This summer, after finishing my first year at Syracuse, I had found a new passion; politics. The current election, and political climate surrounding it, intrigued me and I'm sure many others. So I used my down time this summer to learn my stuff. On top of following the news closely I read several books that helped me to understand the issues that this election brings to light and the history of the United States' Presidency. No matter your political leanings, these following books got me off to a great start to becoming an educated voter, and they can do the same for you.

1.

The first book I tackled this summer was one of my favorites. Vice President Joe Biden's memoir is an easy, inspiring read. It gives you an idea how good, hardworking politicians should do their job and opens your eyes to how the Senate was run "in the old days." Comparing some aspects of Biden's early career to the way I'm used to seeing our government being run is truly shocking.

2.

Another inspiring book about one of the greatest presidents in our history. I read this book to try and put some variation in my summer pile that included mainly liberal democrats and decided that reading an autobiography about the man who started the Great Conservative Movement was the way to go. Although this book did not change my political leanings, it was extremely interesting and included intimate details about what it is like to hold to office of the president.

3. After reading extensively about Reagan's economic policies, I decided to dabble a little more to the left when it came to economics, to determine where I truly stood. This book was a bit more of a challenge, as I am not well versed in economics, but the ideas presented on what James Stone believes to be our five biggest economic problems are fascinating and worth your time to try and understand.

4. Once I finished my short economics stint, I jumped into another very pressing, if less discussed issue. Climate change, in my opinion is almost as pressing as every other danger our country faces but since it's not shooting at us or taking our jobs (yet) we don't seem to care. Naomi Klein visited Syracuse last fall and spoke to some of the same issues presented in this book. The deep discussion of how our current economic model is set to destroy us in a sickeningly short amount of time is both disturbing and intriguing. This is a must read for voters of all ages that are not exactly scientists themselves.

5. The next book on my list features two direly important women and their impact on the law of the land during their careers. These two supreme court judges promise to tell an interesting story about social justice in America.