Recommend some politics and social change books for me

[Wishingforanotherlife]

My 17 year old daughter is keen to read some and I'm wondering which ones would be best, not too heavy or opinionated.

How great your 17 wants to read something about politics and social change! I’ve not got any good suggestions as nothing I can think of isn’t ‘heavy’. You are going to find it nye on impossible though I think to find any book on either that doesn’t come free from some school of thought or is agenda less.

Does she want non-fiction or novels with political themes? What kind of politics? I'm currently reading Akala's Natives - would recommend that, if that would appeal to her.

chavs..the demonisation of the working class
plus invisible women: data bias
both very readable non fiction

Invisible Women is a great call. Your daughter might also like Doing Good Better by William MacAskill, which looks at the effectiveness of charities and aid organisations and gets you thinking about how you can most effectively help. There's no right answer - for some people it will be to contribute some of their free time, for others it may be more effective to earn more and contribute financially. Very thought-provoking read.

Invisible Women is what I was going to suggest. Why I'm not talking to White People about Race is very topical. Greta Thunberg's No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference is a quick read. What is sheinterested in?

My DD is almost 17 and wanting to do international relations at university so is reading this sort of thing.
Chomsky's stuff on American foreign policy is gobsmackingly relevant and shocking, even the ones written 20-30 odd years ago.
Owen Jones, but obviously there's a very socialist woke slant to everything. (Not that that's a bad thing, but y'know)
I enjoyed Alistair Campbell's diaries, and of course Tony Benn's.
For something more light hearted, John o'Farrell's Things Can Only Get Better and his history books are funny (and depressing and uplifting )
Stuart Maconie's book on Jarrow too.

All a bit lefty but I'm not about to sit and read Ann Widdecomb.

No Such Thing as Society and Rejoice! Both about the 1980s.

I'd suggest 23 Things they Don't Tell You about Capitalism by Ha Joon Chang. The title makes it sound a lot more lefty than it is, but it's a really interesting and accessible exploration of how economics and politics overlap.

I'd also recommend George Orwell's book of collected essays - he's such a good writer, and essays like Politics and the English Language are as relevant today as when they were written.

Thanks folks - will go do some research. She's actually off to study biology but she has a healthy interest in the world around her and is keen to learn more.

I would also recommend the podcast "Talking politics".

I think I have Covid Fatigue. Went out and managed to get two of these books in a charity shop for £2.99 each. Yay! I then went to Waterstones and got so lost in all the volumes I ended up buying the same one as I'd bought in the charity shop for a tenner and then said I didn't need the receipt. Only realised when I got home. Argggh gone from smug to stupid in one easy move. My head is too full of information! What a tit!

I second the 'Talking Politics' podcast and their recent mini series - The History of Ideas - fascinating ... but you have to concentrate hard.

Modern books, easy, worthwhile reads:

Difficult Women, Helen Lewis
Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, Anand Giridharadaras
Prisoners of Geography, Tim Marshall

Some classics she should always read!
The Communist Manifest, Marx and Engels
The Road to Wigan Pier, Orwell
Straw Dogs, John Gray

A very interesting book on the power of large companies and institutions is "The Starfish and The Spider" by Brafman and Beckstrom.
The unstoppable power of leaderless organisations.