With most of us relatively confined at home because of the Corona Virus, now is a good time to suggest some books—fiction and non-fiction alike—that I have enjoyed recently. Chosen selections, I hope, may also provide some insight into current conditions.

For those of you who enjoy detective mysteries, there is no better contemporary writer than Michael Connelly. Most of his novels focus upon a Los Angeles Police Department Detective named Harry Bosch. Beyond delivering superb story-lines and tough-to-guess endings, he provides unique insight into the roots of injustice in a very unjust world. Triggering Harry was the murder of his mother when he was a child. Harry was, of course, named after the fantastical Dutch artist Hieronymous Bosch, and the similarities don’t end there. As an added bonus, Amazon has been streaming its own series based upon Harry’s exploits. They too render an excellent examination of the dark side of American life.

Maybe the most relevant and timely of my recent readings is Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America. A dystopian perspective on America in the 1940’s, Roth has President Roosevelt being defeated at the beginning of the decade by aviator and American hero, Charles Lindbergh. The latter, who was in fact an isolationist and German sympathizer on the eve of World War II, also helped lead the American First Committee (familiar anyone?). Lindbergh’s fictional election sets off fear and pogroms amongst America’s Jews. While the historical time-frame is different, the themes on which the book is based, are eerily similar to present-day. HBO recently serialized the book. While some of the plot-lines have shifted between the two versions, both are excellent. Take your choice or, better yet, pay attention to both.

On to non-fiction. One of our best journalist/writers is George Packer. His latest book, Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century, is the story of a man his colleagues considered the “Diplomat’s Diplomat.” He was haughty, brilliant and patriotic. As the primary negotiator of the Dayton Accords, which successfully ended the most recent outbreak of war in the Balkans, few could match his skills and commitment to eradicating war as an instrument of solving political problems. Holbrooke was a jack-of-all trades everywhere he served, and became a strong critic of American policy in Vietnam. He was also an idealist who could accomplish the most difficult of practical assignments. Unwilling to make excuses and always ready to criticize in the face of stupidity and  wrong-headedness, he was a model for what is missing in the present era of diplomatic policymaking.

Finally, a diplomat who shared Holbrooke’s best instincts and who has recently written a superb memoir, is Samantha Power. Her book, The Education of an Idealist, traces her life as a young girl growing up in Ireland. In her teens she and her family moved to the United States where, after being educated at Yale, became a journalist/human-rights activist and eventually President Obama’s Ambassador to the United Nations. No book I have read recently so strikingly explains why human rights  concerns must form a fundamental part of American diplomacy. Read it!

Since Donald Trump has apparently never read a book he wasn’t forced to, these recommendations are not for him. But, our country will surely be better off if our prospective policymakers read these selections. And you too!