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 561
Books 1,809

Recently mentioned

Latest Recommendations

Life and Fate: Introduction by Polly Jones (Everyman's Library Contemporary Classics Series) cover

Life and Fate

Vasily Grossman

Mentioned 2 days ago

Platner’s Top Campaign Strategist on What Went Wrong

Katz described it as a stunning human portrayal of the Holocaust and its era.

Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. A really stunning kind of human portrayal of the ramifications of the Holocaust and that entire era.

Buy on Amazon
The Shame: A Novel cover

The Shame

Makenna Goodman

Mentioned 2 days ago

Platner’s Top Campaign Strategist on What Went Wrong

Katz called it a beautiful book about isolation, dreams, and anxiety that felt political despite not being a politics book.

Shame by McKenna Goodman. Beautiful book of kind of the friction of isolation and dreams and anxiety. And I think in some way it's not at all a political book, but it feels political in the way of the conversation we're having.

Buy on Amazon
The Fourth Branch: How State Government Can Save Our Union cover

The Fourth Branch

Daniel Squadron

Mentioned 2 days ago

Platner’s Top Campaign Strategist on What Went Wrong

Katz said it offered an astute observation of where political power sits and how daily governance can be shaped to improve people's lives.

The Fourth Branch by Daniel Squadron. I think it's a really astute observation of where political power is and how we can kind of shape a government that's on a daytoday basis improving people's lives.

Buy on Amazon
The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping's China cover

The Avoidable War

Kevin Rudd

Mentioned 1 week ago

What Xi Jinping Wants

Ezra Klein noted that Kevin Rudd is the author of this book, highlighting Rudd's work on China and Xi Jinping.

He's also the author of The Avonable War.

Buy on Amazon
The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping (Stanford–Hoover Series on Authoritarianism) cover

The Party's Interests Come First

Joseph Torigian

Mentioned 1 week ago

What Xi Jinping Wants

Ezra Klein recommended this book about Xi Jinping's father, calling it a great read.

There's a great book by Joseph Torigian, The Party's Interests Come First, The Life of Xi Zhongxin, Father of Xi Jinping. It's a great book and a great read.

Buy on Amazon
The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao cover

The Souls of China

Ian Johnson

Mentioned 1 week ago

What Xi Jinping Wants

Ezra Klein recommended Ian Johnson's book on the resurgence of religion in modern China, describing it as a great read.

The second is Ian Johnson, The Souls of China, The Return of Religion After Mao. It's about what has occurred on the grounds, in the grassroots with the rise of various forms of Taoism, Buddhism, Protestant Christianity, and other forms of religious belief as a reaction to the uber-materialism of, let's call it, China's ideological orthodoxy. And that is a great read.

Buy on Amazon
The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change cover

The Beginning Comes After the End

Rebecca Solnit

Mentioned 2 weeks ago

The Very Good and Very Bad News on Climate

The book was mentioned as a prominent political essay by RebeccaSolnit, suggested as essential reading.

Rebecca Solnit pound for pound maybe our best political essayist and her book The Beginning Comes After the End

Buy on Amazon
Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization cover

Here Comes the Sun

Bill McKibben

Mentioned 2 weeks ago

The Very Good and Very Bad News on Climate

The host described it as McKibben's most recent book, framing it as a last chance for the climate and a fresh chance for civilization.

He writes the subsect of crucial years and his most recent book is Here Comes the Sun, a last chance for the climate and a fresh chance for civilization.

Buy on Amazon
The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary cover

The Glorians

Terry Tempest Williams

Mentioned 2 weeks ago

The Very Good and Very Bad News on Climate

It was highlighted as a great nature essay written by Terry TempestWilliams.

Terry Tempest Williams great nature essayist a book called The Glorians

Buy on Amazon
The Carbon Wave: A Story of Democracy, Parenthood, and the Race to Protect Our Planet cover

The Carbon Wave

Leah C. Stokes

Mentioned 2 weeks ago

The Very Good and Very Bad News on Climate

It was presented as a new book by Leah Stokes that tells the inside story of the Inflation Reduction Act and her work on utilities.

