Gifts, and other Amazing Things | Book For Kids Cover

Emma Greene

How To Draw Everything

300 Drawings of Cute Stuff, Animals, Food, Gifts, and other Amazing Things | Book For Kids

The book was suggested as a source for reading about the connection between energy sources and culture.

"

And if you want to read about that, you can get a book called Art and Energy by Barry Lorde.

— Episode: Best Of: Margaret Atwood on American Myt...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Best Of: Margaret Atwood on American Myths and Aut...

The book was suggested as a source for reading about the connection between energy sources and culture.

"

And if you want to read about that, you can get a book called Art and Energy by Barry Lorde.

Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.