The Globe and Mail

It's two months until Christmas.

To help all of you with deciding what you want, I've drafted a list of the 10 best books on politics. I've limited this to books about domestic politics and in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Pass this along to your partner and/or parents so you will be happy on Boxing Day.

In no particular order...

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail by Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson is unique in political journalism for his drug-addled, paranoid and radical gonzo approach. While his later work became lazy and self-indulgent, here Thompson is a cold-steel razor cutting to the heart of the situation. There is no better account of the 1972 Democratic convention in Miami, the last truly contested convention. And the writing is incredibly vivid, like his description of what it must be like working for Democratic frontrunner Edmund Muskie: "like being locked in a rolling box car with a vicious 200-pound water rat." But the story does not have a happy ending. Thompson clearly falls into deep depression after it becomes clear Nixon will win again: "Jesus, where will it end? How low do you have to stoop in this country to become president?"

Game Theory and Canadian Politics by Thomas Flanagan. Long before he was Stephen Harper's campaign manager or chief of staff, Thomas Flanagan wrote a seminal book on game theory applied to the Canadian political context. Imagine Harper's Team with no characters or plot, just straight theory. Some of the examples he uses are a little wonky (you will quickly realize just how right-wing Flanagan is). But it's solid academic work, and a great primer for strategic thinking.

Letting the People Decide by Richard Johnston. The 1988 election is one of the greatest in our history, and this is the required reading on that election. Johnston reveals the day-by-day changes and megatrends of the campaign while placing it firmly in the history of Canada. He writes in a style that is far easier to digest than most academic texts. There is lots of math in this, but that's okay. There won't be a test.

All's Fair by James Carville and Mary Matalin. This book is hardly the most unbiased analysis of an election, and neither Matalin nor Carville were as central to either campaign as the mythos makes it out to be. But its a damn fine read: funny, thought-provoking and balanced. If you're just starting out in your political junkie addiction, this is a good little book to get you really hooked. And everyone likes a love story.

The Last Hurrah by Edwin O'Connor and All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren. The definitive novels of American urban and rural politics in the first half of the twentieth century. The Last Hurrah is loosely based on Boston mayor and political boss James Michael Curley, while All the King's Men is a roman-a-clef about Huey Long, the populist southern governor of Louisiana. O'Connor's book contains better moments, and Warren's is the better literature, but both are classics that deserve your time.

The Unfinished Revolution by Philip Gould. This is an insider's description of how New Labour was created, penned by one of its principal architects. Gould was chief strategist and pollster to Neil Kinnock and Tony Blair and provides a complete and frank account of how they turned old Labour into New Labour and won the 1997 election. The book had a big impact on Dalton McGuinty's crowd in opposition.

Bastards and Boneheads by Will Ferguson. I love this book. It's funny and thoughtful and provides the best pocket tool for understanding what kinds of leaders will succeed in Canada (bastards) and what kinds will fail (boneheads). Basically, Ferguson shows that bastards (think Trudeau, Harper, Chretien) will always beat boneheads (think Clark, Dion or Day). And that some leaders you always thought were nice boneheads (like Pearson, Douglas or St. Laurent) are actually cold-hearted bastards pretending.

The Strange Death of Liberal England by George Dangerfield. This was first published in 1935 and attempts to explain British politics in the period of 1910 to 1914, as the Liberal Party enjoyed its last full term before the Great War. It can be very difficult at times, as it was written so soon after the events depicted that the author expects his audience to know who Lord Salisbury, Andrew Bonar Law and Emmeline Pankhurst were with no explanation. But if you can read it with Wikipedia close by, you will get a far stronger understanding of the chaos that engulfed the supposedly placid antebellum England.

The Way It Works by Eddie Goldenberg. This is probably the best "how it happened" book on governing in Canada written since Double Vision, but with the added advantage of clear and applicable explanations of the constants in the apparatus of the state. The relationship between elected and permenant officials, the line between policy and administration, and the long hard grind of government are the focus of this book and it really shows you how it works (and sometimes how it doesn't).

The Making of the President 1960 by T.H. White. This is the granddaddy of all the political popularizers. Ever since this book came out, reporters have been obsessed with process stories at the expense of debating policy. So if you ever wanted to blame someone for endless horse-race coverage, blame White. And then read his book because it is so good you can see why reporters stopped covering policy and tried to emulate him for the next 48 years. Its a fast-paced novel with compelling characters and a nail-biter ending, and it's all true.

Feel free to make suggestions on your favourite books about politics. I have to get something for Christmas, too, you know.