2025

What I read in 2025

61 books, 22,765 pages across 12 months. Most recent read first.

December 2025

9 books · 3,233 pages
Bush at War by Bob Woodward Bush at War Bob Woodward · 2002 · read Dec 2025The Situation Room, the war cabinet, and roughly the first 100 days after September 11. All the President’s Men by Carl Bernstein All the President’s Men Carl Bernstein · 1974 · read Dec 2025A 1972 burglary at the Democratic National Committee, two young Washington Post reporters, and a source who would only meet in… The Last of the President's Men by Bob Woodward The Last of the President's Men Bob Woodward · 2015 · read Dec 2025Through Alexander Butterfield, the aide who oversaw installing Nixon's taping system, you see a president well beyond the… Profiles in Ignorance: How America's Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber by Andy Borowitz Profiles in Ignorance: How America's Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber Andy Borowitz · 2022 · read Dec 2025Borowitz writes it as satire, jokes and all. Devil's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency by Joshua Green Devil's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency Joshua Green · 2017 · read Dec 2025The bargain in the title ran both ways: Bannon got a candidate who could win, and Trump got a strategist in August 2016, when his… The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century by Tim Weiner The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century Tim Weiner · 2025 · read Dec 2025The CIA of 2001 was an agency in crisis, with overseas stations closed and technology too outdated to collect what it needed. Death Is Our Business: Russian Mercenaries and the New Era of Private Warfare by John Lechner Death Is Our Business: Russian Mercenaries and the New Era of Private Warfare John Lechner · 2025 · read Dec 2025Wagner looks like a uniquely Russian invention. After the Fall: Being American in the World We've Made by Ben Rhodes After the Fall: Being American in the World We've Made Ben Rhodes · 2021 · read Dec 2025If you've ever wondered what American democracy looks like from outside, Rhodes looks for the answer in Orbán's Hungary, Putin's… Mad House: How Donald Trump, MAGA Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man with Rats in His Walls Broke Congress by Annie Karni Mad House: How Donald Trump, MAGA Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man with Rats in His Walls Broke Congress Annie Karni · 2025 · read Dec 2025The 118th Congress enacted just 27 bills, the fewest since the Great Depression.

November 2025

4 books · 1,445 pages
The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces by Seth Harp The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces Seth Harp · 2025 · read Nov 2025It starts with two bodies near Fort Bragg in December 2020, a Delta Force master sergeant and a warrant officer who smuggled… Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America by Jonathan Karl Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America Jonathan Karl · 2025 · read Nov 2025The second Trump presidency is more radical than the first in Karl's account, going after enemies, the courts, anti-corruption… The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World's Most Coveted Microchip by Stephen Witt The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World's Most Coveted Microchip Stephen Witt · 2025 · read Nov 2025From a founding in a Denny's to a brief moment in June 2024 as the world's most valuable company, Nvidia got there on Jensen… Authoritarian Nightmare: Trump and His Followers by John W. Dean Authoritarian Nightmare: Trump and His Followers John W. Dean · 2020 · read Nov 2025Why would evangelicals stay with Trump through sexual misconduct allegations, or working-class voters back policies that may hurt…

October 2025

4 books · 1,661 pages
The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir by John Bolton The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir John Bolton · 2020 · read Oct 2025Bolton's case is that Trump ran foreign policy around his own interests and reelection rather than national security. Losing Big: America's Reckless Bet on Sports Gambling by Jonathan D. Cohen Losing Big: America's Reckless Bet on Sports Gambling Jonathan D. Cohen · 2025 · read Oct 2025Legal sports betting is a big, popular business: about one in five American adults bet on sports in 2023, $121 billion in all. 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in History – and How It Shattered a Nation by Andrew Ross Sorkin 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in History – and How It Shattered a Nation Andrew Ross Sorkin · 2025 · read Oct 2025On October 28, 1929, the market fell about 13 percent, and National City Bank found itself holding some 71,000 shares from a… 107 Days by Kamala Harris 107 Days Kamala Harris · 2025 · read Oct 2025You have 107 days, from Biden dropping out on July 21, 2024 to Election Day, and the Secret Service calls you Pioneer.

September 2025

1 book · 336 pages
Source Code: My Beginnings by Bill Gates Source Code: My Beginnings Bill Gates · 2025 · read Sep 2025By his own account, Bill Gates growing up today would likely be diagnosed on the autism spectrum.

August 2025

4 books · 1,440 pages
The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Trump's Attack on Democracy by Brian Klaas The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Trump's Attack on Democracy Brian Klaas · 2017 · read Aug 2025Eroding a democracy starts with eroding the truth, and Klaas finds despots' tactics all through Trump's first year: attacks on… The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy (James Patterson True Crime, 3) by James Patterson The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy (James Patterson True Crime, 3) James Patterson · 2025 · read Aug 2025Four University of Idaho students were killed in an off-campus house in Moscow on November 13, 2022, and investigators started… Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Faux Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall Zeke Faux · 2023 · read Aug 2025Crypto prices rose because people bought, and people bought because prices rose. Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? by Graham Allison Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? Graham Allison · 2017 · read Aug 2025Allison's case is that when a rising power challenges a ruling one, it usually ends in war, and America and China are on that…

July 2025

3 books · 994 pages
The Myth of American Idealism: How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World by Noam Chomsky The Myth of American Idealism: How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World Noam Chomsky · 2024 · read Jul 2025Democracy and human rights are the language, and economic and geopolitical dominance is the policy. Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream by Megan Greenwell Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream Megan Greenwell · 2025 · read Jul 2025Private equity has reached into hospitals, daycare, supermarkets, newspapers, nursing homes and rental housing, and most of the… Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters by Charan Ranganath Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters Charan Ranganath · 2024 · read Jul 2025Your brain forgets most of what happens to you, and it does that on purpose.

June 2025

8 books · 3,117 pages
Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror by Michael V. Hayden Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror Michael V. Hayden · 2016 · read Jun 2025Hayden's case is that spy agencies should work right up to the edge of what the law allows, and that your privacy, a value he… The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America―and How to Undo His Legacy by David Gelles The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America―and How to Undo His Legacy David Gelles · 2022 · read Jun 2025Jack Welch's General Electric was the template for how American business came to run: mass layoffs, dealmaking, financialization… Code Name: Pale Horse: How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis by Scott Payne Code Name: Pale Horse: How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis Scott Payne · 2025 · read Jun 2025In 2019 an FBI undercover agent using the alias Pale Horse got inside the Base, and ended up at a neo-Nazi ritual in the Georgia… Dawn of the Code War: America's Battle Against Russia, China, and the Rising Global Cyber Threat by John P. Carlin Dawn of the Code War: America's Battle Against Russia, China, and the Rising Global Cyber Threat John P. Carlin · 2018 · read Jun 2025If thieves broke into Boeing and carried out its schematics, the response would be swift. How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle (Principles) by Ray Dalio How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle (Principles) Ray Dalio · 2025 · read Jun 2025Can the country that issues the world's reserve currency in effect default? The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma by Mustafa Suleyman The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma Mustafa Suleyman · 2023 · read Jun 2025The coming decade could be the most productive in history. Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company by Patrick McGee Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company Patrick McGee · 2025 · read Jun 2025Apple's move to China sounds like a story about outsourcing. No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson by Gardiner Harris No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson Gardiner Harris · 2025 · read Jun 2025Johnson & Johnson traded on a wholesome family image while, according to Harris, hiding evidence that its products harmed people,…

May 2025

6 books · 2,628 pages
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs by Luis Elizondo Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs Luis Elizondo · 2024 · read May 2025According to Luis Elizondo, the Pentagon has known about UFOs since the 1940s and hidden from you that craft under non-human… Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again by Jake Tapper Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again Jake Tapper · 2025 · read May 2025If you watched the June 27, 2024 debate, you saw what Tapper and Thompson say Biden's inner circle had worked to hide. Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford by Clint Hill Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford Clint Hill · 2016 · read May 2025Clint Hill is remembered for one moment: climbing onto the back of the limousine in Dallas to shield the President and Mrs. Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign by Jonathan Allen Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign Jonathan Allen · 2017 · read May 2025Why weren't working-class white voters with her? Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever by Chris Wallace Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever Chris Wallace · 2024 · read May 2025When you watch a presidential race run on television, private planes and slick advertising, you're watching what 1960 started, in… Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial That Riveted a Nation by Brenda Wineapple Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial That Riveted a Nation Brenda Wineapple · 2024 · read May 2025A Tennessee schoolteacher's prosecution for teaching evolution was a small-town case.

