🐻 Cornell Public Policy unofficial reading list 2026
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Freshman level
America at War in the Modern World PUBPOL 1510 (fa26)
- Waging War: Conflict, Culture & Innovation in World History by Wayne E. Lee
- World War II: A New History by Evan Mawdsley
- Another Kind of War: The Nature & History of Terrorism by John A. Lynn
Sophomore level
Controversies About Inequality PUBPOL 2220 (fa26)
- The Myth of Millionaire Tax Flight: How Place Still Matters for the Rich by Cristobal Young
- How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America by Priya Fielding-Singh
- The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America by Oren Cass
- Bottlenecks: A New Theory of Equal Opportunity by Joseph Fishkin
- Friends and Fortunes: Social Capital Inequality in America by Cornwell et al.
Intro. to Public Policy PUBPOL 2301 (fa26)
- Public Policy: Politics, Analysis & Alternatives by Kraft & Furlong
The U.S. Health Care System PUBPOL 2350 (fa26)
- Health Policy Issues: An Economic Perspective by Feldstein & Melnick
- The Long Fix: Solving America’s Health Care Crisis w/ Strategies that Work for Everyone by Vivian Lee
Junior level
Economics of the U.S. Social Safety Net PUBPOL 3080/5080 (fa26)
- Mastering ‘Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect by Angrist & Pischke
Senior level
Regulation & Infrastructure Policy PUBPOL 4640 (fa26)
- The Road to Renewal: Private Investment in the U.S. Transportation Infastructure by Richard R. Geddes
- The Economics of Public-Private Partnerships: A Basic Guide by Engel et al.
- Rethinking America’s Highways: A 21st-Century Vision for Better Infrastructure by Robert W. Poole
- Build: Investing in America’s Infrastructure by Sadek Wahba