Person
Every book Jeffrey Toobin recommended on podcasts
Jeffrey Toobin appeared on The Book Review to discuss his writing process, historical periods, and personal literary favorites. Toobin named J. Anthony Lukas's Common Ground, a book about the Boston busing crisis, as his favorite book in the world. He also shared titles from his personal reading list, such as Rick Perlstein's Reaganland and Brendan I. Koerner's The Skies Belong to Us, the latter of which he praised as a strange, funny, and revealing look at the insanity of the 1970s. Reflecting on his own career as a legal writer and former prosecutor, Toobin discussed his first book, Opening Arguments, which covered the Iran-Contra investigation under Lawrence Walsh, and compared the pleasant reporting experience of writing his recent work to his previous book, True Crimes and Misdemeanors. Additionally, Toobin mentioned historical and non-fiction works he had recently read, including Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels, Julian Jackson's France the Dark Years, 1940-1944, and Barbara W. Tuchman's The Proud Tower.
Books recommended by Jeffrey Toobin
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Common Ground
Common Ground by J.
Recommended“perhaps my favorite book in the whole world which is Common Ground by J Anthony Lucas which is a book about the Boston busing crisis”
Where to get it
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Reaganland
Reaganland by Rick Perlstein is a sweeping historical and political narrative that examines the rise of the American conservative movement and the turbulent buildup to Ronald Reagan's presidency.
Recommended“well I'm reading now Rick perlin's Reagan land which is so much fun and so great”
Where to get it
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The skies belong to us
The skies belong to us by Brendan I.
Recommended“and there was this other great book by Brendan Kerner the skies belong to us about can I tell you something I love that book so much that book was so weird and funny and strange and again an example of how insane the 70s were that to me was one of the real revelations in writing this book”
Where to get it
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A Distant Mirror
Discussed“it's so funny because the Barbara tuckman that everyone's been talking about most recently has been the distant mirror because of the pandemic”
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France the Dark Years, 1940-1944
Discussed“I read a book called France the dark years by a professor named Jackson”
Where to get it
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Opening arguments
Discussed“I was one of the prosecutors in the Iran contration in the Lawrence Walsh investigation wrote my first book opening arguments about that”
Where to get it
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The Killer Angels
Discussed“so the book I read before that was the killer angels by Michael Shara”
Where to get it
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THE PLAGUE
The Plague is an existentialist novel by Albert Camus that follows the harrowing struggles of citizens trapped in a plague-stricken Algerian city.
Discussed“I read the plague by cimu because a group of us you know for obvious reasons were reading that”
Where to get it
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The Proud Tower
The Proud Tower is a brilliant historical work by Barbara W.
Discussed“the proud Tower by Barbara tuckman”
Where to get it
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The Splendid and the Vile
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson is a gripping historical non-fiction work detailing how Winston Churchill and the British people weathered the harrowing Blitz during World War II.
Discussed“I read The Splendid in the vial which is a huge bestseller”
Where to get it
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True Crimes and Misdemeanors
True Crimes and Misdemeanors by Jeffrey Toobin is a detailed journalistic investigation into the legal and political battles surrounding Donald Trump.
Discussed“and it was unlike true crimes and misdemeanors it was the most Pleasant and fun reporting and writing experience I've ever had”
Where to get it
Books Jeffrey Toobin wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey Toobin on Writing About Trump | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 12 |
| From the Archives: Colson Whitehead and Jeffrey Toobin | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |