This exciting text is written in a clear, straightforward style brimming with rich, real-world examples. It not only covers the fundamentals of American government and politics in a highly accessible, engaging fashion, but also arms students with the tools to separate political fact from fiction.  Using this book, students will develop the critical thinking skills to see through the simplistic sound bites and partisan assertions they're subjected to by the pundits and politicians.

Students reading this text will be fitted with armor against the partisan bickering and hyperbolic media coverage that causes so many of them to become cynical about politics.  They will come away from the text not only excited by political questions, but with the means to explore possible answers as more thoughtful and empowered citizens.  Given that the American government course is often the first and only social science course many students will take, this book helps ensure that students come away from it able to think and view their world critically -  as social scientists do and truly educated citizens must.