The most recommended books on political corruption

Who picked these books? Meet our 68 experts.

68 authors created a book list connected to political corruption, and here are their favorite political corruption books.
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Book cover of The Petticoat Affair: Manners, Mutiny, and Sex in Andrew Jackson's White House

Sean Patrick Adams Author Of A Companion to the Era of Andrew Jackson

From my list on Andrew Jacksonā€™s bizarre, violent, divisive life.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been a historian of the period for more than two decades, and I am still fascinated by Andrew Jackson. He captures the attention of my undergraduate students and his name offers one of the best ways to start a shouting match at an academic conference. As I sifted through the various accounts of Jackson for this book, I was amazed at the range. Writers dealing with the same individual concluded that he was either a product of his age, a hero, the founder of American democracy, a populist, a racist, or a monstrous psychopath. All of these interpretations might have some merit, which made the project, in my opinion, all the more interesting. 

Sean's book list on Andrew Jacksonā€™s bizarre, violent, divisive life

Sean Patrick Adams Why did Sean love this book?

One of Jacksonā€™s earliestā€”and most criticalā€”biographers wrote in 1860: ā€œthe political history of the United States, for the last thirty years, dates from the moment when the soft hand of Mr. Van Buren touched Mrs. Eaton's knocker.ā€ This earnest statement has not aged particularly well, but the significance of the Peggy Eaton Affair, in which Andrew Jackson risked an enormous amount of political capital defending the honor of one of his Secretary of Warā€™s spouse, still fascinates. Marszalek reconstructs the world of gender, respectability, and the inner workings of Jacksonā€™s White House with skill and grace.  

By John F. Marszalek,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Petticoat Affair as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This account of the Eaton Affair describes the story of how Peggy O'Neale Eaton, the wife of President Andrew Jackson's secretary of war, was branded a "loose woman" and snubbed by Washington society. The president's defence of her honour fuelled intense speculation and a scandal began.


Book cover of The Petticoat Affair: Manners, Mutiny, and Sex in Andrew Jackson's White House

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