Bookshelf: American Politics

Politics, Parties, and Elections in America
Written by John F. BibbyPacked with the latest research, POLITICS, PARTIES AND ELECTIONS IN AMERICA provides a comprehensive account of what political parties do, how they are organized, how party leaders behave, the functions of political parties and their limitations, the unique features of American political parties, and the impact of political parties within the American political system. The text is straightforward, presenting rigorous concepts and recent scholarship in a manner that students can readily understand. Its balanced and up-to-date coverage of political parties imparts practical knowledge of the realities of political life.

Presidential Elections
Written by Nelson W. PolsbyBrimming with data and examples from the historic 2008 election, and laced with previews of 2012, the thirteenth edition of this classic text offers a complete overview of the presidential election process from the earliest straw polls and fundraisers to final voter turnout and exit interviews. The newest edition’s comprehensive coverage includes campaign strategy with overviews of the changes in campaign finance and the growing role of the Internet. Also, the thirteenth edition explores the effect of the forward-creeping presidential nomination process and the sequence of electoral events. All of these aspects and the issues themselves are discussed by a wide array of actors in the electoral process: voters, interest groups, political parties, the media, and the candidates themselves. In the final pages, the authors take a broader view of the American political system and ongoing pressure to reform its institutions in order to address perceived imperfections in the electoral process. The thirteenth edition is a timely update to this essential text on American elections.

The Faith Factor
Written by John C. GreenThe impact of religion on the 2004 presidential election results provoked widespread consternation and surprise. Given the results’ intensity and closeness, however, the role of religion should not have come as a shock. In fact, religion and faith have long played a vital role in American elections, and here, John C. Green explores the link and how it has gradually changed. He concludes that an “old religion gap”— that is, the long-standing political differences among religious communities—has been supplanted by a “new religion gap” of political divisions based on religious behavior and belief. Green puts the differences into context and documents the changing role of religion in politics over the last sixty years.

Parties and Elections in America
Written by Sandy L. MaiselThis book covers all elements of parties and the electoral process, including local, state, and national party organizations; American party history and party systems; state and local nominations; state and local elections; presidential nominations; and presidential elections. Separate chapters are devoted to the important subjects of the media in the electoral process and campaign finance. The role of political parties in representative democracy_and their contributions to it_are examined critically. This post-election update includes complete data from 2008 and an updated chapter on campaign finance.

Why Iowa?
Written by David P. RedlawskIf Barack Obama had not won in Iowa, most commentators believe that he would not have been able to go on to capture the Democratic nomination for president. Why Iowa? offers the definitive account of those early weeks of the campaign season: from how the Iowa caucuses work and what motivates the candidates’ campaigns, to participation and turnout, as well as the lingering effects that the campaigning had on Iowa voters. Demonstrating how “what happens in Iowa” truly reverberates throughout the country, five-time Iowa precinct caucus chair David P. Redlawsk and his coauthors take us on an inside tour of one of the most media-saturated and speculated-about campaign events in American politics.

Campaigns and Elections American Style (Transforming American Politics)
James A Thurber (Editor), Candice J. Nelson (Editor)With new and revised essays throughout, this book provides a real education in practical campaign politics. Academics and campaign professionals describe the innovation and reality of election campaigns as they have evolved over time to culminate in the phenomena of the new town meetings, bus tours, talk radio, infomercials, focus groups, and the Internet. The third edition explains how campaign themes and strategies are set and communicated; how advanced campaign tactics are used; why mobilizing volunteers is essential; why early campaign money is worth more; how to get the media to cover a campaign without paying for it; and how to use focus groups, survey research, and media to win elections. Offering a unique and careful mix of Democrat and Republican, academic and practitioner, and male and female campaign perspectives, this volume scrutinizes national- and local-level campaigns through the 2000 and 2008 election cycles. Students, citizens, candidates, and campaign managers will learn not only how to win elections but also why it has become imperative to do so in an ethical way. Perfect for a variety of courses in American government, this book is essential reading for political junkies of any stripe and serious students of campaigns and elections.

The Paradox of Tar Heel Politics
Written by Rob ChristensenHow can a state be represented by Jesse Helms and John Edwards at the same time? Journalist Rob Christensen answers that question and navigates a century of political history in North Carolina, one of the most vibrant and competitive southern states, where neither conservatives nor liberals, Democrats nor Republicans, have been able to rest easy. It is this climate of competition and challenge, Christensen argues, that enabled North Carolina to rise from poverty in the nineteenth century to become a leader in research, education, and banking in the twentieth.

How Barack Obama Won
Chuck Todd, Political Director NBC News and Sheldon Gawiser, Elections Director, NBC NewsHow Barack Obama Won—by one of the most lauded political journalists of our time, and one of the most respected pollsters in the business—gives us not only the inside state-by-state guide to how Obama achieved his victory, but also the essential toolbox for understanding the political implications of the 2008 presidential election—where the country stands vis-à-vis Red and Blue states, where it currently is and is headed politically, and whether a political realignment has taken place.