Here are 100 books that Violent Victors fans have personally recommended if you like Violent Victors. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of How Democracies Die

Michael Patrick Lynch Author Of On Truth in Politics

From my list on the threats to democracy.

Why am I passionate about this?

Michael Patrick Lynch is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Provost Professor of the Humanities at the University of Connecticut. His books have been translated into a dozen languages and include On Truth in Politics: Why Democracy Demands It, The Internet of Us, True to Life (Editor’s Choice, The New York Times Sunday Book Review), and Know-it-All Society (winner of the 2019 George Orwell Award). Lynch’s work has been profiled in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Nature, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and many other publications worldwide; his 2017 TED talk has been viewed nearly 2 million times. He lives in CT with his family and one very philosophical dog.

Michael's book list on the threats to democracy

Michael Patrick Lynch Why Michael loves this book

This book has become a touchstone in conversations about democratic erosion. What I found most compelling was how it uses global and historical patterns to explain how democracies can slide into authoritarianism—slowly, and often legally. It helped me connect institutional changes in the U.S. to larger global trends in democratic backsliding.

Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt argue that today’s democracies rarely collapse through sudden coups. Instead, they are gradually weakened from within by elected leaders who stretch or disregard institutional norms to expand their own power. These changes frequently occur under the appearance of legality, making democratic decay harder to detect.

Drawing on historical and global examples, the authors show how democracies slide into authoritarianism when two foundational norms begin to erode: mutual toleration (the recognition that political rivals are legitimate) and institutional forbearance (the practice of exercising restraint even when one holds legal authority). When those norms break down,…

By Steven Levitsky , Daniel Ziblatt ,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked How Democracies Die as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'The most important book of the Trump era' The Economist

How does a democracy die?
What can we do to save our own?
What lessons does history teach us?

In the 21st century democracy is threatened like never before.

Drawing insightful lessons from across history - from Pinochet's murderous Chilean regime to Erdogan's quiet dismantling in Turkey - Levitsky and Ziblatt explain why democracies fail, how leaders like Trump subvert them today and what each of us can do to protect our democratic rights.

'This book looks to history to provide a guide for defending democratic norms when they are…


If you love Violent Victors...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Book cover of The House of the Spirits

Yun Rou Author Of Love Becomes Her: A Fable for the Ages

From my list on magically real.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a little boy, long before I dreamed of becoming a Daoist monk, I sensed that there was far more beneath the pond of life than on the surface. I remember feeling jealous of a little turtle I saw in the Connecticut River. Why couldn’t I pop out of my world and see what was happening above, but he could? My spiritual questing led me to Asia and also deep into myself. Writing magical realism does not feel like engaging a fantasy; it feels like I can finally share how the world really is.

Yun's book list on magically real

Yun Rou Why Yun loves this book

As both a novelist and a monk whose life focuses on blending the material and spiritual, I consider this a very important work. Despite a privileged Jewish upbringing in New York City, Latin culture has forever been an important part of my life. The fact is, I’ve always been surrounded by South American friends and spent time in South America in my teen years.

This book brings to life the mystical heart of so much that drives South American culture, revealing it in a way that pulls you straight into the arms of a parallel world, or if not parallel, then one that exists both above and below what we superficially see and feel. I find it a great read and one that remains alive in my imagination year after year.

By Isabel Allende ,

Why should I read it?

14 authors picked The House of the Spirits as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Spectacular...An absorbing and distinguished work...The House of the Spirits with its all-informing, generous, and humane sensibility, is a unique achievement, both personal witness and possible allegory of the past, present, and future of Latin America.” —The New York Times Book Review

Our Shared Shelf, Emma Watson Goodreads Book Club Pick November/December 2020!

The House of the Spirits, the unforgettable first novel that established Isabel Allende as one of the world’s most gifted storytellers, brings to life the triumphs and tragedies of three generations of the Trueba family. The patriarch Esteban is a volatile, proud man whose voracious pursuit of political…


Book cover of Autocracy and Redistribution: The Politics of Land Reform

Scott Mainwaring Author Of Democracy in Hard Places

From my list on democracy today from a scholar of democracy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I became deeply interested in democracy and authoritarianism at an early age because of my experiences living under military dictatorships in Argentina in 1971-72 and in Brazil from 1980- 82, and also my experience as an undergraduate living in a democracy that failed in profound ways (Argentina, 1975). I saw first-hand that authoritarianism can affect daily life in hugely negative ways but also that democracy can fail in dismal ways. Reading and producing scholarship about democracy and authoritarianism, and teaching these subjects, became central to my immensely satisfying life’s work.

