American Government: Roots and Reform

by Karen O'Connor

Guided by the belief that readers must first understand the origins of American government to fully understand the issues facing the United States today, this market-leading text offers the strongest coverage of both history and current events of any college textbook devoted to American politics.  

 

From hallmark features like “The Living Constitution” to new features like the illustrated historical timelines, American Government: Continuity and Change provides the historical context readers need to understand our government and the most crucial and controversial issues affecting the nation in the 21st century.  The alternate edition of this classic text features the exact same coverage as the comprehensive version but without the policy chapters. 

 

This bestselling book has been extensively revised to provide in-depth coverage of the 2008 presidential and congressional elections, President George W. Bush’s second administration and the 110th Congress, continued controversies related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on terrorism, and domestic concerns related to rising gas and food prices and the subprime mortgage crisis.

Genres: Reference, School, Nonfiction, Political Science

832 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Seamus · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a high-school textbook. Assigned to me in college. It is complete and utter bullsh*t. If you want a REAL textbook on American Politics, please don't choose this sugarcoated, pro-government propaganda. The entire volume pretends that everything in American politics works exactly like they taught you that it was supposed to in 8th grade.

I'm not anti-government. I am speaking from a position of wanting to read textbooks that don't pretend the U.S. government is a 1950s sitcom.

[Morgan Moeller · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a high school textbook but yet it was assigned to me in college. This book was incredibly boring, and I love government and politics. But this is basically a textbook that promotes government propaganda.

[Eric Rodrigues · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a heavy written textbook. Not much more to say.

[Seraphina Clementine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Austin Blues is a rollicking ride through Austin’s smoky clubs, fiery politics, and soulful blues scene. Gary A. Keith writes with grit, humor, and heart, giving us Sandy Eden a Vietnam vet turned lawyer who fights corruption with the same fire he once carried into battle. This novel pulses with music, justice, and Texas-sized spirit. A must-read for anyone who loves Austin, mystery, or stories that refuse to be forgotten.

[Belle Meade School]

320.4

[Tabitha Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

for a textbook it wasn't terrible but did get horribly boring in places.

[Toby Amodeo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This textbook was powerful, easy to understand, and formatted in a user friendly manner. The chapters included relevant information and understandable examples, and the vocabulary definitions provided were a major help during studying. I would gladly recommend this textbook to any U.S. government student.