Leah Stokes maybe our leading expert on utilities played a huge role in getting the IRA through and she tells that story in a book called The Carbon Wave

Buy on Amazon
Brought to You By: How Corporations Warped the Truth, Conned the Public, and Broke Democracy cover

Brought to You By

Amy Westervelt

Mentioned 2 weeks ago

The Very Good and Very Bad News on Climate

The host cited it as Amy Westervelt's new book exposing how corporations have warped the truth about climate and energy.

Amy Westervelt tremendous freelance reporter on a lot of climate and energy issues and on larger things a new book called Brought to You By How Corporations Have Warped the Truth

Buy on Amazon
The Holocaust and the Nakba: A New Grammar of Trauma and History (Religion, Culture, and Public Life, 39) cover

The Holocaust and the Nakba

Bashir Bashir

Mentioned 2 weeks ago

A Radical Vision for Israelis and Palestinians

Rula said it was very important to understand the current situation and that the book, written before October7th, remained essential.

I decided to choose three books that are related to the conversation that we are having today the first one is The Holocaust and the Nakba edited by good colleagues and friends Bashir Bashir and Amos Goldberg it's very important to understand what's happening now it was written before October 7th and the genocide in Gaza but it's still very important essential book

Buy on Amazon

Most Recommended

God and Man at Yale: The Superstitions of Academic Freedom. Reprint of the 1951 Ed With a New Introd by the Author Cover

William F. Buckley

God and Man at Yale

The Superstitions of Academic Freedom. Reprint of the 1951 Ed With a New Introd by the Author

He noted that Buckley's first book attacked his alma mater for its Keynesian economics and secular outlook, marking his early controversial stance.

"

His first book, God and Man at Yale, an attack on his alma mater for being too Keynesian and being too atheistic and materialistic. He was a controversial figure.

— Episode: Donald Trump Didn’t Hijack the G.O.P. He...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Donald Trump Didn’t Hijack the G.O.P. He Understoo...

He noted that Buckley's first book attacked his alma mater for its Keynesian economics and secular outlook, marking his early controversial stance.

"

His first book, God and Man at Yale, an attack on his alma mater for being too Keynesian and being too atheistic and materialistic. He was a controversial figure.

MCCARTHY AND HIS ENEMIES Cover

L. Brent Buckley, Jr., William F.; Bozell

MCCARTHY AND HIS ENEMIES

He mentioned it as Buckley's extensive, legalstyle defense of Senator McCarthy, cowritten with Brent Bozell.

"

He cowrites a book with his brotherinlaw, Brent Bozell, called MCCARTHY AND HIS ENEMIES, which is almost a legalistic book. It's very long.

— Episode: Donald Trump Didn’t Hijack the G.O.P. He...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Donald Trump Didn’t Hijack the G.O.P. He Understoo...

He mentioned it as Buckley's extensive, legalstyle defense of Senator McCarthy, cowritten with Brent Bozell.

"

He cowrites a book with his brotherinlaw, Brent Bozell, called MCCARTHY AND HIS ENEMIES, which is almost a legalistic book. It's very long.

Typeset in the Future: Typography and Design in Science Fiction Movies Cover

Dave Addey

Typeset in the Future

Typography and Design in Science Fiction Movies

Ezra Klein recommended the book as a visual guide that examines the typography of classic scifi movies, describing it as nerdy, glorious, and a mustread for design lovers. He emphasized its focus on fonts and what they reveal about our visions of the future.

"

So I thought I would say that everyone should go out and buy a book by a blogger, Dave Addy. It's called Typeset in the Future. And it is an absolutely wonderful book where he goes th...

— Episode: Elon Musk Might Break Twitter. Maybe Tha...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Elon Musk Might Break Twitter. Maybe That's a Good...

Ezra Klein recommended the book as a visual guide that examines the typography of classic scifi movies, describing it as nerdy, glorious, and a mustread for design lovers. He emphasized its focus on fonts and what they reveal about our visions of the future.