Scott's book list on democracy today from a scholar of democracy

Scott Mainwaring Why Scott loves this book

What I most admire about Autocracy and Redistribution is that it brings the best of contemporary political science to bear on questions of deep scholarly and real-world importance: what explains redistributive land reform? Albertus argues that redistributive land reform is much more likely when 1) top-level state leaders and large landowners have diverging interests and 2) institutional barriers to achieving large-scale reform are lower. Albertus shows that redistributive land reform is more likely under dictatorship than democracy. 

By Michael Albertus ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Autocracy and Redistribution as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When and why do countries redistribute land to the landless? What political purposes does land reform serve, and what place does it have in today's world? A long-standing literature dating back to Aristotle and echoed in important recent works holds that redistribution should be both higher and more targeted at the poor under democracy. Yet comprehensive historical data to test this claim has been lacking. This book shows that land redistribution - the most consequential form of redistribution in the developing world - occurs more often under dictatorship than democracy. It offers a novel theory of land reform and develops…


If you love Sarah Zukerman Daly...

Book cover of Memento: A Novel in Dreams, Thoughts, and Images

Memento by Cordelia Schmidt-Hellerau,

Sine, a professor of creative writing, accompanies Sam, a neuroscientist, on a conference trip to a Hotel Castle. Sam wants to present a new device, the "monitor." Sine hopes to recover from tending to her mother who just passed away. 

When they arrive, Sine is in a dream-like state. Real…

Book cover of Votes, Drugs, and Violence: The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico

Scott Mainwaring Author Of Democracy in Hard Places

From my list on democracy today from a scholar of democracy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I became deeply interested in democracy and authoritarianism at an early age because of my experiences living under military dictatorships in Argentina in 1971-72 and in Brazil from 1980- 82, and also my experience as an undergraduate living in a democracy that failed in profound ways (Argentina, 1975). I saw first-hand that authoritarianism can affect daily life in hugely negative ways but also that democracy can fail in dismal ways. Reading and producing scholarship about democracy and authoritarianism, and teaching these subjects, became central to my immensely satisfying life’s work.

Scott's book list on democracy today from a scholar of democracy

Scott Mainwaring Why Scott loves this book

Trejo and Ley’s Votes, Drugs, and Violence highlights the devastating impact of Mexico’s drug wars has had on democracy and society. The death toll from Mexico’s drug wars far exceeds the one from the dirty wars waged by South American dictators from the 1960s through the 1980s and the death toll from El Salvador’s and Peru’s civil wars of the 1980s. Paradoxically, subnational alternations in power that removed the long-standing ruling authoritarian party of 1929-2000 from power helped to fuel the drug wars, which in turn have undermined democracy and unleashed horrific human rights abuses. Votes, Drugs, and Violence gave me new insights into the origins of the dramatic escalation of criminal wars in Mexico, and it also powerfully illuminates how profoundly drug wars have undermined democracy.

By Guillermo Trejo , Sandra Ley ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Votes, Drugs, and Violence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of the most surprising developments in Mexico's transition to democracy is the outbreak of criminal wars and large-scale criminal violence. Why did Mexican drug cartels go to war as the country transitioned away from one-party rule? And why have criminal wars proliferated as democracy has consolidated and elections have become more competitive subnationally? In Votes, Drugs, and Violence, Guillermo Trejo and Sandra Ley develop a political theory of criminal violence in weak democracies that elucidates how democratic politics and the fragmentation of power fundamentally shape cartels' incentives for war and peace. Drawing on in-depth case studies and statistical analysis…


Book cover of The Volatility Curse

Yanina Welp Author Of The Will of the People

From my list on understand political and social change.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was born in southern Entre Ríos, Argentina, where my father worked as a beekeeper. From an early age, I witnessed how external markets and unpredictable weather shaped livelihoods—long before I had the words to describe these forces. Later, at the University of Buenos Aires, I developed a deep passion for understanding political and social change in a country undergoing the process of consolidating democracy while facing recurrent economic crises and institutional tensions. My experiences in Spain and Switzerland further enriched my perspective, teaching me the importance of context as well as collective action. Curiosity and commitment have been the driving forces behind my research ever since.

Yanina's book list on understand political and social change

Yanina Welp Why Yanina loves this book

I loved this book because it starts with a candid, personal reflection from the authors—both renowned Brazilian political scientists—who momentarily believed their country had escaped its economic instability, only to be reminded of its cyclical nature. Their argument is compelling: while politics matters, Latin America's deep dependence on international markets makes its democracies uniquely vulnerable to external shocks.

A must-read for understanding the region’s persistent instability.

By Cesar Zucco , Daniela Campello ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Volatility Curse as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Volatility Curse examines the conditions under which economic voting can (and cannot) function as a mechanism of democratic accountability, challenging existing theories that are largely based on experiences in developed democracies. Drawing on cross-national data from around the world and micro-level evidence from Latin America, Daniela Campello and Cesar Zucco make two broad, related arguments. First, they show that economic voting is pervasive around the world, but in economically volatile developing democracies that are dependent on commodity exports and inflows of foreign capital, economic outcomes are highly contingent on conditions beyond government control, which nonetheless determine relevant political outcomes…


Book cover of Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government

Tracy Campbell Author Of The Year of Peril: America in 1942

From my list on the contested history of democracy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been interested in understanding the realities of American social and political life throughout my career as a historian. I have written about the aftermath of populism, a biography of a New Dealer who went to prison for stuffing ballot boxes, the hidden history behind the Gateway Arch, and the year after Pearl Harbor. More than ever, I find that candid assessments of who we have been are necessary to understand where we are today. 

Tracy's book list on the contested history of democracy

Tracy Campbell Why Tracy loves this book

The subtitle says it all. While many of us may suspect that American elections are not quite what “Schoolhouse Rock” told us years ago, Achen and Bartels explain it in a clear-eyed, candid fashion.

If you want to understand 2024 (and likely more elections to come), this book is fundamental.

By Christopher H. Achen , Larry M. Bartels ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Democracy for Realists as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Democracy for Realists assails the romantic folk-theory at the heart of contemporary thinking about democratic politics and government, and offers a provocative alternative view grounded in the actual human nature of democratic citizens. Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels deploy a wealth of social-scientific evidence, including ingenious original analyses of topics ranging from abortion politics and budget deficits to the Great Depression and shark attacks, to show that the familiar ideal of thoughtful citizens steering the ship of state from the voting booth is fundamentally misguided. They demonstrate that voters--even those who are well informed and politically engaged--mostly choose parties and…


If you love Violent Victors...

Book cover of Salvation in the Sun

Salvation in the Sun by Lauren Lee Merewether,

In an age of splendor, a heretic king strips Egypt bare—forcing his queen to quell rebellion and plunging his children into a conspiracy against the crown.

Salvation in the Sun follows Nefertiti as she ascends the throne beside Pharaoh Amenhotep—soon to become Akhenaten—just as he declares war on Egypt’s ancient…

Book cover of Practicing Democracy: Elections and Political Culture in Imperial Germany

Helmut Walser Smith Author Of Germany: A Nation in Its Time: Before, During, and After Nationalism, 1500-2000

From my list on Imperial Germany before World War I.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a historian of modern Germany at Vanderbilt University and have followed this field for more than thirty years. After a bit of respite, interest in Imperial Germany is suddenly chic again, as 2021 Germany looks back on the past 150 years of its unification in 1871. These five books, all published since 2000, are major recent contributions to the history of Imperial Germany’s prewar period; they also raise questions about the extent to which this conflict-ridden era represents a distant if imperfect mirror for our own contentious times.

Helmut's book list on Imperial Germany before World War I

Helmut Walser Smith Why Helmut loves this book

People learn democracy by practicing it. The Germans practiced and practiced, and eventually got better at it. This is the main argument of Margaret Lavinia Anderson’s stunning book. Scrutinizing hundreds of contested elections, Anderson shows how Germans gradually reformed their authoritarian structures without significant constitutional reform. She demonstrates that the grassroots struggle for more democracy brought voters out of their narrow communities and helped form a wider civic culture. Alas, however, practice did not make perfect, and Germany was not saved from its own aggressive militarism.

By Margaret Lavinia Anderson ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Practicing Democracy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What happens when manhood suffrage, a radically egalitarian institution, gets introduced into a deeply hierarchical society? In her sweeping history of Imperial Germany's electoral culture, Anderson shows how the sudden opportunity to "practice" democracy in 1867 opened up a free space in the land of Kaisers, generals, and Junkers. Originally designed to make voters susceptible to manipulation by the authorities, the suffrage's unintended consequence was to enmesh its participants in ever more democratic procedures and practices. The result was the growth of an increasingly democratic culture in the decades before 1914. Explicit comparisons with Britain, France, and America give us…


Book cover of The Steal: The Attempt to Overturn the 2020 Election and the People Who Stopped It

Anita Bartholomew Author Of Siege: An American Tragedy

From my list on plots to overthrow the US government.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a long-time contributor to Reader's Digest (and former contributing editor), specializing in narrative nonfiction who has covered social and geopolitical issues for the magazine. I'm also a political junkie who loves to dig into little-known aspects of history and current events. 

Anita's book list on plots to overthrow the US government

Anita Bartholomew Why Anita loves this book

The Steal documents what happened in the weeks between the 2020 presidential election and January 6th in swing states that Biden won, where Trump persuaded local loyalists that the election had been rigged. Avid Trump supporters embraced every wild conspiracy theory Trump World tossed their way—imagining minor glitches to be bulletproof evidence of massive fraud. 

As the author of another narrative about the collateral damage wrought by purveyors of the Big Lie, I had obvious reasons to be drawn to The Steal. It deftly see-saws between besieged election workers and officials trying to do their jobs in the face of unrelenting pressure, and those who—truth, law, and logic be damned—applied that pressure. The Steal fascinates, both as a commentary on human nature and a ground-level account of an attempted coup.  

By Mark Bowden , Matthew Teague ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Steal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“A gripping ground-level narrative…a marvel of reporting: tightly wound… but also panoramic.”—Washington Post

“A lean, fast-paced and important account of the chaotic final weeks.”—New York Times

In The Steal, veteran journalists Mark Bowden and Matthew Teague offer a week-by-week, state-by-state account of the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

In the sixty-four days between November 3 and January 6, President Donald Trump and his allies fought to reverse the outcome of the vote. Focusing on six states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—Trump’s supporters claimed widespread voter fraud.

Caught up in this effort were scores of activists, lawyers, judges,…


Book cover of The Audacity To Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory

Claire Handscombe Author Of Walk With Us: How "The West Wing" Changed Our Lives

From my list on West Wing fans.

Why am I passionate about this?

In 2008, I accidentally started watching The West Wing, and it changed my life–leading me ultimately to start writing seriously and then to move to DC, where I lived for ten years. I would not have ever guessed that a TV show could have such an impact, but I repeatedly met people in DC who had similar stories. I wrote an essay about the fandom for my literary journalism class during my MFA, and that became the starting point for my anthology. I interviewed dozens of fellow fans, many of whom had moving stories of the show’s impact on their lives. It was a really special experience.

Claire's book list on West Wing fans

Claire Handscombe Why Claire loves this book

I really enjoyed the later seasons of The West Wing, which features a political campaign from the primaries to the general election and beyond.

This is David Plouffe’s account of Obama’s phenomenal and groundbreaking campaign, just a couple of years after the end of The West Wing, and it has a lot of the same exciting, hopeful vibe.

By David Plouffe ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Audacity To Win as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Enter The Audacity to Win Book Club Discussion Contest

Watch David Plouffe discuss The Audacity to Win on "Meet the Press"


David Plouffe not only led the effort that put Barack Obama in the White House, but he also changed the face of politics forever and reenergized the idea of democracy itself. The Audacity to Win is his story of that groundbreaking achievement, taking readers inside the remarkable campaign that led to the election of the first African American president.

For two years Plouffe worked side by side with Obama, charting the course of the campaign. His is the ultimate…


If you love Sarah Zukerman Daly...

Book cover of Foxfire in the Snow

Foxfire in the Snow by J.S. Fields,

It's a time of change, between magic and alchemy.

Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…

Book cover of Identity Crisis: The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Meaning of America

Uzi Rabi Author Of The Return of the Past: State, Identity, and Society in the Post-Arab Spring Middle East

From my list on political identity and divisions.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the Director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University. My interest lies in modern history and evolution of states and societies in the Middle East: Iranian- Arab relations, oil and politics, and Sunni- Shi’i dynamics. It is a particularly important period in time for the Middle East as there is a changing paradigm of geopolitics in the region. During the course of the last decade, we have seen repercussions of the Arab Spring, withdrawal of US troops from the region and signing of the Abraham Accords. I follow these developments and frequently provide expert commentary and analysis in various forums. 

Uzi's book list on political identity and divisions

Uzi Rabi Why Uzi loves this book

Identity Crisis delivers a compelling account of the 2016 Presidential campaign.

The book explains how the election played out and what factors led to Trump’s seemingly surprising victory.

The authors explore the many plausible reasons for the outcome, eventually concluding that the racially charged language of the campaign, particularly from Trump, provoked voters’ pre-existing divisions on racial issues and prompted them to vote based on identity.

In addition, they address how identity compared to factors such as economic anxiety and dissatisfaction as explanations for Trump’s success. The 2016 election was indicative of a more apparent American crisis that raised issues such as who is American and what the values of the country are.

By John Sides , Michael Tesler , Lynn Vavreck

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Identity Crisis as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A gripping in-depth look at the presidential election that stunned the world

Donald Trump's election victory resulted in one of the most unexpected presidencies in history. Identity Crisis provides the definitive account of the campaign that seemed to break all the political rules-but in fact didn't. Featuring a new afterword by the authors that discusses the 2018 midterms and today's emerging political trends, this compelling book describes how Trump's victory was foreshadowed by changes in the Democratic and Republican coalitions that were driven by people's racial and ethnic identities, and how the Trump campaign exacerbated these divisions by hammering away…


Book cover of How Democracies Die
Book cover of The House of the Spirits
Book cover of Autocracy and Redistribution: The Politics of Land Reform

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Interested in elections, attitude, and democracy?

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