Nine essential books to learn about our broken American political system

David Pepper is the author of The People’s House, The Wingman, and the newly released The Voter File, all which feature Jack Sharpe. Pepper earned his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School. He has clerked for a judge on the United States Court of Appeals, served in local elected office in Ohio, worked for major law firms, and taught election and voting rights law. Prior to law school, he worked in St. Petersburg, Russia, for the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. Pepper serves as Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, after being elected in December 2014 and reelected to a second term in 2018.

[Q&A with David Pepper.]

At CrimeReads, Pepper tagged nine "fiction and non-fiction titles that most effectively portray the real-world drama of American politics—the good, the bad and the ugly." One book on the list:

Dark Money, Jane Mayer

A must read to understand today’s political challenges. It’s essentially the story of the Koch Brothers—the best book out there detailing the overwhelming influence of huge amounts of money on today’s politics, and the countless ways that that money seeps into every corner of our political system.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue