[.ca] Introducing American Politics (ISBN 1840460989)

dated and slanted:
The whole "introducing" series is relatively good. When you get a book from this series, you are at least 70% sure to get your money's worth. Not so with this book. The author apparently has a slight bias towards liberalism, and has trouble hiding it and appearing to be objective. The book is pretty dated to. Oh yeah, Bill Clinton never went on trial. Want to learn american politics? Try the Declaration of Independence, then the Constitution, then anything by John Locke. After that, read Al Gore's Earth in the Balance, and Rush Limbaugh's See I told you so. that will be a good reading list. Don't waste your money on this book.

Not a bad place to start...:
This brief overview of the American Political system is only a few years old, but already it is quite out dated. While the author seems to take a neo-liberalist approach, he doesn't really touch on globilization and its drastic effects on our democracy or the loss of freedoms it is causing on a global scale. This will be one of the most pressing issues facing the next few generations, and should be talked about in detail in the next edition. But as far as explaining the two party system, civil rights, the electoral college, etc., Mr. Borgan did a fine job. This book was very handy during the whole election debacle.

An Excellent Overview of The System...:
Highly recommanded for an insight of how American politics funtions. Although this small book only skims the surface, it covers a broad range of major issues - slavery, civil rights, prohibition, all notable Presidents - and gives you an understanding how politics works, in the United States. Including the Constitution, and Bill of Rights, this book will date itself however, by discussing the two main parties most likely candidates for Nov 2000.