Summer Reads: Professor Leonard Shares His Collection

In the prevailing social practice of summer hobby engagements, Prof. Leonard Wantchekon, President and Founder of ASE shares his reading list for this summer.

Being the James Madison Professor of Political Economy and Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University, it is no surprise that his summer collection consists of books related to his work in the political/historical sphere. From “Ambiguous Adventure" by Cheick Hamidou Kane to “Burger’s Daughter” (a political and historical novel by the Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer) Prof Leonard embraces the stories of colonial struggles by Africans and their quest to retain their cultural values.

With the 2024 U.S. presidential elections in view, Prof Leonard immerses himself in works centering on the nature, implications, and approaches to democracy at the level of the citizenry. “Politics Is for Power” by Eitan Hersh, “Reclaiming Participatory Governance: Social Movements and the Reinvention of Democratic Innovation,” a collection of essays by Adrian Bua and Sonia Bussu; and Frank M. Bryan’s “Real Democracy: The New England Town Meeting and How It Works.” make up this summer’s democratic collection.

Other books that made to his summer reads list include:

• “Purple Hibiscus” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie


• “Homegoing" is a historical fiction novel by Yaa Gyasi.

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