"

So I thought I would say that everyone should go out and buy a book by a blogger, Dave Addy. It's called Typeset in the Future. And it is an absolutely wonderful book where he goes through all of the great science fiction movies like Alien or Aliens or Star Wars or 2001, and looks at the fonts in those movies, and basically explains which fonts are used, why they're used, what they mean, and how that reflects our visions of the future.

Typeset in the Future: Typography and Design in Science Fiction Movies Cover

Dave Addey

Typeset in the Future

Typography and Design in Science Fiction Movies

Ezra Klein recommended the book for its visual exploration of fonts in classic sciencefiction movies, calling it nerdy and glorious.

"

I thought I would say that everyone should go out and buy a book by a blogger, Dave Addy. It's called Typeset in the Future and it is an absolutely wonderful book where he goes throug...

— Episode: Elon Musk Might Break Twitter. Maybe Tha...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Elon Musk Might Break Twitter. Maybe That's a Good...

Ezra Klein recommended the book for its visual exploration of fonts in classic sciencefiction movies, calling it nerdy and glorious.

"

I thought I would say that everyone should go out and buy a book by a blogger, Dave Addy. It's called Typeset in the Future and it is an absolutely wonderful book where he goes through all of the great science fiction movies like Alien or Aliens or Star Wars or 2001, looks at the fonts in those movies, explains which fonts are used, why they're used, what they mean, and how that reflects our visions of the future. It's nerdy as all hell, but it is absolutely glorious.

The Simple Path to Wealth: Your Road Map to Financial Independence and a Rich, Free Life Cover

J L Collins

The Simple Path to Wealth

Your Road Map to Financial Independence and a Rich, Free Life

Krastev praised Free as a beautifully written book about freedom in Albania, recommending it strongly.

"

This is Lea Ypi's book Free. This is a young Albanian political philosopher ... beautifully written book. Really worth.

— Episode: Putin May Not Like How He’s Changed Euro...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Putin May Not Like How He’s Changed Europe

Krastev praised Free as a beautifully written book about freedom in Albania, recommending it strongly.

"

This is Lea Ypi's book Free. This is a young Albanian political philosopher ... beautifully written book. Really worth.

The Complete Grimms' Fairy Tales: Includes The Golden Bird, The Frog-Prince, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, and many more (Grapevine Edition) Cover

Jacob Grimm

The Complete Grimms' Fairy Tales

Includes The Golden Bird, The Frog-Prince, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, and many more (Grapevine Edition)

It was recommended as a beautifully written account of Albanian freedom in the 1990s.

"

One is a book which I found really, really, very important, and I see that this is now well read. This is Lea Iapi's book Free.

— Episode: Putin May Not Like How He’s Changed Euro...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Putin May Not Like How He’s Changed Europe

It was recommended as a beautifully written account of Albanian freedom in the 1990s.

"

One is a book which I found really, really, very important, and I see that this is now well read. This is Lea Iapi's book Free.

Scary Monsters Cover

Scary Monsters

Ezra Klein recommended it as a twonovella novel dealing with immigration and xenophobia, saying he loved its harrowing yet beautiful writing.

"

It's called Scary Monsters by Michelle de Kretzer. It's got a really interesting structure. It's essentially two novellas... I really loved it.

— Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Pa...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Parenting an...

Ezra Klein recommended it as a twonovella novel dealing with immigration and xenophobia, saying he loved its harrowing yet beautiful writing.

"

It's called Scary Monsters by Michelle de Kretzer. It's got a really interesting structure. It's essentially two novellas... I really loved it.

Fear Not, Sweet Frances Cover

Arin Guthe

Fear Not, Sweet Frances

Ezra Klein called it a beautiful, lucid novel about the Nazi invasion of Paris, noting its stunning prose and structure.

"

It's called Sweet Frances by Irene Nemirovsky. It's this beautiful, very lucid and clearly written novel about the Nazi invasion of Paris...

— Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Pa...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Parenting an...

Ezra Klein called it a beautiful, lucid novel about the Nazi invasion of Paris, noting its stunning prose and structure.

