Blog Posts by Subject: Political Science

On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, millions of Americans will head to the polls to elect the next President. Whether this is the first time you’ll cast your ballot, this Presidential election has piqued your interest, The New York Public Library has a robust collection of books, feature films, documentaries, music, and spoken arts just for you.

If election coverage has not already exhausted the political portions of your brain, head to the NYPL and check out some great works of literature that wrestle with questions about government, law, and the complexities of human society. Here are some suggestions to get you started.

The Library for the Performing Arts’s exhibition on political cabaret focuses on the three series associated with Isaiah Sheffer, whose Papers are in the Billy Rose Theatre Division.

Las Convenciones Nacionales Demócrata y Republicana han finalizado, y las nominaciones presidenciales de los dos principales partidos políticos de los Estados Unidos son oficiales: Hillary Clinton por el Partido Demócrata y Donald Trump por el Partido Republicano. Con las elecciones generales a sólo cien días, aquí le presentamos recursos para ayudarle a prepararse para votar.

Resources to help you get ready to vote.

The presidential election of 1840 was a fascinating moment in American political—and confectionary—history. While Harrison's status as a well-known war hero almost certainly contributed to his victory, I like to believe that his popularity was further bolstered by the cake created in his honor.

If you are wondering how this group got to the point of being organized, strategic, and growing steadily in numbers, these journalists can help you sort it all out.

Are you looking for a good nonfiction read to download? Every month the Mid-Manhattan Library presents a series of Author @ the Library lectures featuring recent nonfiction books on a wide range of subjects, and many of these titles are available to borrow as e-books.

Gangsters and true crime, New York City history, financial literacy, MacArthur, FDR, Khrushchev, Lindsay, Main Street, U.S.A., travel, learning and self-discovery, climate change, foreign policy, the collective afterlife, and great pizza are among the wide-ranging topics coming up at our Author @ the Library talks in July 2014! We hope you’ll join us for insightful discussions with the authors of these 

Who was Miss Anne in 1920s Harlem? How did George Washington define the American presidency? What is keeping a majority of Americans from eating well? Can the world’s most endangered big cat be saved? How can we improve brain performance at any age? What fascinating stories does Murray Hill have to tell? Find out at Mid-Manhattan this month!

Is Detroit City really the place to be? What happens in a typical day at a busy NYC hospital? How does a traveler lose himself all over the globe? Is it possible for the government to achieve full employment in the U.S.? How can government in the 21st century 

One of my favorite shows on HBO, VEEP, just wrapped up its second season this summer.

In case you didn't know, this show follows around the fictional Vice President (VP) of the United States: Selina Meyer, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (who also played Elaine Benes in the television sitcom

Dangers of the 'foodopoly'... secrets of the original West Village... how Manhattan became capital of the world... a survey of time in love, war, crime, art, money and media... the spectrum of

"I think it's a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power." Ai Weiwei, "Ai Weiwei 'Does Not Feel Powerful'"BBC, October 13, 2011.

Ai Weiwei was commenting on being named the most powerful person in the art world in 2011 by ArtReview magazine after 

I'll miss him, for he was such a quintessential New York, and a terrific ambassador for the City. I met my colleague MN in the hallway (no, not at the hydration station, formerly water cooler) and we chatted about him. She had seen a picture flash by of his tombstone, apparently all set up to go, and reported it was very simple and elegant. I asked if it had an

In honor of President Obama's upcoming inauguration, the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound would like to present a compilation of historic presidential speeches selected from our collections.

The list consists of commercial and archival recordings which contain campaign, election, inaugural, resignation, congressional speeches, radio broadcasts, and various other important presidential profiles which address historic and cultural milestones in American 

In 1869, James Alexander Hamilton published a memoir. The third son of Alexander Hamilton was a Columbia-educated district attorney, colonel, writer and diplomat who addressed many aspects of his "varied life" in The Reminiscences of James A. Hamilton.i But while The Reminiscences have often been used as a source in the biographies of the father, they have never been used to tell the story of the son. A selection of Hamilton's papers and correspondence made it into the published work but the

With the current United States presidential election approaching, I thought it appropriate to share a couple items from the Timothy Leary papers relating to Ron Paul.

US Congressman Ron Paul lost his bid for President in 1988 under the Libertarian Party ticket. He has since sought election unsuccessfully under the Republican ticket in both 2008 and the current 

The U.S. economy and the upcoming presidential election are on my mind as well as on the minds of many Americans.

I'm not an economist, a political science major or an historian.

I'm a librarian at the Mid-Manhattan Library who specializes in health and medicine — but, I am interested in understanding what has happened to our country over the past ten years.

Perhaps others can make sense of it all by following the media reports —