The Struggle for Democracy

by Edward S. Greenberg, Benjamin I. Page

This critical thinking approach to American government asks students to evaluate the quality of democracy in America today within a unique framework that offers a holistic view of our system. The seventh edition of this best-selling text has been completely updated through the 2004 Presidential Election. Continuing to offer a lively, critical thinking approach to the course, The Struggle for Democracy is organized around two "Using the Democracy Standard" and "Using the Framework." The first theme, woven throughout the narrative, asks students to evaluate the health and vitality of American democracy today against a carefully defined democratic ideal. The text's second theme, "Using the Framework," asks students to look at the structures underlying our political system-such as the economy, society, cultural values, technology-and examine how these structures affect, and are affected by, our political system.

Genres: Textbooks, Nonfiction, Political Science, School, Politics, History

672 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1961

Reviews

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the very first time I read a textbook in it's entirety. It was informative and beneficial to my learning experience. It had many tangible experiences, that make the terms easier to understand. However, I found myself completely frustrated after each chapter. The text was completely biased and the author has some serious issues with the Republican Party particularly President George W. Bush. It is my feeling that a textbook should be unbiased and strictly informative in a neutral tone. Once you catch on to the tone of this text, it makes you speculative about everything they write.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far, this is the best American Politics textbook that I've found. More than the authors of other textbooks, these authors ask students to consider the structural forces that shape American Politics and ask students to think about how democratic our country really is (hint: not very).

The one improvement that this book could make (and it's a big one) is to discuss the alternative structural arrangements that other democracies choose so that students know not only that our institutions are not very democratic, but also what alternative institutions are more democratic.

[Toni Guyton · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as a textbook goes, this one was quite interesting. The writer did tend to lean toward the left heavily, and that's fine with me, but it does make me curious to see how others felt about the text.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the textbook for my college American Government and Politics survey course. It was a clear, readable book and it was a really fascinating class. I appreciated the simple and easy to understand explanations of some rather complex concepts. A helpful book. I understand the way my government works a lot better now.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this textbook for my political science class. It was easy to read and interesting.

[Wally Yuth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my political science class. It's a very easy read and makes aware of the topics about our government. It's great for understanding how the United States Federal government basically works. However, it's a left-winged and will evaluate the problems such as too much military, the failure of our democracy, and the role corporations play in government. All of these are real issues that I do not ignore. This textbook and my political science class has helped me see the rough patches in America politics and people. It's very good at defining vocabulary, learning about our government today (than what our government should have been), and offering facts such as the strength of the president is also dependent on the popularity of his policies. (I just assumed that people would just go with his/her flow.)