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How Politics Works: The Concepts Visually Explained

Discover everything you need to know about political history and thought, and the inner workings of governments around the world with this unique graphic guide.

Combining clear, jargon-free language and bold, eye-catching graphics, How Politics Works is a comprehensive and user-friendly guide to all aspects of politics.

Covering everything from political theory to methods of government, the book presents the ideas and theories of key political philosophers, leaders, movements, and activists in a uniquely visual and easy-to-understand way. Explaining political ideas on a conceptual level, entries explore how they apply to governments, movements, and trends throughout history, along with 21st-century examples such as the #MeToo movement and #BlackLivesMatter. The book also shows how political history is affected by economics, sociology, and the role of the media - an ever-relevant issue in the age of "fake news" and "cancel culture", and the current distrust of the economic forces behind certain areas of the media.

With its unique graphic approach and clear, authoritative text, How Politics Works is the perfect introduction to the subject, and an ideal companion title to DK's The Politics Book in the "Big Ideas" series.

224 pages, Hardcover

Published June 2, 2022

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About the author

D.K. Publishing

10.2k books2,230 followers
Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

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5 stars
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28 (47%)
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Profile Image for Benjamin K..
55 reviews1 follower
September 22, 2022
The back cover of How Politics Works describes itself as "the simplest, most visual guide to politics" and a "clear, jargon-free text." Both of these accurately express how well D.K. Publishing approaches the complex history and current workings of the field of politics. A book in six parts, each section tackles a different topic ranging from the foundations of political thought to the organization of government and everything in between.

Every double page displays a topic in the given section, "Political Institutions" in the section "Organizing Government," for example. There is then a write-up, and then the whole double page is pulled together by fun and easy to understand graphics that expound on the subject matter.

How Politics Works is a great resource for students just beginning to learn about the workings of politics and will definitely spark interest in wanting to learn more about it.
Profile Image for Nora Olmo.
332 reviews4 followers
September 1, 2022
School books should be in this format, so that they.can teach easier.
Profile Image for Joe Stevens.
Author 3 books5 followers
October 30, 2024
Most DK books find a way to be fun as well as educational. This one lacks all fun. It feels like a school book with helpful graphics. It skews somewhat liberal though that isn't necessarily a bad thing but is good to bear in mind. The teaching is somewhat rudimentary.

I think it might be worth reading for the younger set in some kind of schooling environment. Not to the level of the better books from this publisher.
Profile Image for EmberJenn.
337 reviews6 followers
August 1, 2022
Has a liberal bias sprinkled all over the place (imo), but the graphics make the material easy to understand.
Profile Image for Zhuo Chengsheng.
216 reviews
November 27, 2023
The first section is interesting and the last section also gives summarised information on the political systems in the world, but the rest is self-explanatory if you read the news regularly.
Profile Image for Cheese Chan.
11 reviews
May 29, 2025
Đọc xong chả hiểu mẹ gì, chắc do mình ngu
Hoặc là mình cần đọc thêm nhiều bài báo chính trị hơn nữa
Profile Image for Mahsa.
12 reviews2 followers
December 13, 2025
A great introductory and basic book about politics. It explains the political ideas and terminology in a visually informative way.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews