Best Political Books in the UK

Politics are seldom easily digestible. More often than not, even in a broad sense, this subject is more nuanced than most people are comfortable with. That being said, there are books that manage to break down the biggest political ideas from the greatest thinkers that the world has seen. On that note, let's talk about DK The Politics Book. Right off the bat, this book is as much about politics as it is about philosophy. In other words, it is an all-encompassing publication that discusses the biggest, most influential ideas, sometimes regarding politics, sometimes general society, sometimes philosophy.

Thing is, the people have been always asking profound questions revolving around the best way we can govern ourselves and the way that the ruling class should behave. With this book, you'll be able to follow the longest-running themes and how they developed over time, including different societies' opinions towards violence and democracy. The book will also talk about how the most prominent thinkers have shaped these ideas, from Confucius to Hamatma Gandi.

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln from Doris Kearns Goodwin is a massive book, counting almost 1,000 pages. But this is politics, folks, there are no shortcuts here, we're discussing the most layered and intricate subject there is. To be more precise, this is Abraham Lincoln, the most legendary American president that we have yet.

This is the book that inspired Barack Hussein Obama II during his presidency, which is no small feat, let's just agree there, shall we? Anyway, when Barack Obama was asked what is the book that he could not live without during his White House run, the man did not hesitate to outline Team of Rivals. The monumental work that this book is has shaped Obama's presidency, explaining how Lincoln has been able to save America by appointing his biggest rival to the most influential cabinet positions.

Now, in case we haven't made that clear already, this is an inspiring study that talks about not just one of America's greatest leaders, no, one of the greatest leaders that this world has ever seen. But, maybe even before that, this is a thrilling narrative history piece that will make you consume the 976 pages that constitute this book within a week tops.

Unlike the previous book, this piece from Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds is not something we can recommend anyone without knowing the person's tastes, preferences, and political leanings. This is a difficult book and, even though the page counts caps at modest 336 pages, this is not something that most people can finish in one weekend. Partially, this is the case because the author's style is quite dry, nothing even remotely resembling Goodwin's emotive prose. To some extent, this is also the case because the subject is not as comfortable and reassuring here. No, the things this book talks about are sometimes messy, sometimes dirty, and sometimes plain boring.

Nye: The Political Life of Aneurin Bevan is not an easy read because there's nothing easy about the Labour Party's most pivotal figure during Britain's post-war era. Serving as a Minister for Health in Attlee's government, the man's role in creating the National Health Service, the world's largest publically-funded health service today that treats more than one million patients every 36 hours, was instrumental. Some even go as far as to say that Bevan has forever changed British society's face.

But the book is just as much about his deeds as it is about his journey. The son of a humble coal miner from Wales, Bevan has always been a life-long social justice champion, establishing and protecting the rights of the working class and becoming the leading Socialist thoughts' proponent in the country.

Books that do not dumb down politics but can still make them accessible to kids and adults who have very little interest in the subject are hard to find. Generally speaking, most reads that attempt that sound condescending or more convoluted than they should be. But we cannot extend the same sentiment towards DK The Little Book of Politics, so kudos to the people behind this publication. 

While most history books are boring you with dates, acts, and countless names behind these acts, this one focuses on the most important figures, discussing the complex concepts, layered ideologies, and complicated ideas without getting bogged down in the details. Of course, to be 100% transparent, this is not the most comprehensive read and this is not us criticising the book since there are countless works written about each and every subject that this book discusses, so, as you can imagine, 208 pages is not quite enough to tell you everything about these subjects.

Nevertheless, the book does a pretty solid job examining the philosophies behind different political beliefs and the government methods that were used around the world over the course of human history. This modest work touches upon everything from democracy's origins to Machiavelli's cunning statecraft, from the "social contract" that Rousseau has proposed to the American Declaration of Independence, Marxist communism, the dawn of populism, as well as modern-day identity politics.

Politics can be a daunting subject. To some extent, they should be. That being said, the late-night commentary shows that we've seen gaining massive traction the last few years also prove that you can discuss even the most daunting topics without using the most humourless language imaginable. Quite the opposite, an occasional joke here and there can make certain events, topics, and ideas much more digestible than they usually are.

With that in mind, adding Decline and Fail: Read in Case of Political Apocalypse from John Crace to this list was an easy decision. Before that though, we'll point out that the people who have read many John's Guardian articles before will not find this book especially interesting because most sketches and jokes used here were used in his Guardian work initially. But the people who have not been following his works should find the book hilarious and, at times, quite useful.

To initiate the conversation, the book proposes that there's only one certainty in life and that is the idea that, when you think things cannot get any worse, they always do and they always will. You can worry about these things or you can laugh at the ridiculous state that the country seems to be in, which is the right approach more often than you would expect, especially when there's nothing you can personally do about it.