Diverse student populations will appreciate this aspect of the text. LBGTQ issues were integrated in many of the chapters and this is refreshing. And finally, it contains both sections on individual rights and liberties as well as policy and bureaucracy. 4. Prior to reviewing this text, I was not very familiar with open source textbooks. The textbook content is clearly organized into sensible modules. Welcome to our textbook for the year. SyncBlasts:Online SyncBlasts permit teachers to leverage rich, multi-media reading and writing assignments focused on social studies and current event articles. However I do feel that stylistically the presentation of in-text citations is cumbersome and distracting. One issue, however, that might be addressed is with the word "media." Very well done. In my view, chapters four and five are stellar and provide alternative voices to the narrative. Analyze a variety of primary and secondary sources including text excerpts, political cartoons, photographs, graphs, charts, and maps. Using a free text ensures that all students will HAVE the book, which has been a problem for me in recent years with 'standard' texts. Ive covered organization under clarity above, so setting this aside, the textbook is good at being consistent in its tone and content, and chapters are easy enough to utilize. Reviewed by Brian Jones, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Political Science, Northern Virginia Community College on 6/20/17, The comprehensiveness of Krutz's American Government text is such that it more than adequately addresses the curricular requirements of the American government and politics courses offered by the Virginia Community College System. However, on the library listing page, there is a typo in the index for chapter 17. Do away with elections and democracy itself might be saved, argues Alexander Guerrero. Subchapter titles like organizing to govern are a bit confusing. And while all the topic areas you would anticipate are present, the structure is different. It covers necessary topics clearly and comprehensively. The foundational material in each chapter/section is relevant and the examples used to explain/apply such material is more up to date than many for profit books I have read. The book's seventeen chapters are well-divided into five parts. There are a couple other places in the text where this is noticeable. However, I cant really think of a way to sidestep these concerns all authors must make choices. The United States has a complex government system. The sections on Native Americans lose their lands and on the rights revolution are too simplistic historically. This textbook is perfect for my American government course that I teach to undergraduates at the community college level. [et al.] I haven't found inconsistencies throughout the text as to terminology and framework. As an introduction to American Government, the text covers the areas and ideas of the subject at a very comprehensive level. That might help to draw students into the material earlier in the semester, that is if you teach the chapters in order. Sometimes it is used in plural sense, but most often used in the singular sense. In fact, the whole world pretty much looks democratic and thats not true. Likewise, the reasoning in Chapter 9 Political Parties as to why we have only two major parties lacks depth. Reviewed by Nicholas Goedert, Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech on 6/20/17, The text is impressively comprehensive, both with respect to its range of coverage and depth of discussion of each topic. In fact, I wish there was an entire chapter devoted to Campaigns and Elections. For example, if an instructor wanted to cover formal institutions prior to individual agency and action or mediating institutions, it would not be difficult to do so using this text. A chapter on State and Local government is also included as a useful addition. Although the order of the chapters differ from the way I may group chapters together, the book does maintain a consistent pattern based on the logic of the book it presents. The language seems accessible. Reviewed by Rolfe Peterson, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Susquehanna University on 2/11/20, This textbook is extremely comprehensive. One nice feature of the text is the ability directly to citations through the texts footnotes. These help to engage students and cultivate reading, writing, and critical-thinking skills in a unique, and ever-growing platform. The textbook contents are organized in an insightful way, beginning with core foundational elements of the Constitution, federalism, civil liberties and civil rights. Of course, whenever there are big changes on the Supreme Court or in the American governmental structure updates would need to be made. Because of the breakdown by the author, students can tackle smaller blocks of material easily and I believe that this will help with comprehension of the material. This Electoral College voting method is referred to as the district system." This is a welcome inclusion: Although most Americans interact far more with their state and local governments than the national government on a daily basis, historically American government courses have de-emphasized sub-national politics. - clear framing around basic theories of representation and collective action (probably less explicitly on the latter than something Delivering Collective Action: Formal Institutions 5. The grammar is fine, and the book seems well-written. read more. The layout is consistent for each chapter, with topic subheadings, feature boxes, links to learning, summaries and glossaries. Following each chapter are a glossary and comprehension/study questions. This is certainly the Achilles Heel of American government textbooks, some of which have been written as direct reactions to, say, the 2016 elections or the lens of inequality. The book is comprehensive, covering the major topics one would expect to find in a U.S. government textbook. This immediately gives an indication of how the material will flow. The framework of the chapters is internal consistent. The textbook is very comprehensive with more than 650 pages of content plus appendices with relevant documents. Identify politics should be present in more sections of the text. The book is accurate with but few exceptions. Traditional Democratic Theory 1. The glossary of terms after each chapter and the illustrations, examples, color pictorials and web links are all critical to the issue of clarity. It dedicates entire chapters to state and local The textbook is structured in a logical manner with chapters that have clearly defined subareas that more than adequately provide students with an understanding of American government. One note of concern is that the captions thereon in many instances are not fully compatible for a text reader. The only suggestion that I would make is to include a little bit more political psychology, especially in the chapters on public opinion and the media. It's very well organized. font-family: ProximaNova,Helvetica Neue,Arial,Noto Sans,Liberation Sans,sans-serif,Apple Color Emoji,Segoe UI Emoji,Segoe UI Symbol,Noto Color Emoji !important; A chapter on State and Local government is also included as a useful addition. Individual Agency and Action 3. I didnt have any difficulty navigating the book. The updates to the text with respect to the 2016 election are topical and serve to make the content more easily understand without the risk of seeming outdated in a short period of time. The textbooks language is not as direct and as appealing to the pedagogical style of this new generation of students. Mixed views of structural changes in the political system. The formatting of the text throughout is excellent. These subjects were covered using terminology that was timely and clear. Thorough coverage of the main thematic areas generally addressed by introductory American Government textbooks. It is well-written and proof-read. I did not find any grammatical errors in the text. The organization and flow of the book is very good. The book is competently written and produced. Very well done. The book is consistent in terms and focus. The images and charts used in the book help clarify the concepts very well. The introduction and the summaries are useful starting and ending points for the reader and the addition of thoughtful critical thinking questions plus the keyword pages are another useful addition to the work. United States Government: Our Democracy allows high school students to master an understanding of the structure, function, and powers of government at all levels. The glossary, summaries, and review questions including critical thinking are all conducive to learning and it will help students prepare for exams. I am using this text in lieu of my regular purchased text for my intro class and I am excited for the possibilities available given the interesting and useful ways the authors have organized the material in the book - while ensuring all the bread & butter chapters for an intro American Gov text are here. Donald A. Ritchie, Richard C. Remy. In 1988, the U.S. Senate paid tribute with a resolution 3 that said . Below are the modified excerpts that are assigned to you. The book is very comprehensive. For example, the chapter on political parties resembles a history text. From an aesthetic perspective, the textbook has a fair amount of graphic material that is appealing to students. Content is very much up to date. The book contained appropriate section breaks so that students can jump directly to the relevant subsection. The chapter organization was not revolutionary but logical and familiar. Toward Collective Action: Mediating Institutions, Delivering Collective Action: Formal Institutions. This is a slightly difficult area to comment on. Whenever the next update does occur, I would strongly suggest change the order of the paragraphs so Part 4 comes after Part 1. Many varied examples and leaders are highlighted. I think it does an excellent review of the issue of slavery and how it impacted US government. I would consider using this textbook in my American Government 101. The United States Government Manual. Finally, I thought that the chapters (4 & 5) in Civil Liberties & Civil Rights were in particular very informative and well done. There could be more treatment of the concept of power in the beginning of the book. In particular, the sections on civil rights, civil liberties are grouped near the beginning with section on public opinion and elections. New Blasts are being added regularly; Spanish language Blasts are also included. 