The best books to understand why voters often behave irrationally

This blog post was written by Rick Shenkman, the founder of George Washington University’s History News Network, and the author of Political Animals: How Our Stone-Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics (Basic Books). 

Why do voters often seem disengaged, irrational, and unsympathetic?

I was asked by Shepherd.com to compile a list of 5 books that help readers with answers.

Click here to see my reasons for selecting these five. (Of course, it's incomplete.)

Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government

By Christopher H. Achen, Larry M. Bartels

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion

By Jonathan Haidt

Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious

By Timothy D. Wilson

Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex Among Apes

By Franz DeWaal

Who's in Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain

By Michael S. Gazzaniga