April 2025

4 books · 1,472 pages
The Age of AI and Our Human Future by Henry Kissinger The Age of AI and Our Human Future Henry Kissinger · 2021 · read Apr 2025AI is a philosophical and practical challenge on a scale not seen since the start of the Enlightenment, in the view of Kissinger,… Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment by Jason Schreier Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment Jason Schreier · 2024 · read Apr 2025Somewhere between the 2008 Activision merger and the 2021 California lawsuit, Blizzard lost its independence and much of the… Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right Jane Mayer · 2016 · read Apr 2025By Mayer's count, 18 billionaires worth a combined $214 billion helped fund the opposition to the Obama administration. Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House by Jonathan Allen Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House Jonathan Allen · 2025 · read Apr 2025Biden's insistence on staying in the race after the June 27, 2024 debate split his party until he withdrew on July 21.

March 2025

6 books · 2,604 pages
Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy by Katherine Stewart Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy Katherine Stewart · 2025 · read Mar 2025America's antidemocratic right runs on three groups, in Stewart's reporting from its conferences, strategy meetings and religious… The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism by Katherine Stewart The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism Katherine Stewart · 2020 · read Mar 2025What first mobilized the modern religious right in the late 1970s? White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America Nancy Isenberg · 2016 · read Mar 2025America was never the classless society of its founding myth. On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything by Nate Silver On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything Nate Silver · 2024 · read Mar 2025"Few places in American life attract a broader cross-section of society," Silver writes of casinos, and the book opens at one in… Madoff: The Final Word by Richard Behar Madoff: The Final Word Richard Behar · 2024 · read Mar 2025Behar's argument is that Bernie Madoff's fraud began decades before the date Madoff confessed to, and that it couldn't have run… The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty by Valerie Bauerlein The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty Valerie Bauerlein · 2024 · read Mar 2025For most of a century, from 1920 to 2006, a Murdaugh held the local prosecutor's office in South Carolina's Lowcountry.

February 2025

5 books · 1,726 pages
Becoming Kim Jong Un: A Former CIA Officer's Insights into North Korea's Enigmatic Young Dictator by Jung H. Pak Becoming Kim Jong Un: A Former CIA Officer's Insights into North Korea's Enigmatic Young Dictator Jung H. Pak · 2020 · read Feb 2025Kim Jong Un was supposed to fall quickly after taking power in 2011. Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds David Goggins · 2018 · read Feb 2025When you think you're finished, you've used only about 40 percent of what you can do, according to David Goggins. A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology by Mike Rinder A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology Mike Rinder · 2022 · read Feb 2025A billion years is the term of the Sea Organization contract Mike Rinder signed after high school, having been raised in… Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past by Steve Benen Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past Steve Benen · 2024 · read Feb 2025Benen's case is that rewriting the recent past has become Republican strategy rather than spin, and that a false version only… A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them Timothy Egan · 2023 · read Feb 2025Who brought down the 1920s Klan at the height of its power?

January 2025

7 books · 2,109 pages
Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty by Hillary Rodham Clinton Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty Hillary Rodham Clinton · 2024 · read Jan 2025Clinton writes these essays as if you're sitting across from her at a dinner party. Autocracy, Inc. by Anne Applebaum Autocracy, Inc. Anne Applebaum · 2024 · read Jan 2025Communist states were tied together by ideology. Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions John Grisham · 2024 · read Jan 2025Pick almost any of these ten murder cases and the same failures turn up: tunnel vision, coached witnesses, jailhouse informants,… Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College by Jesse Wegman Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College Jesse Wegman · 2020 · read Jan 2025If you don't live in a battleground state, winner-take-all rules make your presidential vote effectively irrelevant. Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell Revenge of the Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell · 2024 · read Jan 2025Gladwell's 2000 book asked how good ideas spread like epidemics, and this return asks how harmful ones do. Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man Mary L. Trump · 2020 · read Jan 2025Mary Trump says plainly that she isn't making a formal diagnosis. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference Malcolm Gladwell · 2000 · read Jan 2025Ideas, products and behaviors spread like epidemics, reaching a threshold and then taking off.

All years · the full library