Reviews (3)

misunderstading the point
OK, the previous reviews are clearly misunderstanding the purpose of such a book.This is essentially a simplified overview of research in political behavior.It's simple, readable, straight forward, etc.
Mother of God!
Worst of all time.Flanigan and Zingale just defecated on my face with this pile of waste.My life has been wasted, I feel raped and alone. Watch CNN during election time and gather everything you ever need to know about the material in this book.

This is a complete waste of money
Take it from me: spend your $35 elsewhere.Go buy some cd's or go to the movies or something, but don't buy this book.If you have any common sense at all when it comes to politics, you won't need this.Pages are spent just simply repeating that Democrats are viewed as liberals and Republicans are viewed as Conservatives.Chart after chart after chart will tell you how minorities tend to vote Democrat, white men tend to vote Republican, and white women tend to vote more Democratically.That is, if you can even read the charts.Every chart--literally--is different from all the rest.They all have a completely different format from each other, and some of them make absolutely no sense.This was a total waste of my money (thanks a lot, Social Science H1F at UCI).Read an opinion poll and it will tell you basically everything you would learn in this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Political Ideologies - General    2. Political Process - Elections    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. United States    7. Voting    8. Elections & referenda    9. USA   

Subjects:  1. Elections    2. Government - General    3. Government - U.S. Government    4. Political Process - Elections    5. Political Science    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. United States    9. Voting research    10. Elections & referenda    11. Political Science / General   

Subjects:  1. Campaign management    2. Communication    3. Communication in politics    4. History: American    5. Language Arts & Disciplines    6. Mass Communication Media And Politics    7. Political Process - Elections    8. Political consultants    9. Politics / Current Events    10. United States    11. Communication Studies    12. Elections & referenda    13. Language Arts & Disciplines / Communication    14. Political campaigning & advertising   

Reviews (5)

Good, but best read with other campaign books
This book is probably more useful to campaign staff than the candidates themselves.Each chapter has lists of things to be considered but not necessarily suggestions.
Okay foundation but there are much better alternatives
This book is a decent primer, but there are better alternatives including "How To Win A Local Election: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide" by Lawrence Grey. This book goes into sufficient depth on a variety of topic, but the organization is seriously flawed -- the text is organized alphabetically, ...with a chapter on "Creativity," followed by "Elections," "Events," "Family," etc. It's not organized by timeline to the election, by roles, nor by any seemingly rational structure. Some parts are just too simplistic, for instance suggesting that "if you do not have access to a personal computer, your local printing firm ... library, or high school does." The book does cover a breadth of topics - since you can't peek inside this book I'll list the top level contents: Advertising, Alliances, Business, Campaign literature, Campaigning, Candidate, Comportment, Consituency, Contact, Creativity, Debates, Elections, Events, Family, Fieldwork, Functions, Fundraising, Headquarters, Issues, legal Issues, Management, Media, Media Kit, Organization, Party Choice, Polling, Research, Resources, Speeches, and Strategy. All-in-all an okay book covering a wide variety of topics, but NOT the must-have book if you're running for office or working on someone's campaign.

Designed for novice campaigners
Now in an expanded and updated second edition, William Bike's Winning Political Campaigns is the definitive "how to" handbook for planning, organizing and implementing a successful campaign for elective office. Designed for novice campaigners, there is a wealth of information that would benefit even the more experienced campaign worker. This new edition is enhanced with political ideas, tactics, strategies and advice gleaned from the experiences of the Jesse Ventura, Hillary Clinton, and George W. Bush campaigns. If you are involved in any elective office political campaign at any level, read William Bike's Winning Political Campaigns. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Government - U.S. Government    2. Political Process - Elections    3. Political Process - General    4. Political Process - Political Parties    5. Political Science    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Reference   

Subjects:  1. Campaign funds    2. Constitutional    3. Government - Judicial Branch    4. History    5. Law and legislation    6. Law reform    7. Legal History    8. Legal Reference / Law Profession    9. Political Process - Elections    10. Political Science    11. Politics/International Relations    12. United States    13. Political campaigning & advertising    14. USA   

Reviews (1)

