CALIFORNIA POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT, 4E

by Gerston, Terry Christensen

Clear, concise, and straightforward, CALIFORNIA POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT: A PRACTICAL APPROACH, 10E, takes a unique nuts-and-bolts approach to give you insight into real-life politics. The authors use current examples and vivid explanations to decode the complexities of California politics, helping you understand how state government really works and what it means to you. Thoroughly updated, the new edition illustrates how key economic, social, education, and immigration issues impact California politics. The text includes new court cases on emotionally charged topics such as gay marriage, updates on the ongoing budget crisis, coverage of the 2008 elections, changes in government regulations, and more. The text also shows you how policy is made. In addition, public policy coverage is thoroughly integrated throughout the text so you can see firsthand how legislation and other government activities affect your world—now and in the future.

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 2 out of 5]

lousy textbook that isn't easy to read

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

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