Preeti Aroon

• "Why It Was Called 'Water Torture'," by Richard E. Mezo in the Washington Post. An argument against waterboarding, written by an American who actually experienced it.

Caitlin Wall

• The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008. Mark Halperin and John F. Harris look at the state of modern American politics and attempt to write a sort of handbook for the secrets of the trade. Political strategy trumps all in this less-than-inspiring, if timely read.

Christine Chen

• The In Septembers of Shiraz. First-time novelist Dalia Sofer, whose own family escaped from Iran in 1982, tells the tale of Isaac Amin, a gem trader who is imprisoned and tortured by Revolutionary Guards for being Jewish. During his incarceration, his wife Farnaz tries to keep the family together while his young daughter is befriended by the daughter of the man who runs the prison where he's being held. Meanwhile, his secular son is far away in Brooklyn, falling in love with the daughter of his Hasidic landlord.

Blake Hounshell

• The Maldives: A Nation in Peril. President-for-life Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is no democrat, but he is an ardent environmentalist. The fact that the Maldives' highest point is six feet above sea level tends to sharpen the mind on that score.

Mike Boyer

• "Mitt Romney: Not in His Father's Footsteps," Rick Perlstein in Sunday's Los Angeles Times. Romney "will go down as the most robotic big-ticket presidential candidate in history," because his father taught him that authenticity kills.