Talking Times, Summer 2019 - Section 2

Recent Books About Politics and Our Government

Below is a list of 8 books produced commercially and published in 2017 and 2018 about politics and our government. All are non-fiction, best sellers.

A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey (DB90517)

Former FBI director shares lessons and anecdotes from his decades of government service. Includes discussions of specific cases in which he was involved, such as prosecuting the Mafia and Martha Stewart, effecting changes to torture and surveillance policies, and overseeing the Clinton email investigation. Narrated by the author. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2018.

Becoming by Michelle Obama (DB92627)

A memoir by the former First Lady, the first African American in that role. Obama recounts her childhood in Chicago, her years balancing motherhood and her career as an executive, and her time in the White House. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2018.

Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward (DB91876)

Pulitzer prize-winning investigative journalist details the decision-making process for both foreign and domestic policy in the Trump administration. Draws on interviews with firsthand sources, meeting notes, diaries, files, and documents. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2018.

Killing the Deep State: The Fight to Save President Trump by Jerome Corsi (DB92128)

Self-proclaimed conspiracy expert theorizes about a shadow organization which he calls the "Deep State" attempting to undermine President Donald J. Trump and his administration. Presents strategies for the administration to employ against this theoretical entity. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. Non-Fiction History. U.S. 2018.

Trumped Up: How Criminalization of Political Differences Endangers Democracy by Alan Dershowitz (DB92820)

Prominent law professor discusses early twenty-first-century America's hyper-partisan politics, particularly during the Trump presidency. Examines the author's views on the dangers of intolerance from the Left and authoritarian rhetoric from the Right. Calls for Americans to focus on what unites rather than divides. Politics and Government 2017.

Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House by Omarosa Manigault (DB92159)

A former presidential assistant and director of communications for the Trump Administration's Office of Public Liaison details her time in the White House and discusses the behind-the-scenes operations of the Trump presidency, as well as her interactions with President Trump before his time in office. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2018.

You Can't Spell America Without Me: The Really Tremendous Inside Story of My Fantastic Year as President Donald J. Trump (a so-called parody) by Alec Baldwin (DB89948)

A satirical presidential memoir from the fictional perspective of President Donald Trump. Discusses Trump's first year as president, his campaign, his relationship with the media, his family relationships, and more. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2017.

Financial Planning Titles in Alternate Formats

Understanding finance can be complicated as the economy is influenced by a wide variety of factors-stock market fluctuations, corporate upheavals, and foreign currency crises among them. Knowing how to handle personal financial matters can assist in many aspects of life: finding a home, providing for family members, arranging medical care, and preparing for retirement. Books are a great resource for navigating the various labyrinths of these topics. Titles dealing with money issues from management and investment to selecting insurance and managing estate planning are available from the NLS collection of special-format materials. Go to the Financial Planning website to see a minibibliography which lists titles about personal finance that are available in braille and/or talking book formats. Recorded titles are available on digital cartridge or can be downloaded (DB) from the NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) site. Braille titles (BR) are also available on BARD.

Read Every Book by the Author, How About a Read-Alike?

If you have read every book by a particular author and would like to read more of the same type of book, you may request a Read-Alike. Read-Alike authors can fill the gap when there aren't any books left that you haven't read by a particular author. You can ask the TBL staff to find you an author that writes in a similar style, about the same subject, same genre, etc. We will work to find the best match, or you may discover a Read-Alike author on your own, by going to BookBrowse web site.

Reading Across RI (RARI) 2019

For over 15 years, Rhode Islan's only One Book, One State program from the RI Center for the Book, focuses on a single book selected to stimulate meaningful discussions across our state. This year the selected RARI book was What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City by Mona Hanna-Attisha (DB92227). In 2014 when the state of Michigan shifted the source of its water supply to the Flint River, citizens began complaining about the water quality. After initially believing state officials, the author--a pediatrician--soon realized that she needed undeniable proof to stop the lead poisoning. She details this fight of her life. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2018.