No trip to Dewey is complete without a carton of smokes, bottle of booze, SPF 15 and a good book for the beach.

Before you head out for the sun and surf this year, be sure to grab one of these books for your trip.

Thank You for Smoking
Christopher Buckley

Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em. An inside look at one of Washington’s most sexy industries, Big Tobacco.

Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear
Frank Luntz

Granted, he’s a bit socially awkward, but he knows how to assess any political environment.

Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics
Jerome Armstrong and Markos Moulitsas

These two guys wrote the book in their 20’s and we’re still in the infant stage of wired politics. Plus, you get tons of street cred if you drop at a DC dinner party that you’ve read this.

Charlie Wilson’s War
George Crile

Congress, cocaine, strippers, jihads, lobbyists, and war. What else do you need?

The Thumpin’: How Rahm Emanuel and the Democrats Learned to be Ruthless and Ended the Republican Revolution
Naftali Bendavid

R or D, you should read this book. The pendulum was swinging back and Rahm was at the wheel. But, does he take too much credit or is this the first wave?