'The Second Civil War' by Ronald Brownstein

On the paralyzing, polarizing effect of extreme partisanship in American politics.

Take the concept of an hourglass economy, in which the middle is squeezed to near nonexistence, and apply it to politics -- the major parties and the gravitations of the electorate -- and you have approximated our plight as Ronald Brownstein lays it out in "The Second Civil War." Wielding a catchphrase lifted from Ken Mehlman, campaign manager for George W. Bush in 2004 and chairman of the Republican National Committee for part of Bush's second term, Brownstein calls this "the age of hyperpartisanship," in which almost every force related to our political life "operates as an integrated machine to push the parties apart and to sharpen the disagreements in American life."