Margaret Weir

Standard College level textbook - an introduction into American Politics. I bought it mainly as a reference book which it does an adequate job.

It's compact size is perfect for desktop reference and review. In addition to having copies of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, the textbook also has review questions for the reader to challenge themselves.

It extensively covers:

** Citizenship and Government - how government affects our lives, our identities, our ideals

** Our Founding and the Constitution - How Political conflicts shaped the first founding, how the failure of the articles attributed to the second founding, what the Constitution created, and how difficult ratification was

** Federalism - How it shaped American politics and how the definition changed radically over time

** Civil Liberties and Civil Rights - Students will be surprised to learn that those who opposed the Constitution paved the way for the Bill of Rights. This section also provides coverage of the first amendment, how the second amendment protects gun owners, how criminals are afforded due process by the constitution, the right to privacy, Civil Rights protections and struggles, and online privacy is also covered.

** The Role of the Media in Society as well as social media

** Political Parties, Participation and Elections - how political parties rose from the electoral process, the two-party system, political participation in traditional and online forms, as well as explaining why political party loyalty is important

** Interest Groups - This section also covers pluralist and elitist views, the increase of special interest groups, as well as the strategies used

** Congress - how the congress represents the people, how it is shaped by party, explanation of how a bill becomes law, the factors that leads congress to their decisions, and the other roles that congress has

** The Presidency - where the President gets his/her powers, institutional resources

** Bureaucracy - how it improves efficiency, how the Executive Branch is organized, and who controls the bureaucracy

** Federal Courts - how the legal system settles disputes, the different courts and what cases they hear, the Supreme Court and its powers

** Domestic Policy - Public Policy = Government Coercion, how the techniques of making policy are control, social policy and welfare, poverty, and social spending is also explored.

** Foreign Policy - this section ends the book covering: security based on military strength, how American foreign policy is shaped by both Government and non-Government actors, the tools of American Foreign policy, and using technology to topple governments citing the Case of Egypt.

For pleasure reading - it is a boring read. However, for review and reference - it does the job it was written to do.… (mere)