Richard D. Heffner
Richard Heffner is host of The Open Mind, public television’s longest-running interview program. His most recent book is A Conversational History of Modern America.
Public Opinion by Walter Lippmann (Free Press, $14). Though my students at Rutgers University often complain that this book’s references to pre-1922 public figures and events are dated, Lippmann’s profound understanding of the importance of a well-informed public to human survival makes this American classic very much a guide to the present.
The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro (Vintage, $22). Together with Caro’s brilliant first three volumes on the life of Lyndon Johnson, this extraordinary look at New York’s Robert Moses makes up perhaps the most important study of modern American political power ever undertaken.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The American Political Tradition by Richard Hofstadter (Vintage, $14). My former teacher’s vastly critical chapter on Franklin Delano Roosevelt (“Patrician as Opportunist”) stands in provocative contrast to his consistently more understanding—and forgiving—analyses of the men who made our political tradition. Taken together, they constitute the most brilliant statement ever on American political leadership.
Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville (Signet, $8). The young Frenchman’s classic critique of democracy and the absolute sovereignty of the people is a perceptive, prophetic description of the impact of majority rule upon the dynamics of American society, upon the way Americans think and feel and act, upon the nature of our freedoms.
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman (Viking, $14). No one took more seriously Marshall McLuhan’s insistence that “the medium is the message” than did the late, great Neil Postman. The subtitle of this learned and delightful book, which I assign each year to my students, tells it all: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.
And the War Came: The North and the Secession Crisis, 1860–1861
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Nation
-
Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imagination
Feature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
-
Google: A monopoly past its prime?
Feature Google’s antitrust case ends with a slap on the wrist as courts struggle to keep up with the tech industry’s rapid changes
-
Patrick Hemingway: The Hemingway son who tended to his father’s legacy
Feature He was comfortable in the shadow of his famous father, Ernest Hemingway
-
Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imagination
Feature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is more
Feature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
-
Keith McNally's 6 favorite books that have ambitious characters
Feature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
-
Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War II
Feature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more
-
Helen Schulman's 6 favorite collections of short stories
Feature The award-winning author recommends works by Raymond Carver, James Baldwin, and more
-
Beatriz Williams' 6 timeless books about history and human relationships
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Jane Austen, Zora Neale Hurston, and more
-
Aysegul Savas' 6 favorite books for readers who love immersive settings
Feature The Paris-based Turkish author recommends works by Hiromi Kawakami, Virginia Woolf, and more
-
Geoff Dyer's 6 favorite books about the realities of war
Feature The award-winning author recommends works by Ernie Pyle, Michael Herr, and more