2025 Nobel Peace Prize Maria Corina Machado of Venezuela has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela.” The Nobel Committee praised her as “a symbol of the struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”Her recognition comes amid Venezuela’s continued economic collapse and alleged political repression under President Nicolás Maduro.To understand Machado’s rise, her movement for democratic renewal, and the crisis she seeks to end, these five books that offer insight into the country’s past, present, and possible future:Maria Corina Machado: And the Struggle for Democracy in Venezuela The book, Maria Corina Machado: And the Struggle for Democracy in Venezuela, is part of the Did You Know Series and is available as an audiobook. (Source: Barnes and Nobel)The book is part of the Did You Know Series and is available as an audiobook. In this sweeping narrative, Machado emerges as a voice of defiance against a regime that has crushed dissent for decades. The audiobook chronicles her transformation from civic activist to political leader, revealing how she became a beacon of hope amid repression. It highlights her unwavering faith in democratic principles and her 2024 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, awarded for moral courage in the face of tyranny.Building the Commune: Radical Democracy in Venezuela by Geo Maher Building the Commune: Radical Democracy in Venezuela by Geo Maher examines the leftist experiments that defined the Chávez era. (Source: amazon)Maher examines the leftist experiments that defined the Chávez era, when Venezuela’s barrios sought to reinvent democracy through grassroots communes. His analysis explains how revolutionary ideals curdled into political stagnation and authoritarianism — the same system Machado now challenges. It provides a background on the social and political structures Machado seeks to reform.Also Read | ‘More than a catastrophe’: How László Krasznahorkai reacted to winning the 2025 Nobel Prize in LiteratureThings Are Never So Bad That They Can’t Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela by William Neuman Things Are Never So Bad That They Can’t Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela by William Neuman is a journalist’s account. (Source: amazon.in)A former New York Times bureau chief in Caracas, Neuman delivers a searing chronicle of Venezuela’s unraveling — from power blackouts to economic freefall. His reporting dissects Maduro’s repression, Guaidó’s failed uprising, and the human cost of sanctions. The result is a ground-level view of the nation Machado vows to rebuild.Also Read | The long sentence of the world: Who is Laszlo Krasznahorkai — winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize in LiteratureWe Created Chávez: A People’s History of the Venezuelan Revolution by George Ciccariello-Maher This work, also by Maher, traces the origins of Chavismo and the social movements. (Source: amazon.in)Though not mentioned by name in the Nobel announcement, Chávez’s legacy looms over Machado’s campaign for change. This work, also by Maher, traces the origins of Chavismo and the social movements that both empowered and constrained it. Understanding this populist experiment is essential to grasping Machado’s ideological counterpoint. To see the roots — and contradictions — of the revolution Machado now seeks to transcend.Story continues below this adVáclav Havel: Disturbing the Peace by Václav Havel Before Machado, there was Havel — playwright, dissident, and Czech president. (Source: amazon.in)Before Machado, there was Havel — playwright, dissident, and Czech president. Her receipt of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize in 2024 cements a spiritual kinship between the two figures. Havel’s reflections on truth and moral responsibility illuminate the universal struggle for freedom that defines both his and Machado’s journeys.