One of the best books in recent memory to address the politics of race in America is Fracture: Barack Obama, the Clintons, and the Racial Divide (Morrow, $27.99) by MSNBC national correspondent Joy-Ann Reid. A smart, rigorous reporter and an eloquent writer, Reid combines keen journalistic insight with excellent historical research in examining how race has influenced American politics. Focusing primarily on the relationship between Barack Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton, Reid exposes the challenges that race poses for the Democratic Party along the historical continuum, and what racial politics might mean in the 2016 election. This much-needed and highly original book leaves the reader with the sad realization that, even after the election of our first black president, America still has a long way to go to repair the political fracture and close the racial divide.