Keeping the Republic: Power and Citizenship in American Politics

by Christine Barbour, Gerald Wright

Keeping the Republic gives students the power to Keeping the Republic draws students into the study of American politics, showing them how to think critically about "who gets what, and how" while exploring the twin themes of power and citizenship. Students are pushed to consider how and why institutions and rules determine who wins and who loses in American politics, and to be savvy consumers of political information. 

The thoroughly updated Ninth Edition considers how a major component of power is who controls the information, how it is assembled into narratives, and whether we come to recognize fact from fiction. Citizens now have unprecedented access to power – the ability to create and share their own narratives – while simultaneously being even more vulnerable to those trying to shape their views. The political landscape of today gives us new ways to keep the republic, and some high-tech ways to lose it. 

Throughout the text and its features, authors Christine Barbour and Gerald Wright show students how to effectively apply the critical thinking skills they develop to the political information they encounter every day. Students are challenged to deconstruct prevailing narratives and effectively harness the political power of the information age for themselves. 

Up-to-date with 2018 election results and analysis, as well as the impact of recent Supreme Court rulings, shifting demographics, and emerging and continuing social movements, Keeping the Republic, Ninth Edition is a much-needed resource to help students make sense of politics in America today. Also available as a digital option (courseware) . Contact your rep to learn more about Keeping the Republic, Ninth Edition - Vantage Digital Option .

Genres: Political Science, School, Textbooks, Nonfiction

776 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Jason Harper · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fairly decent textbook for gaining an understanding of the basics of American government. But when the authors attempt to go beyond explaining how government works, they resort to strawmanning their opposition's stances, which does a disservice to the target audience.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very ideological biased textbook

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used this textbook for an American Government college class. It was a little frustrating because it wasn’t written objectively and it was clearly slanted toward the left. It made for an interesting class with a conservative professor, though.

[mackenzie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kind of annoyed at how clearly slanted this was toward one side of the political spectrum. Educate me on every perspective and let me form my own opinion, don't feed me exactly what you believe. Charts and graphs were insightful, and it was an easy read with enough going on to keep my attention.

[Anthony Zupancic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basic and unremarkable.

[Brittany Crutcher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very biased.

The author claims to be nonpartisan, but the text leans noticeably left. Throughout the chapters, Trump criticisms are consistently woven in, even when they aren’t directly relevant to the main discussion. While the book does contain interesting and insightful content about American politics, the recurring snide commentary makes it difficult to view the text as balanced.

Conservative or Republican viewpoints are often dismissed or portrayed as inherently flawed, while liberal perspectives are frequently presented as fact. At times, those who disagree with these "facts" are implied to be uneducated or in denial. The occasional mention of conservative positions feels more like a token effort to uphold a “nonpartisan” label than a genuine attempt at balance.

If you are considering this book for a political science class, I would recommend seeking a more balanced, less biased textbook instead.

[Chloe · Rating 1 out of 5]

I conquered AP gov

[nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for school.

[Lily]

Read for Intro to American Government

Good for a textbook. I didn't hate myself while reading it, and some of it was actually very interesting. Great graphs.

[Library Bee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Almost done with it. I have to read it because of a intro to Politics collage class, and it's blatantly left leaning. Not vary objective when dealing with Republicans or Democrats; it hardly has anything good to say about conservatives, and constantly praises the liberals. And goes on about Democracy, but hardly talks about the Republic.

I dislike it, and only keep it as a reminder of how twisted and one-sided things have become.

Hate it, and politics.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in my political science course. Very good book, but it reads like a textbook, which is what it is. Still, I really think that all US citizens should read and learn about the government for which we all participate. Not that I think everyone should read this book...

[Cortney Durbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for a Government class. As far as textbooks go, I'd say it's pretty great.

[Amanda Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introductory book for those getting started in political science.