I read the 5th edition from 1990, and it was like reading primary source material. This was before the breakdowns of Yugoslavia and the USSR and the world really looked different. Interestingly, Macridis was ahead of his time in discussing religious ideologies--the others really picked up on how important these were after 9/11. Dated, but interesting, even if you don't share his view of 'ideology' as (more or less) a worldview.