Government by the People

by David B. Magleby, David M. O'Brien, Paul C. Light

"Discusses the make-up and function of the U.S. system of government. Its primary focus is on the modern political system in the United States. This focus centers on how the federal and state governments are constructed and the comparative political ideologies that influence how those governments operate"--Provided by publisher.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Textbooks, Reference, Politics, School

513 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1952

Reviews

[trinity faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

ngl it was a bit redundant… but it was interesting enough for a textbook so…

[Bri Zabriskie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like this text, though comprehensive, was a bit wordy. There were a lot of random examples, as if the author(s) were grasping out at any real-world example that the reader might relate to, but it made getting the basic concepts confusing. If I were to use this text for a poly sci class (like the one I read it for), I would want those kinds of examples in their own special "boxes" and then have the basic information I want my students to grasp be the meat of the text. That way they could just read the example information if they have extra time and want more thorough comprehension. As it was, it made the text difficult to skim. Plus so much changed between editions of this text. I had one version and the class another and whole chapters seemed like they were combined or altered so drastically that it made testing difficult. That's normal I guess and my fault for not wanting to pay for the textbook and just use the version I had on hand, but a little continuity would've been nice. Or a "what's diff. about this edition" section maybe.

I enjoyed the information. I thought it was a tad bit biased in what it left out or what it included though.

[Jake Wirth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I helped write this book. It was poorly written. No seiously, I helped write this book.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Student or not, if you want a thorough history in a textbook format about our government, this is it.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was David's research assistant for the 14th Edition, the first time he came on to this book as a co-author. Excellent introduction to American government & politics.Not a bad read for a textbook.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my textbook for my American National Government class. It was intesting and laid out well.

[Samra · Rating 2 out of 5]

boring. So glad this class is over. It's all you could ever want to know about how the US Gov works.