The highly lauded politics matters focus of this accessible text has been expanded in the new edition to include new ways students can connect to their government-through the news media and the Internet. In the latest edition, an exciting new "Issues of the Times" feature presents students with articles from The New York Times about controversies facing our nation today. Students are asked to think critically about the issues, and encouraged to see how politics and the news media affect them. New "Get Connected" end-of-chapter exercises ask students to get connected to their political system through the Internet by investigating hot political issues and evaluating their own positions on these topics. These new features are extensions of the text's long-standing politics matters theme. Through a variety of text features and a strong emphasis on public policy, Government in America shows students the impact that government has on their daily lives, encouraging them to see how vitally important it is to study, understand, and participate in our political system.
Main Takeaways: 1. Politics is everywhere. Whether you are looking for funding for your organization, paying sales tax when buying an ice cream, or going to school, the government is closely involved. 2. In a democratic society, it is ultimately the political action of the people that determines policy, albeit the extent of which may vary. 3. The American system has an intricate system of checks and balances that make it much harder for one person/institution to hold too much power.
Thoughts: Considering I read an AP edition, I’m not surprised that it was boring. I find that books that center around tests are just very often extremely boring. I guess this shows how testing can ruin the joy in learning. Oh well. Still, this book has its merits. Everything is explained relatively clearly, and if someone understands this book well, I’m sure they can do well on the AP government exam (hopefully that will be me). However, I think the book sometimes takes too many words on examples to a point where it does not help. Also, many of the pictures felt superfluous for me. The book did have some very neat diagrams and flow charts though.
They also conveyed the importance of politics and political action well.
Overall, it makes sense to read this book for AP government. Maybe the non-study/AP edition will be a more interesting read though.
Wretched. Soul-sucking. Helped me pass AP Government & Politics with flying colors. I regret every evening spent bent over this stupid book. I am so glad I had it as a resource.
I'm reading this textbook for a class I am taking for teacher recertification. I already read the first half for the first semester--it's a really good book. I finished my class with A! This textbook is very interesting!
A good textbook all in all. A good review over the US Government as a whole. I could see this as a high school text book over a college book in some ways though.