Historian Timothy Synder’s book about how tyranny manifests in democratic societies.

 

Claude Shannon invented Information Theory, which is the backbone of how all communication works, from physical networks to social networks. It’s a fascinating example of someone who created an elegant theory in the era of low-fidelity voice and Morse code that has applied to every communication technology since.

 

Rick Perlstein’s history of the 1964 US Presidential election. So much of what we think of as new (and ugly) in our politics is reflected in societal shifts of this era.

 

A fictional scenario, rooted in the real detection, response, and policy doctrines of the U.S., Russia, and North Korea. A terrifying book.