The Best Books of 2012

by John Avlon Dec 20, 2012 5:24 PM EST

From magisterial biographies to the fine art of column writing, it’s been a good year in reading.

Some great – and in the case of Robert Caro’s latest, long awaited – books came out this year. Caro’s Passage of Power topped my list of must-reads from 2012 in a list compiled for Newsweek and The Daily Beast that included editor Tina Brown, Andrew Sullivan, and David Frum, among others.

My other choices included Hemingway’s Boat by Paul Hendrickson and Defender of the Realm by William Manchester and Paul Reid. The latter is another history that no lover of multi-volume explorations of political character should be without.

Last but not least, pick up a copy of Deadline Artists: Scandals, Tragedies and Triumphs, co-edited by myself, Jesse Angelo, and Errol Louis. Chock full of columns by true greats like Jimmy Breslin, Murray Kempton, and Mike Royko, its perfect for the newspaper reader in your family – and a nice introduction to the art of reported column-writing for the blogging generation.

Read all of the choices by Newsweek / The Daily Beast editors, columnists, and reporters.

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John Avlon is political director for Newsweek and The Daily Beast. A CNN contributor, he won the National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ award for best online column in 2012.

For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.

About the Author

John Avlon

John Avlon is senior columnist for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, and the host of Beast TV. He is a CNN contributor regularly appearing on the show Erin Burnett Out Front at 7 p.m. EST. He won the National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ award for best online column in 2012.

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