California Politics and Government: A Practical Approach

by Larry N. Gerston, Terry Christensen

Grounded in basic political science research, yet readily accessible to undergraduates, PROMISE AND PERFORMANCE uses the title's theme as an organizing framework for studying American Politics. The promise of democracy is analyzed using four core values: Popular Sovereignty, Political Freedom, Political Equality and Majority Rule/Minority Rights and is further explored in several new features including "Living the Promise" and "Promise and Policy" boxes. The performance part of the theme is then integrated with an assessment at the end of every chapter along with a concluding policy chapter. Solid scholarship and writing makes this an ideal text not just for reading and learning, but also as an example of how political science is researched and written by the practitioners in academia.

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Sharon]

I didn't grow up in California and I wanted to learn how to engage with it as an adult. This book covers all the basic concepts like the bicameral legislature and the responsibilities of a city versus a county. It also delves into more depth for certain topics, like San Francisco's unique mayor / supervisors structure and the number of budget crises we've weathered within recent years.

My favorite part is probably the racist history of the Progressive movement being highlighted in the first few pages, but I genuinely enjoyed the whole book as a high-level overview. This is a solid introduction to California and a good refresher on overall civics basics.

[Jason]

I was expecting this to be a boring Civics book, but it's actually really interesting. Instead of being like "Isn't the American Way amazing? Here's why~" it says "Yeah, the California government is messed up, but not entirely. Let's go into why." If you're a Californian, it's a great book to read to understand what's going on in your state government.

[stephen baker]

lousy textbook that isn't easy to read

[Lena]

Soooooo dense! Oh my gosh! I am an AVID reader and I had to read this to prep for a CA gov't test and could only get thru 15 pages before I had to break to be sure the stuff was actually sinking in. It's all relevant tho, that's how the book is so short. I wouldnt try to cram it in one night if you're a student tho