From political power in Britain, China, and New York City to robots and morality, APARC faculty draw inspiration for their work from a wide range of sources. Several of them share here what’s on their nightstand or e-book device this summer.

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Thomas Fingar, Shorenstein APARC Fellow

I've decided to devote a portion of my summer reading to books on landmark developments in China being celebrated (or not), because 2019 is a major anniversary year. It marks the 100th anniversaries of the May Fourth Movement and of the establishment of the Kuomintang; the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China; the 40th anniversary of Reform and Opening plus normalization of U.S.-China relations; and the 30th anniversary of Tiananmen Square.

To mark the centennial of the May Fourth Movement, I will reread the pioneering book by Chow Tse-tung, The May Fourth Movement: Intellectual Revolution in Modern China.

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David M. Lampton, Oksenberg-Rohlen Fellow

My recommendation is Working, by Robert Caro. A gem on the art of political interviewing and the study of political power. It is also substantively interesting on Robert Moses who literally built New York City. Short and good on many levels.

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Yong Suk Lee, SK Center Fellow at FSI and Deputy Director of the Korea Program at APARC

Here are a few books on my Kindle/nightstand for the summer:

I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov. 
Some of the futuristic novels of the early twentieth century are surprising relevant today. As robots and artificial intelligence have resurfaced in popular media and are the main subject of my current research, I wanted to read this iconic science fiction on robots.

Churchill: The Power of Words, by Winston Churchill and Martin Gilbert 
Churchill’s own account on the power of words. I wanted to revisit Churchill as words have become potentially more powerful and dangerous in today's social media-infused, polarized world.

Loving Frank, by Nancy Horan, and The Vision of Frank Lloyd Wright, by Thomas Heinz 
My more entertaining summer reads: a novel about Frank Lloyd Wright that takes the reader through his personal life, accompanied by one of the most thorough volumes on Wright's architecture.

Happy Summer from APARC!