1. The Framers' Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution
By Michael J. Klarman
Presents a comprehensive accounting of the founding of the U.S. Constitution from the precursor Articles of Confederation to the enactment of the Bill of Rights. Suggests the framers were practicing ordinary interest group politics and reviews primary sources to show their reasoning, prejudices, and moral blind spots. Concludes the Constitution was a coup for expanded powers of the federal government and a significant departure from the more democratic state constitutions of the time.
Oxford University Press, 2016. 865 pages.
342.7302 K665F 2016


 

2. From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America
By Elizabeth Hinton
Argues that America's mass incarceration rates originate not with the Reagan administration's War on Drugs, as popularly perceived, but with the Johnson administration's Great Society social welfare programs. Traces the trajectory of Johnson's War on Poverty and War on Crime policies, illustrating how Nixon and later presidents pulled away from welfare efforts and devoted increasing resources to anticrime programs that ultimately criminalized poverty. Demonstrates how flawed statistical data overstated the problem of crime in African American communities and produced a distorted view of American crime as a whole.
Harvard University Press, 2016. 449 pages.
364.973 H596F 2016


 

3. We Wanted Workers: Unraveling the Immigration Narrative
By George J. Borjas
Analyzes the impact that immigration has on the United States economy. Questions whether the analytical models used by both proponents and detractors of unrestricted immigration policies are flawed based on their assumptions and data. Concludes that many of the arguments for and against certain immigration policies, supported by statistical evidence, have been corrupted to support a particular stance on immigration.
W. W. Norton & Company, 2016. 238 pages.
331.10973 B644W 2016


 

4. Moderates: The Vital Center of American Politics, from the Founding to Today
By David S. Brown
Charts the progress of centrism in American politics, emphasizing the critical role that moderate politicians, ideas, and collaborations have played since the United States was established. Examines the contributions of pragmatic, centrist leaders within their historical contexts, including John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, the Bushes, and Bill Clinton.
University of North Carolina Press, 2016. 335 pages.
306.20973 B812M 2016


 

5. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
By J.D. Vance
Examines the family, economic, and social challenges of America's poor, white working class in Kentucky's Appalachian region and small-town Ohio. Addresses policy issues of child abuse, alcoholism, poverty, welfare, and family trauma through a gripping and poignant memoir.
Harper, 2016. 264 pages.
305.5 V277H 2016


 

6. Shaming the Constitution: The Detrimental Results of Sexual Violent Predator Legislation
By Michael L. Perlin and Heather Ellis Cucolo
Presents a comprehensive overview of sex offenders and current sexual predator legislation in America. Analyzes in depth not only the laws, but also the social attitudes that have effectively blocked many constitutional protections that these offenders should have available to them. Argues public policy often has been the result of knee-jerk legislation and posits that as a result, society has neglected issues that matter - risk prediction, effective treatment, and curbing media misrepresentation.
Temple University Press, 2017. 309 pages.
345.73 P421S 2017