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Unconventional Wisdom: Facts and Myths About American Voters
Late deciders go for the challenger; turnout helps the Democrats; the gender gap results from a surge in Democratic preference among women--these and many other myths are standard fare among average citizens, political pundits, and even some academics. But are these conventional wisdoms--familiar to anyone who watches Sunday morning talk shows--really valid?
Unconventional Wisdom offers a novel yet highly accessible synthesis of what we know about American voters and elections. It not only provides an integrated overview of the central themes in American politics--parties, polarization, turnout, partisan bias, campaign effects, swing voters, the gender gap, and the youth vote--it upends many of our fundamental preconceptions. Most importantly, it shows that the American electorate is much more stable than we have been led to believe, and that the voting patterns we see today have deep roots in our history. Throughout, the book provides comprehensive information on voting patterns; illuminates (and corrects) popular myths about voters and elections; and details the empirical foundations of conventional wisdoms that many understand poorly or not at all.
Written by three experts on American politics, Unconventional Wisdom serves as both a standard reference and a concise overview of the subject. Both informative and witty, the book is likely to become a standard work in the field, essential reading for anyone interested in American politics.
Unconventional Wisdom offers a novel yet highly accessible synthesis of what we know about American voters and elections. It not only provides an integrated overview of the central themes in American politics--parties, polarization, turnout, partisan bias, campaign effects, swing voters, the gender gap, and the youth vote--it upends many of our fundamental preconceptions. Most importantly, it shows that the American electorate is much more stable than we have been led to believe, and that the voting patterns we see today have deep roots in our history. Throughout, the book provides comprehensive information on voting patterns; illuminates (and corrects) popular myths about voters and elections; and details the empirical foundations of conventional wisdoms that many understand poorly or not at all.
Written by three experts on American politics, Unconventional Wisdom serves as both a standard reference and a concise overview of the subject. Both informative and witty, the book is likely to become a standard work in the field, essential reading for anyone interested in American politics.
- GenresPoliticsNonfiction
263 pages, Paperback
First published June 5, 2008
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About the author
Karen M. Kaufmann
4 books6 followersKaren M. Kaufmann is Assistant Professor in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 3, 2018
Very good overview of the political science literature relating to presidential elections. Very well written and contained a lot of good analysis to provide an overview of what political scientists know from survey data. Authors could’ve very easily punched down on certain misconceptions at the expense of not making the book novel, but they didn’t.
March 27, 2012
Very good and readable political science overview on voting behavior in the US. Impressive effort in making quantitative political science accessible for interested readers and in demonstrating what the field can actually contribute in the analysis and discussion of election results.
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July 13, 2009Enjoyable - nice quick way to get up on some the current work in poli sci and behavior
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews