ACS Book Club
Reading List
The ACS Book Club Reading List is here!
ACS is delighted to announce the three, outstanding books being featured as part of the ACS Book Club. Please stay tuned for information regarding upcoming Book Talks with each of our authors.
How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good
In his new book How We Win the Civil War, author Steve Phillips charts the way forward for progressives and people of color after four years of Trump, arguing that Democrats must recognize the nature of the fight we’re in, which is a contest between democracy and white supremacy left unresolved after the Civil War. We will not overcome, Phillips writes, until we govern as though we are under attack—until we finally recognize that the time has come to finish the conquest of the Confederacy and all that it represents.
The Equality Machine: Harnessing Digital Technology for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future
At a time when new technological developments present increasing challenges to equality and democracy, Orly Lobel, Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of San Diego, argues in The Equality Machine that while we cannot stop technological development, we can direct its course according to our most fundamental values. Lobel details how digital technology frequently has a comparative advantage over humans in detecting discrimination, correcting historical exclusions, subverting long-standing stereotypes, and addressing the world’s thorniest problems: climate, poverty, injustice, literacy, accessibility, speech, health, and safety.
The Scheme: How the Right Wing Used Dark Money to Capture the Supreme Court
The Scheme, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and writer Jennifer Mueller’s newest work is an indictment of the United States’ current corrupt judiciary. The book chronicles a hidden-money campaign using an armada of front groups, funded by a handful of right-wing billionaires and corporations, that enticed the Senate to break rules, norms, and precedents to confirm wildly inappropriate nominees who would advance the anti-government agenda of a small number of corporate oligarchs.
Criteria
ACS and the ACS Reading List seek to spotlight the impressive breadth of knowledge and experience in our network with a particular focus on lifting up voices and perspectives that have traditionally or historically been marginalized in legal and policy discussions.
The following considerations will guide the selection of books for the ACS Reading List:
- The book was published within six months of its nomination.
- The book provides a legal or policy perspective on an issue relevant to ACS’s work and can be either non-fiction or fiction.
- The author is an ACS member or otherwise has strong ties to ACS. Not yet a member? Become one today!
- The author reflects the diversity of ACS membership and the larger legal community, with particular attention paid to authors from historically marginalized communities, such as authors who are BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, system impacted, first generation citizen or lawyers, the economically insecure, etc.
- The author reflects professional and experiential diversity, e.g., academics, advocates, practitioners, government service, etc.
Nominate a Book!
Nominate a book for the ACS Book Club’s quarterly reading list! The ACS Book Club is an opportunity to promote the work of ACS members. Each quarter ACS will highlight up to four new books written by members of the ACS network through promotion on our website, in our Weekly Bulletin, and on social media. If you, someone you know, or someone you admire in the ACS network has recently published a book, this is your chance to lift up that work.
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