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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
The Narrow Road to the Deep North: A novel Cover

Richard Flanagan

The Narrow Road to the Deep North

A novel

Ezra praised RichardFlanagan's novel about war experiences, noting its powerful depiction of how conflict impacts people.

"

Another book that I think is great, an Australian guy by the name of Flanagan, who wrote a book called The Narrow Road to the North about war experiences and how war experiences impact on people and g...

— Episode: Best Of: This Conversation Will Change H...

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Episode: Best Of: This Conversation Will Change How You Thi...

Ezra praised RichardFlanagan's novel about war experiences, noting its powerful depiction of how conflict impacts people.

"

Another book that I think is great, an Australian guy by the name of Flanagan, who wrote a book called The Narrow Road to the North about war experiences and how war experiences impact on people and get split off.

Ukraine in Histories and Stories: Essays by Ukrainian Intellectuals (Ukrainian Voices) Cover

Volodymyr Yermolenko

Ukraine in Histories and Stories

Essays by Ukrainian Intellectuals (Ukrainian Voices)

The essay collection explored Ukraine's deep past and recent history, and the host praised it as a highly recommended read.

"

Volodymyr Yermolenko is a Ukrainian philosopher and the editor of the 2019 book Ukraine in Histories and Stories, and I highly, highly recommended reading it right now.

— Episode: A Ukrainian Philosopher on What Putin Ne...

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Episode: A Ukrainian Philosopher on What Putin Never Unders...

The essay collection explored Ukraine's deep past and recent history, and the host praised it as a highly recommended read.

"

Volodymyr Yermolenko is a Ukrainian philosopher and the editor of the 2019 book Ukraine in Histories and Stories, and I highly, highly recommended reading it right now.

I would start with the book Ukraine in Histories and Stories, which I edited a few years ago.

Lost Kingdom: Hawaii's Last Queen, the Sugar Kings and America's First Imperial Adventure Cover

Julia Flynn Siler

Lost Kingdom

Hawaii's Last Queen, the Sugar Kings and America's First Imperial Adventure

Plokhy's book traced the rise and fall of Russia's imperial ambitions, and it was mentioned alongside his other works as a key recommendation.

"

Serhii Plokhy's works include The Gates of Europe, Lost Kingdom, and Chernobyl, which I highlighted as essential histories of Ukraine and Russia.

— Episode: A Ukrainian Philosopher on What Putin Ne...

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Episode: A Ukrainian Philosopher on What Putin Never Unders...

Plokhy's book traced the rise and fall of Russia's imperial ambitions, and it was mentioned alongside his other works as a key recommendation.

"

Serhii Plokhy's works include The Gates of Europe, Lost Kingdom, and Chernobyl, which I highlighted as essential histories of Ukraine and Russia.

Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster Cover

Adam Higginbotham

Midnight in Chernobyl

The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster

The author examined the 1986 nuclear disaster, and the host listed it as a mustread for understanding the region's history.

"

Serhii Plokhy's works include The Gates of Europe, Lost Kingdom, and Chernobyl, which I highlighted as essential histories of Ukraine and Russia.

— Episode: A Ukrainian Philosopher on What Putin Ne...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: A Ukrainian Philosopher on What Putin Never Unders...

The author examined the 1986 nuclear disaster, and the host listed it as a mustread for understanding the region's history.

"

Serhii Plokhy's works include The Gates of Europe, Lost Kingdom, and Chernobyl, which I highlighted as essential histories of Ukraine and Russia.

The Dream of Europe Cover

Geert Mak

The Dream of Europe

Yermolenko's 2014 essay argued that Europe suffers from a lack of selfbelief, and it was referenced in the discussion of European identity.

"

I wrote an essay titled Dreams of Europe in 2014, arguing that Europe lacks belief in itself.

— Episode: A Ukrainian Philosopher on What Putin Ne...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: A Ukrainian Philosopher on What Putin Never Unders...

Yermolenko's 2014 essay argued that Europe suffers from a lack of selfbelief, and it was referenced in the discussion of European identity.

"

I wrote an essay titled Dreams of Europe in 2014, arguing that Europe lacks belief in itself.

There Is Nothing For You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century Cover

Fiona Hill

There Is Nothing For You Here

Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century

It was mentioned that Fiona Hill authored this book.

"

She's coauthor of the book Mr. Putin, Operative in the Kremlin and author of There's Nothing for You Here.

— Episode: Fiona Hill on Whether Ukraine Can Win —...

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Episode: Fiona Hill on Whether Ukraine Can Win — and What H...

It was mentioned that Fiona Hill authored this book.

"

She's coauthor of the book Mr. Putin, Operative in the Kremlin and author of There's Nothing for You Here.

You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto Cover

Jaron Lanier

You Are Not a Gadget

A Manifesto

Ezra Klein referenced Lanier's book while discussing how the internet has been pillaging users, citing its critique of technology's impact on humanity.

"

the work of Jaron Lanier, you know, You Are Not a Gadget. There's like a long history going back that we are getting pillaged by the internet.

— Episode: The Most Thorough Case Against Crypto I'...

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Episode: The Most Thorough Case Against Crypto I've Heard

Ezra Klein referenced Lanier's book while discussing how the internet has been pillaging users, citing its critique of technology's impact on humanity.

"

the work of Jaron Lanier, you know, You Are Not a Gadget. There's like a long history going back that we are getting pillaged by the internet.

The Gift: 14 Lessons to Save Your Life Cover

Dr. Edith Eva Eger

The Gift

14 Lessons to Save Your Life

Ezra Klein described Hyde's The Gift as a famous book about a gifting economy that contrasts with capitalist logic in art.

"

there's this very famous beloved book by Lewis Hyde, The Gift, about doing art as a kind of gifting economy, as an alternative to the logic of capitalism.

— Episode: The Most Thorough Case Against Crypto I'...

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Episode: The Most Thorough Case Against Crypto I've Heard

Ezra Klein described Hyde's The Gift as a famous book about a gifting economy that contrasts with capitalist logic in art.

"

there's this very famous beloved book by Lewis Hyde, The Gift, about doing art as a kind of gifting economy, as an alternative to the logic of capitalism.

The Tombs of Atuan (2) (Earthsea Cycle) Cover

Ursula K. Le Guin

The Tombs of Atuan (2) (Earthsea Cycle)

Ezra Klein recommended The Tombs of Atuan, noting it as the second Earthsea novel about a girl confronting a false prophet.

"

A fiction recommendation, The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin. It's her second book in the Earthsea Cycle. Heartbreaking little story about a girl who realizes that she is the fal...

— Episode: The Most Thorough Case Against Crypto I'...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: The Most Thorough Case Against Crypto I've Heard

Ezra Klein recommended The Tombs of Atuan, noting it as the second Earthsea novel about a girl confronting a false prophet.

"

A fiction recommendation, The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin. It's her second book in the Earthsea Cycle. Heartbreaking little story about a girl who realizes that she is the false prophet of a dead god, but very emotionally applicable thing.

Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames Cover

Ian Bogost

Persuasive Games

The Expressive Power of Videogames

Ezra Klein recommended Persuasive Games, calling it a work on rhetoric and interactive media.

"

And third one, Persuasive Games by Ian Bogost, which is about rhetoric and interactive media.

— Episode: The Most Thorough Case Against Crypto I'...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: The Most Thorough Case Against Crypto I've Heard

Ezra Klein recommended Persuasive Games, calling it a work on rhetoric and interactive media.

"

And third one, Persuasive Games by Ian Bogost, which is about rhetoric and interactive media.

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed Cover

Jared Diamond

Collapse

How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

It was introduced as a newly released Yale University Press book that offers a gripping account of the Soviet Union's collapse, linking past tensions to today's RussiaUkraine situation.

"

I'll start with one that's very topical right now and it's a book by Vladislav Zubok called Collapse. It just came out in November with Yale University Press and Zubok is a historian...

— Episode: Sanctioning Russia Is a Form of War. We...

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Episode: Sanctioning Russia Is a Form of War. We Need to Tr...

It was introduced as a newly released Yale University Press book that offers a gripping account of the Soviet Union's collapse, linking past tensions to today's RussiaUkraine situation.

"

I'll start with one that's very topical right now and it's a book by Vladislav Zubok called Collapse. It just came out in November with Yale University Press and Zubok is a historian at the LSE, the London School of Economics and he's written this really fantastic and very gripping book on the end of the Soviet Union.

The Perfect Fascist: A Story of Love, Power, and Morality in Mussolini’s Italy Cover

Victoria De Grazia

The Perfect Fascist

A Story of Love, Power, and Morality in Mussolini’s Italy

Ezra Klein highlighted it as a phenomenal book about Mussolini's chief enforcer and his Jewish American wife, using their story to explore why people became fascists.

"

The second book I'd like to recommend is Victoria de Grazia's The Perfect Fascist. Victoria de Grazia is a historian at Columbia and she's specialized across her entire career in Ital...

— Episode: Sanctioning Russia Is a Form of War. We...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Sanctioning Russia Is a Form of War. We Need to Tr...

Ezra Klein highlighted it as a phenomenal book about Mussolini's chief enforcer and his Jewish American wife, using their story to explore why people became fascists.

"

The second book I'd like to recommend is Victoria de Grazia's The Perfect Fascist. Victoria de Grazia is a historian at Columbia and she's specialized across her entire career in Italy and she's written this phenomenal book which is about one of the main henchmen in Mussolini's regime, the head of Mussolini's black shirts in fascist Italy and his wife who was a Jewish American opera singer from the Upper West Side of New York City. She married him and it's a story about their marriage but also about why people became fascists and how that affected people in their private lives and the public responsibilities of being in this authoritarian regime versus people's private doubts and idiosyncrasies.

My Century: The Odyssey of a Polish Intellectual Cover

Aleksander Wat

My Century

The Odyssey of a Polish Intellectual

The memoir was presented as a vivid interwar Polish writer's account of imprisonment, survival, and literary observation under Soviet oppression.

"

The final book I'd like to recommend is actually a memoir. It's by Aleksander Wat and it's called My Century. Wat was a Polish Jewish writer and poet and a modernist literary figure i...

— Episode: Sanctioning Russia Is a Form of War. We...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Sanctioning Russia Is a Form of War. We Need to Tr...

The memoir was presented as a vivid interwar Polish writer's account of imprisonment, survival, and literary observation under Soviet oppression.

"

The final book I'd like to recommend is actually a memoir. It's by Aleksander Wat and it's called My Century. Wat was a Polish Jewish writer and poet and a modernist literary figure in interwar Poland and he had an incredibly difficult life. He describes his experience of the 30s and 40s which he spent a large amount of in imprisonment by the Soviet Union. He narrowly escaped death several times and ... it is very fruitful also to read a highly articulate and interesting person, document their experiences in that period.

Putin's World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest Cover

Angela Stent

Putin's World

Russia Against the West and with the Rest

Yergin highlighted Stent's book as the top recommendation for understanding Russia's global strategy and why many nations abstained from condemning the invasion.

"

The number one book I would recommend by far as most relevant today is Putin's World by Angela Stent, and the subtitle is Russia Against the West and With the Rest.

— Episode: How Energy Markets Are Shaping Putin’s I...

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Episode: How Energy Markets Are Shaping Putin’s Invasion —...

Yergin highlighted Stent's book as the top recommendation for understanding Russia's global strategy and why many nations abstained from condemning the invasion.

"

The number one book I would recommend by far as most relevant today is Putin's World by Angela Stent, and the subtitle is Russia Against the West and With the Rest.