"

It's called Sweet Frances by Irene Nemirovsky. It's this beautiful, very lucid and clearly written novel about the Nazi invasion of Paris...

Gilead (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel Cover

Marilynne Robinson

Gilead (Oprah's Book Club)

A Novel

Ezra Klein cited a favorite line from Gilead while discussing literary influences.

"

One of my favorite lines in all literature is from Marilyn Robinson's Gilead, where her narrator says...

— Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Pa...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Parenting an...

Ezra Klein cited a favorite line from Gilead while discussing literary influences.

"

One of my favorite lines in all literature is from Marilyn Robinson's Gilead, where her narrator says...

Scary Monsters Cover

Scary Monsters

He praised it as a twonovella structure tackling immigration and xenophobia with harrowing yet beautiful prose.

"

It's called Scary Monsters by Michelle de Kretzer. It's got a really interesting structure. It's essentially two novellas...they're concerned with the same themes around immigration a...

— Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Pa...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Parenting an...

He praised it as a twonovella structure tackling immigration and xenophobia with harrowing yet beautiful prose.

"

It's called Scary Monsters by Michelle de Kretzer. It's got a really interesting structure. It's essentially two novellas...they're concerned with the same themes around immigration and xenophobia. It's just really kind of harrowing and beautifully written.

Ill Will (Aisle and Error Book 2) Cover

Elle Rivers

Ill Will (Aisle and Error Book 2)

He described it as a creepy, compelling novel that stays with the reader long after finishing.

"

It's called Ill Will by Dan Shon, his last name is spelled like chaos, but with an N instead of an S. It's a really creepy book. It's incredibly compelling. It's one of those books th...

— Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Pa...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Parenting an...

He described it as a creepy, compelling novel that stays with the reader long after finishing.

"

It's called Ill Will by Dan Shon, his last name is spelled like chaos, but with an N instead of an S. It's a really creepy book. It's incredibly compelling. It's one of those books that stays with you.

Gilead (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel Cover

Marilynne Robinson

Gilead (Oprah's Book Club)

A Novel

He cited a favorite line from it while discussing themes of paying attention to the world.

"

One of my favorite lines in all literature is from Marilyn Robinson's Gilead, where her narrator says in a letter to his son, this is an interesting planet. It deserves all the attention you can give...

— Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Pa...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Parenting an...

He cited a favorite line from it while discussing themes of paying attention to the world.

"

One of my favorite lines in all literature is from Marilyn Robinson's Gilead, where her narrator says in a letter to his son, this is an interesting planet. It deserves all the attention you can give it.

Scary Monsters Cover

Scary Monsters

Ezra recommended this recent novel of two interlinked novellas that deals with immigration and xenophobia, calling it harrowing and beautifully written.

"

It's called Scary Monsters by Michelle de Kretser. It's got a really interesting structure. It's essentially two novellas... concerned with the same themes around immigration and xeno...

— Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Pa...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Parenting an...

Ezra recommended this recent novel of two interlinked novellas that deals with immigration and xenophobia, calling it harrowing and beautifully written.

"

It's called Scary Monsters by Michelle de Kretser. It's got a really interesting structure. It's essentially two novellas... concerned with the same themes around immigration and xenophobia. It's just really kind of harrowing and beautifully written.

Ill Will (Aisle and Error Book 2) Cover

Elle Rivers

Ill Will (Aisle and Error Book 2)

Ezra described Ill Will as a creepy, compelling novel that stays with you long after reading.

"

The second is a novel that might be the only book I've read twice in the last 10 years or so called Ill Will by Dan Chaon... It's a really creepy book. It's incredibly compelling. It'...

— Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Pa...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Parenting an...

Ezra described Ill Will as a creepy, compelling novel that stays with you long after reading.

"

The second is a novel that might be the only book I've read twice in the last 10 years or so called Ill Will by Dan Chaon... It's a really creepy book. It's incredibly compelling. It's one of those books that stays with you.

