How do you decide what to read when you need insight into Syria, Egypt, North Korea, climate change, refugee issues, or the United Nations? The online options alone seem endless, but often the best insights and most detailed information are only to be found between the covers of a book. That's where Books for Understanding, a website maintained by the American Association of University Presses (AAUP), comes in.
Since shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the AAUP has been producing bibliographies--highlighting academic book titles--on issues in the news. The books listed are not generally new releases that speak directly to the latest developments in a news story but backlisted titles that offer background information--precisely what we often need to form our own judgments.