The Cloud Revolution: How the Convergence of New Technologies Will Unleash the Next Economic Boom and A Roaring 2020s Cover

Mark P. Mills

The Cloud Revolution

How the Convergence of New Technologies Will Unleash the Next Economic Boom and A Roaring 2020s

Yergin cited Mills's work as a third recommendation, describing how cloud technology could spark an economic boom similar to past innovations.

"

The third book is called The Cloud Revolution by a fellow named Mark Mills, and it's about how the convergence of new technologies will create the next economic boom.

— Episode: How Energy Markets Are Shaping Putin’s I...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: How Energy Markets Are Shaping Putin’s Invasion —...

Yergin cited Mills's work as a third recommendation, describing how cloud technology could spark an economic boom similar to past innovations.

"

The third book is called The Cloud Revolution by a fellow named Mark Mills, and it's about how the convergence of new technologies will create the next economic boom.

First Person: An Astonishingly Frank Self-Portrait by Russia's President Vladimir Putin Cover

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin

First Person

An Astonishingly Frank Self-Portrait by Russia's President Vladimir Putin

A passage from Putin's selfpresentation book was quoted to illustrate his view on war and mistakes.

"

This is from Putin's book, First Person. It's a book of selfpresentation, I think that there are always a lot of mistakes made in war.

— Episode: Masha Gessen on Putin’s 'Profoundly Anti...

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Episode: Masha Gessen on Putin’s 'Profoundly Anti-Modern’ W...

A passage from Putin's selfpresentation book was quoted to illustrate his view on war and mistakes.

"

This is from Putin's book, First Person. It's a book of selfpresentation, I think that there are always a lot of mistakes made in war.

Manual for Survival: A Chernobyl Guide to the Future Cover

Kate Brown

Manual for Survival

A Chernobyl Guide to the Future

Brown's book on Chernobyl, described as a history from below, was highlighted for its perspective on totalitarian society.

"

I would also recommend Kate Brown's Manual for Survival, which is a book about Chernobyl... it's a history from below.

— Episode: Masha Gessen on Putin’s 'Profoundly Anti...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Masha Gessen on Putin’s 'Profoundly Anti-Modern’ W...

Brown's book on Chernobyl, described as a history from below, was highlighted for its perspective on totalitarian society.

"

I would also recommend Kate Brown's Manual for Survival, which is a book about Chernobyl... it's a history from below.

Babi Yar: A Document in the Form of a Novel Cover

A. Anatoli

Babi Yar

A Document in the Form of a Novel

Kuznetsov's account of the 1941 massacre at BabiYar was mentioned as an extraordinary work that also reveals Soviet censorship.

"

There's an amazing book called Babi Yar by Anatoliy Kuznetsov, who was a little boy in Kiev in 1941 when the massacre at Babi Yar... shows the bizarre ways Soviet cen...

— Episode: Masha Gessen on Putin’s 'Profoundly Anti...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Masha Gessen on Putin’s 'Profoundly Anti-Modern’ W...

Kuznetsov's account of the 1941 massacre at BabiYar was mentioned as an extraordinary work that also reveals Soviet censorship.

"

There's an amazing book called Babi Yar by Anatoliy Kuznetsov, who was a little boy in Kiev in 1941 when the massacre at Babi Yar... shows the bizarre ways Soviet censorship worked.

The Limits of Partnership: U.S.-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century Cover

Angela E. Stent

The Limits of Partnership

U.S.-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century

Angela Stent's The Limits of Partnership was highlighted as a concise history of U.S.-Russia relations since the Cold War.

"

And then if you want to kind of understand the USRussia relationship, there's a kind of twin books by Angela Stent, One The Limits of Partnership, which traces the ups and downs of th...

— Episode: Fiona Hill on the War Putin Is Really Fi...

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Episode: Fiona Hill on the War Putin Is Really Fighting

Angela Stent's The Limits of Partnership was highlighted as a concise history of U.S.-Russia relations since the Cold War.

"

And then if you want to kind of understand the USRussia relationship, there's a kind of twin books by Angela Stent, One The Limits of Partnership, which traces the ups and downs of the USRussia relationship since the end of the Cold War.

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