Gilead (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel Cover

Marilynne Robinson

Gilead (Oprah's Book Club)

A Novel

Emily quoted a line from Gilead as one of her favorite literary passages, reflecting on attention and reverence for the planet.

"

One of my favorite lines in all literature is from Marilyn Robinson's Gilead, where her narrator says in a letter to his son, 'This is an interesting planet. It deserves all the attention you can give...

— Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Pa...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Emily St. John Mandel on Time Travel, Parenting an...

Emily quoted a line from Gilead as one of her favorite literary passages, reflecting on attention and reverence for the planet.

"

One of my favorite lines in all literature is from Marilyn Robinson's Gilead, where her narrator says in a letter to his son, 'This is an interesting planet. It deserves all the attention you can give it.'

Climate Wars: What People Will Be Killed For in the 21st Century Cover

Harald Welzer

Climate Wars

What People Will Be Killed For in the 21st Century

Sean called it a "ticktock of the failure of WaxmanMarkey," linking climate policy to political strategy.

"

my last book would be a book called Climate Wars by Eric Poole. It's a ticktock of the failure of Waxman Markey. And as I've been thinking about the reconciliation bill, I've been thi...

— Episode: Can Democrats Turn Their 2022 Around?

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Can Democrats Turn Their 2022 Around?

Sean called it a "ticktock of the failure of WaxmanMarkey," linking climate policy to political strategy.

"

my last book would be a book called Climate Wars by Eric Poole. It's a ticktock of the failure of Waxman Markey. And as I've been thinking about the reconciliation bill, I've been thinking about sort of like 2010.

Memorial Days: A Memoir Cover

Geraldine Brooks

Memorial Days

A Memoir

Anat described it as a short, potent novel about a complex biracial gay relationship and family loss.

"

Another is the beautiful, beautiful novel Memorial by an author named Brian Washington. It's short. It's potent. It's about an incredibly complex biracial gay relationship. It's about family. It's abo...

— Episode: Can Democrats Turn Their 2022 Around?

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Can Democrats Turn Their 2022 Around?

Anat described it as a short, potent novel about a complex biracial gay relationship and family loss.

"

Another is the beautiful, beautiful novel Memorial by an author named Brian Washington. It's short. It's potent. It's about an incredibly complex biracial gay relationship. It's about family. It's about loss. It's very moving.

The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet Cover

Michael E. Mann

The New Climate War

The Fight to Take Back Our Planet

Sean called it a "ticktock" of the WaxmanMarkey failure and a look at how policymakers can design climate policy to actually achieve their goals.

"

And then my last book would be a book called The Climate War by Eric Pooley. It's a ticktock of the failure of WaxmanMarkey, and as I've been thinking about the reconciliation bill I'm thinking about...

— Episode: Can Democrats Turn Their 2022 Around?

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Can Democrats Turn Their 2022 Around?

Sean called it a "ticktock" of the WaxmanMarkey failure and a look at how policymakers can design climate policy to actually achieve their goals.

"

And then my last book would be a book called The Climate War by Eric Pooley. It's a ticktock of the failure of WaxmanMarkey, and as I've been thinking about the reconciliation bill I'm thinking about how we as people who think about polling can sort of think about policy and design policies in such a way to actually achieve the goals we set out to achieve.

Memorial: An Excavation of the Iliad Cover

Alice Oswald

Memorial

An Excavation of the Iliad

Anat called it a beautiful, short, potent novel about a complex biracial gay relationship, family and loss, and said it was very moving.

"

Another is the beautiful, beautiful novel Memorial by an author named Bryan Washington. It's short, it's potent, it's about an incredibly complex biracial gay relationship, about fami...

— Episode: Can Democrats Turn Their 2022 Around?

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Can Democrats Turn Their 2022 Around?

Anat called it a beautiful, short, potent novel about a complex biracial gay relationship, family and loss, and said it was very moving.

"

Another is the beautiful, beautiful novel Memorial by an author named Bryan Washington. It's short, it's potent, it's about an incredibly complex biracial gay relationship, about family, about loss, and it's very moving.

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