Seven Books About What Corruption Actually Looks Like

Corruption is one of the most important—and misunderstood—concepts in contemporary American politics. Some examples are unambiguous: for instance, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez taking gold bars from foreign governments in exchange for policy favors. But corruption covers a wide range of behavior, far beyond kickbacks and bribery. I’ve spent my career studying how it shapes legal and political systems, and I’ve found that it’s rarely a single act or brazen deal; more often, it appears as a set of habits that spreads through society like a creeping disease. For most...