American Politics: A Graphic History

by Laura Locker, Jules Scheele (Illustrator)

Following in the footsteps of the highly successful  A Graphic History, illustrator Julia Scheele teams up with Dr Laura Locker in this comic-book introduction to the political history of the Land of Opportunity.How dida political outsider like Trump win the 2016 presidential election? Why do someAmericans feel so strongly about gun rights? Is there a role for more than twopolitical parties in the system?Politicsisn't something that just occurs in the West Wing or the gleaming Capitolbuilding - it comes from the interaction between state and society, theAmerican people living their daily lives. In this unique graphic guide, wefollow modern citizens as they explore everything from the United States'political culture, the Constitution and the balance of power, to socialmovements, the role of the media, and tensions over race, immigration, and LGBTrights.Stepright up, and see what lies beneath the pageantry and headlines of this greatnation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, History, Comics

347 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 6, 2018

Reviews

[Sam Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant well laid out Concise history on American politics and what it all means.

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just have a really hard time reading stuff that tries to position the liberal/conservative ideologies as equally correct.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very dry overview of the history of the U.S. political system and some of the bigger social issues faced in the past and present. Intended I suppose for people who did not pay attention in civics class or don't read the daily news, but probably still too dull to keep their attention as it is basically a Power Point presentation with the top quarter of the page devoted to a block of text with sentences like this:
"In this book we will consider governmental institutions as the product of a mutually transformative interaction between state and society."

The bottom part of the page has little cartoons that feature generic recurring characters talking about the text above or portraits of famous people saying applicable quotes. They really don't add much, but they are not actively awful like the text pieces.

I'd say there is a liberal or progressive slant that would probably annoy conservatives.

[A. Kuhlii · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good, if shallow, overview of U.S. institutions, but the authors ignored some essential topics. There was almost complete lack of attention to corporate political funding and power and how it distorts the political system and process (other than a small bit about the Citizens United case). No coverage of corporate ownership of politicians or organizations like the DNC, and the huge impact that has on elections and policy. Addresses the issue of "fake news" and the problems with 24-hour news, but does not mention the problem of corporate ownership of the media. Almost no coverage of foreign affairs or the vast amount of resources devoted to war/terrorism. Explores the civil rights movements of women, African Americans and LGBTQ people and the U.S. government's treatment of Native Americans, but limits Latino issues/history to immigration, and does not address other groups (such as Asian Americans, disabled populations, Muslims) at all. Overall, the book seriously underplays how incredibly broken our political system is and ends on a hopeful message that we can all just work together, ignoring the huge non-voting mass of the population that is completely disengaged.

[Vel Veeter]

This book is ok. It’s a perfectly fine understanding of American politics, and would certainly be a good primer.

[Keen Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

“If you vote for the lesser of two evils, you’re still choosing evil.”

Did you know that in the U.S. there are more than 11,000 registered lobbyists, with vasts sums poured into lobbying interests, with a yearly average close to $2.5 billion?...

“In the five years after Sandy Hook, there were 1600 mass shootings in the US. (Mass shootings are defined as 4 or more people shot at the same general time and location).”

So this is pretty much everything you would look for in such a guide, it’s written in a clear and articulate way, the art work is bold and gets its point across well and it's not too short, nor too long. I would say this is a decent introduction for those with an interest in the depressing cesspool of humanity that is American politics.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic history of American politics is well-intended but boring. I guess there's no good way to go over all of this as this work gives about a solid paragraph per page illustrated with people representing different groups (and in some way the small number represented kind of rubbed me wrong even though I realize representation isn't easy to do in a black and white illustration) trying to show in a few comic book style exchanges the point of each topic and paragraph. This work covers the U.S. Constitution, amendments, government roles and policies, and Constitutional interpretation. Nice try. My rating is 3 stars for good information.

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read, and somewhat easier than if I had read a regular non-fiction book.
I like that the images/comics wupported and expanded on the topics. I also like that each topic took at most a few pages, generally only taking one page (or specifcally text on half a page).
I definitely learned some interesting things in this book.
I think it is a book I would recommend in the right situation. Definitely glad I read it.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good overview of american politics and gives a generally unbiased and informative look at how we got to where we are today. This would be a good book to give someone who doesn't understand a lot of the issues driving politics currently to give them the info to ponder and make up their own minds.

[David Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent primer on the American political system that does a lot to contextualize where we are via how we got here.

Jules Scheele's cast of characters are very finely drawn, and illustrate the democratic ideals of the nation without ever obscuring the jagged realities.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting and effective approach to the basics of political history and current issues in the United States. The attempt to bring in a variety of voices through the characters (the graphic part of the book) is an excellent complement to the text descriptions.

[Holly]

This is okay, but it's going to be very out-of-date, very quickly as administrations change. I was surprised at the material that was re-drawn from the media that didn't provide references of the people or photographers (e.g. Ieshia Evans in Taking a Stand in Baton Rouge).

[Vi · Rating 4 out of 5]

assignment reading, light.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, engaging, educational.

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful but not compelling.

[Ehsan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me parece un libro ilustrado maravilloso con muy buenos datos acerca de la política estadounidense. Me encantó.

[Aileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Necessary more than ever - concepts of American politics in a rounded and distilled way. Extremely out of date given the current circumstances.