7 great political books, chosen by Book World staff

Two decades ago, the premise of Roth’s novel was speculative and perhaps even preposterous: Charles Lindbergh, a member of the America First party, makes a surprise appearance at the Republican convention, wooing the crowd with his youth and celebrity. Pitted against sickly FDR, he is elected president in 1940, ushering in an era of fascism and antisemitism. Told from the perspective of a character named Philip Roth who hails from Newark, the story delves into the terrible consequences of Lindbergh’s reign. “Fear presides over these memories, a perpetual fear,” the book begins; the rest of the novel shows why. Roth has written more subtle political books (“The Human Stain,” “American Pastoral”), but none are eerier than this one, particularly given the current state of the world. — Nora Krug