An new way of looking at presidential elections
Hart's book is an extraordinary read for anyone whose sick of hearing the same old things about presidential elections.Hart's book is essentially the findings of his research.Hart looks at all of the modern elections and finds amazing patterns in speech.Some candidates diction would surprise you.Also Hart finds amazing correlations between winners and losers.They really do speak different languages.Finally, Hart also examines the trends in "campaign talk".It's fascinating to see how campaigns have changed in such a short amount of time.If you love politics, you will love this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Government - U.S. Government    2. Political Process - Elections    3. Political Process - General    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Political Science / Elections    8. Political Science and International Relations   

Reviews (1)

A deep exploration of a root weakness of democracy
Problem with plurality has been discovered independentely half a dozen time by many philophers and scientists since the antiquity. This book regroups all those historical work in the same volume. It allows you to share the tough of Plinus the Younger, Casunus, Borda, Condorcet, Dogson, etc on this critical topic. Due to the historic nature of the paper, some demonstration might be difficult to understand for a modern mind. Nevertheles, they have not lose the validity over time.Read more

Subjects:  1. Economics - General    2. General    3. History    4. Political Process - Elections    5. Political Theory    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Social choice    8. Sociology    9. Sources    10. Voting    11. Political Science / General    12. Political science & theory    13. Social, group or collective psychology   

Reviews (1)

More Informative than Controversial
This volume collects influential articles in political science, dealing with issues that might be rather contentious, if you happen to be student or professor in the field. "Controversies" is hardly an accurate title for this book, except that some of these articles probably inspired two professors to argue with each other over the results of tedious multiple regression analyses of voting patterns. But many of the articles here are at least informative if you're interested in potentially important issues like voter turnout (and why it's so low in America), the political knowledge of the public, divided government, or party identification. The expert submissions will surely be of interest to the informed person with interests in the scholarly side of political science. But as is usual in the field, the writing is almost uniformly bland and pedantic (except for Robert "Bowling Alone" Putnam and a couple of others), making the collection quite tedious and repetitive overall. [~doomsdayer520~] ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Elections    2. Political Process - Elections    3. Politics / Current Events    4. Politics/International Relations    5. Voting    6. Elections & referenda    7. USA   

Reviews (31)

The CNN of political predictions
This book is like channel CNN: it presents solid facts and poll numbers but like CNN you just can't help but feel the liberal leaning come ringing through after they start off so well. This is kind of like watching "Inside Politics" on CNN with Judy Woodruff and Bill Schneider. After the show is over you say to yourself "Man how do the Republicans ever win an election?" And yet they keep winning them. It's the same feeling you get with this book, I'm a conservative republican and so my biases may be on full display as well.
The Authors have a point, but they miss the larger picture
The Emerging Democratic Majority is a nice read for a liberal, but it is extremely optimistic. The authors, though right in many instances in their thesis, have series problems within it that they do not address.
Don't Inhale Judis & Teixeira
It is often said that demography is destiny. Back in 2001, two prominent Democratic authors, John Judis and Roy Teixeira, wrote a book called The Emerging Democratic Majority. In it they made claims that, while highly suspect back then, appear almost laughably absurd now. As the title suggests, the authors argued that powerful demographic trends underway in the U.S. favor the Democratic Party. First, the authors ignored the 2000 census that reapportioned electors away from blue states to red states. Given the same "red state"-"blue state" split seen in the year 2000, the Republican Party in 2004 would have picked up a net of seven electoral votes solely by virtue of shifts in the population. In other words, Republican electoral prospects improved merely by standing still. All four of the states that each received two new electors, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, and Texas, were won last time and in 2004 by the Republican candidate. The two states that each lost two electoral votes, New York and Pennsylvania, were won by the Democratic candidate.
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Subjects:  1. Government - U.S. Government    2. Liberalism    3. Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism    4. Political Process - Elections    5. Political Process - Political Parties    6. Political Science    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations    9. U.S. Practical Politics    10. Political Science / General   

Reviews (6)

A brief introduction
I heard Steven Hill give a talk about his new book, "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy", in Cambridge recently.In his book and in his talk, Hill promotes reforms such as instant runoff voting, proportional representation, direct election of the President, public campaign financing, free media time for candidates, and so on. His "ten steps" are:
10 Steps to Repair American Democracy
Steven Hill has outlined, succinctly and clearly, a roadmap for reinvigorating American Democracy.For those of us sick of special interests and bought off politicians running our government, and for those seeking to ensure a government of, by, and for the people, Hill's book could not be more welcome.This book is lively and engaging, and a must-read for those of us seeking reform and clean government!