1. Overall there are no major things to complain about here. I have not noticed any internal tensions or inconsistencies within the text. This book uses clear language and of-the-moment context that brings the idea of government to life. Straightforward comparisons with oligarchy and monarchy. : My goal in writing this book is to help you develop the knowledge, skills, and ideals you need to protect your own freedom; to keep democracy alive in the United States. As a policy professor with professional experience in the field, I would be likely to use cases to follow up about how policy content accounts for those decisions in a process that includes policy actors (private and public)). The chapters in the Kurtz et al e-book covers all relevant chapters of American Government and even offers chapters on Foreign policy, Domestic policy and State and Local government. 1997. Its designed with the C3 Framework for social studies in mind. The material is not overly self-referential. But at the mass level most Tea Party identifiers are Republicans, and in Congress the vast majority of Tea Party sympathizers (perhaps all) are Republicans. Of course, this is a college textbook and there is much to learn, my recent experience is that if the volume of the reading appears ominous such may not be read in whole or be comprehended as well as the instructor may have hoped. The US is dominated by a rich and powerful elite. In the course of using this textbook, I have discovered no significant errors. I never saw any problems with that concern. I didnt find any interface issues in this textbook. Textbook solutions. Yet a majority also says that the "fundamental design and structure" of U.S. government is in need of "significant changes" to make it work today. Gun-rights groups believe that the Second Amendment gives citizens the right to own and carry guns. I didnt notice obvious grammatical errors in this textbook. The book seemed reasonable "inclusive", although I suppose this is pretty subjective and I'll admit to not usually judging texts on this ground. The book certainly has all of the topics expected of an Introduction to American Government text. It even has a chapter on Local government and two policy chapters, Domestic and Foreign. This is another useful function to organize student assignments around. A democracy, consequently, must be confined to a small . Learning objectives are clearly identified for each unit, and each unit concludes with a concise summary of main points followed by multiple-choice and short answer questions. 36 Question #70. Was: $150.00 Now: $120.00. In addition the appendix with major judicial cases will withstand the passing of time and it isn't difficult to add a couple of relevant cases per judicial year and then review the choices every four or five years. However, each chapter is organized with clear and explicit learning goals and achieves everything you need from an American Government textbook. There are a number of instances where, as was previously noted, there are significant blocks of text in long paragraphs without subheadings or some other type of break. I have also discovered no instances in which the presentation seems unduly slanted or biased. The material is easily divisible. I was actually surprised at the 'updatedness" of the book. Overall, the textbook provides accurate information, but there are some places where it comes up short in this regard, and a few statements made in the book are not as clear as they could be. Some texts may cover only one additional chapter other than the presentation. For example, the chapter on political parties has a nice section about divided government and political polarization (section 9.4), and the chapter on Congressional representation does a nice job of recognizing both the growing diversity of Congress as well as the continued ways in which Congress is less diverse than the American public (section 11.3). Although the U.S. has been a strong proponent of democracy, it did not invent democracy. Instructors planning on using this book may want to request access to the instructor resources very early to avoid issues. have taken care to discuss the impact of this issues on minority populations across the many chapters, and not solely in the chapter on Civil Rights as previous texts on the subject tended to do. The text is not culturally offensive, but I would like to see more sections or paragraphs that flesh out diversity and politics. Back to List. While some sentences are a bit languid and I might have organized thoughts differently, there is no direct error in any sentence that I could see. read more. Introduction, Consitution, Federalism, Civil Rights and Liberties, Parties and Ideology, Opinion and Media, Congress, President, Courts, state and local, and International Affairs. It covers all the bases of an Introduction to American Government and then some. 9780078747625 United States Government Democracy in. My concern about the text are the hyperlinks and how they are integrated within the content. However, after assigning the questions, I found that the 'full online' version has the review questions INTEGRATED into the text (scattered in the chapter) AND provides ANSWERS to them. The text covers everything that an introduction to American government should. The textbook contains sections and subsections within the chapters with independent learning objectives. But thats ok! Independence and the Articles of Confederation. The text is not culturally insensitive, supplying context to why the Founders created the government originally and how it has evolved. The chapter organization is clear, so it would be easy to teach the chapters in a different order. One of many things I like about this textbook is that it is well organized throughout. In terms of content, the textbook has all the chapters one normally expects from an introductory American Government textbook. (Read Madeleine Albright's Britannica essay on democracy.) The text is very culturally sensitive and I see no cultural offensiveness. Reviewed by Robert Asaadi, Instructor, Portland State University on 3/11/20, updated 4/16/20, Thorough coverage of the main thematic areas generally addressed by introductory American Government textbooks. The textbook follows a traditional American government textbook format, starting with the Constitution and covering, Federalism, Civil Liberties and Rights, Interest Groups, Political Parties, and the three branches of government. The text features sophisticated and accessible prose. Understanding Economics. This is particularly identifiable in chapters one and two. Oak Meadow Website . The chapters are well organized and user friendly. The book is internally consistent. There are currently no items in your shopping cart. Comprehensive in terms of concepts and how they related to current ideas. In a couple instances such as above, they simply need to be done. - A good set of basic references at the end of each chapter. Most textbooks for undergraduates in this topic area American Government 2e offers a comprehensive survey of the core aspects of the US political system. I repeat that the textbook content is well written. Nearly every chapter has classic and current concepts to understand the evolution and development of institutions. Although the book does not add a specific domestic policy area, the choice of three areas on domestic policy, foreign policy and state and local government is refreshing. As noted, perhaps the authors will consider a further subdivision in this regard. Of course the book's "longevity" is not likely to be long just because of the nature of the subject matter. Overall, it is solid and accurate. This progression is evident, for example, in the learning objectives that begin each section of the text. The book certainly has all of the topics expected of an Introduction to American Government text. Words seem arbitrarily capitalized (why capitalize Scalia and McConnell)? Grammar is as good as one would expect from a textbook from a commercial press. The red links in areas of the textbook are distracting. The text will be accessible to students. This text had no major interface issues. Other mainstream textbooks will generally issue an updated edition every few years to include the outcomes of new presidential elections. Landmark cases and events bring history alive. The text contains no grammatical errors of any significance. Accuracy is excellent, with essentially an unbiased and error-free content (and i do judge rather stringently the accuracy of historical content given I teach history as well). The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive and it makes use of examples that are inclusive more than the norm. Having learning objectives at the beginning of each subsection (not just in a chapter) could help students stay focus on important takeaways. Similar to other Introduction to American Government textbooks this book covers the typical material and then some. The goal of each section is to enable students not just to recognize concepts, but to work with them in ways that will be useful in later courses, future careers, and as engaged citizens. Its framework is solid. The book is comprehensive, covering the major topics one would expect to find in a U.S. government textbook. Most textbooks for undergraduates in this topic area Might be using this text in the spring of 2020, Reviewed by Amedee George, Professor, SUNO on 4/23/19, The chapters in the Kurtz et al e-book covers all relevant chapters of American Government and even offers chapters on Foreign policy, Domestic policy and State and Local government. My biggest concerns lie with the unconventional ordering of the material, as well as the density of the text throughout. An innovative inclusion is that, in addition to the standard chapter on federalism, American Government (2e) also includes a separate chapter (14) on State and Local Governments. Although in the last decade I have opted for brief editions of American government, in an electronic format a longer text is useful for students who want to know more about topics that are difficult to cover in a fifteen week semester, including state and local government, public policy and foreign policy. I do wish there was a bit more of a unified explanatory framework that was used throughout the chapters, though. Reading and writing support such as guided notes, vocabulary pop-ups, and graphic organizers help improve understanding of the content. That is the conclusion of a new survey of 1,571 political scientists. I really like that a section on state and local government is included. The current book I use fully integrates free people of color into each chapter. I imagine the authors are planning to update every two years and it should be relatively simple to add/subtract topical material without substantial modifications to the foundational text. I also like the presence of key terms at the end of every chapter as in the textbooks one can pay ($) for. For example, when discussing the Boston Tea Party, the authors claim, "Today, many who do not agree with the positions of the Democratic of Republican Party have organized themselves into an oppositional group dubbed the Tea Party (41)."