A timely practical guide
If you are concerned about the future of our democracy, I would say this book is a can't miss... Hill has masterminded an insightfully succinct "how-to" guide. For the sake of our country, I hope this one makes it to the best sellers list... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Political Process - Elections    2. Political Science    3. Politics / Current Events    4. Politics/International Relations    5. Political Science / Elections   

Reviews (4)

An honest but inadequate effort
Dr. Patterson's book is, as far as I'm aware, the only serious analysis of non-voting in America that makes any effort to address the usual (and false) idea that our high rate of non-participation is somehow harmful, divisive, detrimental to democracy, etc.He presents another point of view, but devotes less than 4 pages to it; in the rest of the book he shows the same bias as other writers.Still, credit where credit is due; the book would be worth reading for this fact alone.
Want to know more about voter turnout?
In response to the reviewer who wants to know more about voter turnout, especially the impact of the Motor Voter Act and election day registration, I recommend the recent book by Martin Wattenberg -- Where Have All the Voters Gone?

What is new here?
This book is a real disappointment.Patterson seems to think that footnotes compensate for real thought.There are almost 700 footnotes for a book thatis substantively less than 200 pages. He seems to substitute polemic liberal nostrums for substantive debate about an important issue for our representative form of government.If that is what passes for scholarly treatment of an issue - then scholarship has declined.Read more

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. Political Process - Elections    3. Political Process - General    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. U.S. Practical Politics    8. Political Science / Civics   

Reviews (1)

An Outstanding Book
Triumph of Goodwill is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the pivotal 1960 gubernatorial race in North Carolina and the ramifications of that election throughout the South and the rest of the nation.Told in great detail, here is the story of how racial moderate Terry Sanford won the Democratic nomination for governor against a patron of segregation Beverly Lake.The book also details Sanford's controversial decision to become the first Southern politician to endores John Kennedy for the presidency, a decison that was filled with potential peril for Sanford, but one that paid off handsomely for the eventual governor of North Carolina.Mixed into this work are behind the scenes stories of the 1960 campaign in North Carolina that give the reader a peek into how elections used to be conducted and also the beginnings of how they have become to be run in our present day.TV played a large part in the national election in 1960, but television also played an important role in the North Carolina governor's race that year, including what is thought to be the first-time live television broadcast of a candidate's political rallys.Triumph of Good Will is an excellent work, highly readable and highly recommended! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1951-    2. 20th century    3. African Americans    4. Election    5. Governors    6. History    7. History - U.S.    8. History: American    9. North Carolina    10. North Carolina - State Government    11. Political And Civil Rights    12. Political Freedom & Security - Civil Rights    13. Political Process - Elections    14. Politics and government    15. Segregation    16. United States - 20th Century    17. United States - 20th Century/60s    18. United States - State & Local - General    19. Sanford, Terry   

Reviews (2)

First Book That I Have Ever Been Mentioned In and Appeared In Too.
I really enjoyed this book, but I am biased towards it.I noticed that I was mentioned in the acknowledments and appear with Tim Hagan and his actress wife, Kate Mulgrew on page 121.
Comprehensive Coverage Of Pins ..........
My principal collecting interests are British and US political collectibles.19th Century political cartoons, modern satirical itemes, glass and ceramics in particular.For examples see:
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Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Political    4. Political Process - Elections    5. Reference   

Reviews (11)

This book deserves more respect.
"All Politics Is Local" by Tip O' Neill, with Gary Hymel
A Short and Insightful Read
Whether knocking on doors or meeting folks at the county fair, the best way to persuade people is the personal way. In this short but sweet book, former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neil shares a lifetime of stories to illustrate this important lesson. Even if you aren't an avid reader, you'll find it difficult to put this book down.
Very Informative and Very Entertaining
1/14/05 Former Speaker of the House, Tip O'Neill in this non-fiction, makes politics seem like the most enjoyable and most honest of professions. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1945-1989    2. 1974-1989    3. Government - U.S. Government    4. O'Neill, Tip    5. Political Process - Elections    6. Politics - Current Events    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics and government    9. Politics/International Relations    10. United States    11. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT   

Subjects:  1. Constitutional law    2. Courts - General    3. Government - National    4. Judgments    5. Legal History    6. Political Process - Elections    7. Political Science    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Popular works    11. United States    12. Political science & theory   

Reviews (1)

Excellent explaination of the past and future
of American politics as we now know them today.After you read this book, you will understand what a republican is and a democrat is.It deeply explains what has happened to the minorities in our country and does make agood arguement how the 1964 Civil Right Act has been the catalyst to thecurrent situation we have today.This book has made me more politicallyaware then ever before, and aided me in making a more educated decision ofwhere I stand on the political continuim.This is an undervalued book onthe market today, and is a great bargain for the knowledge it will give youof contemporary America. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Election    3. Elections    4. History    5. Political campaigns    6. Politics - Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Presidents    9. Taxation    10. U.S. - Contemporary Politics    11. United States    12. American history: from c 1900 -    13. Central government    14. Multicultural studies    15. Political parties    16. Social issues    17. USA    18. c 1960 to c 1970    19. c 1970 to c 1980    20. c 1980 to c 1990    21. c 1990 to c 2000   

Reviews (2)

Sometimes Oil and Water Does Mix
Mixing common sense with social science is much like mixing oil and water. But sometimes it does work. This is one such case. Presidential Selection by James Ceaser is probably the best theoretical treatment of the development of why the American presidential selection process works the way it does. Ceaser understands that politicians act rationally, given the rules of the game. It is therefore essential to understand the rules. But is is even more important to understand why there are some rules and not others. Much of modern political science is good at explaining the formal and informal rules of presidential elections. This particular work is unique in explaining why we have the particular rules we do and how changing them has or can affect regime principles. Ceaser's touchstone in all of this is The Federalist, but it is read with a critical eye with regard both strengths and weaknesses. Overall the strengths outweigh the weaknesses because the founders' form of liberal democracy trumps any modern alternatives.

Boring but informative
Ceaser provides a less-than-engrossing account of the three major changes in presidential selection processes throughout the history of the US, starting with the founding fathers, moving on to Martin Van Buren, andfinishing with Woodrow Wilson. The author wrote it as his Harvard thesis,so that should be some indication of how interesting the book is. I read itfor a college course on the Presidency, and it was very informative, butnot exactly pleasure reading. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History & Theory - General    2. Political Process - Elections    3. Political Process - General    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Political Science / Practical Politics    8. Political Science and International Relations    9. Political campaigning & advertising   

Reviews (4)

Academic Look at Campaigns
Not a bad book.Thurber presents American campaigns from an academic perspective in describing how they operate and how they have changed over time. A good book to read...!
I'm a university student in Taiwan.The book has been translated in Chinese,and I've read the book.In the beginning,my professor suggest me to read it,then I did it.The book is really helpful to people to understandhow's the campaigns & elections going on!

A good book to read...!
I'm a university student in Taiwan.The book has been translated in Chinese,and I've read the book.In the beginning,my professor suggest me to read it,then I did it.The book is really helpful to people to understandhow's the campaigns & elections going on! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Campaign management    2. Political Process - Elections    3. Political Process - General    4. Political Science    5. Political campaigns    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. United States    9. Elections & referenda    10. Political campaigning & advertising    11. USA   

Reviews (1)

Advance Praise for A New Engagement?

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Subjects:  1. Citizenship    2. Civil society    3. Political Freedom & Security - Civil Rights    4. Political Process - Elections    5. Political Science    6. Political participation    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations    9. United States    10. Civil rights & citizenship    11. Elections & referenda    12. Political Science / Elections    13. Political science & theory    14. Politics | American Politics | Elections, Public Opinion, & Voting Behavior    15. USA   

Subjects:  1. Communication in politics    2. Political Process - Elections    3. Political Science    4. Political campaigns    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Elections & referenda    8. Political Science / Elections