[Studyguide for Politics in America: Alternate Edition by Dye, Thomas R., ISBN 9780136027218] (By: Cram101 Textbook Reviews) [published: July, 2011]

With a focus on competition for resources, this balanced, but provocative text uses Harold Laswell's classic definition of politics–“Who gets what, when, and how”–as a framework for presenting a clear, cohesive and stimulating introduction to the American political system.

Thomas Dye, along with new co-author Bartholomew Sparrow, has written a lively and absorbing narrative examining the struggle for power that is American politics: the participants, the stakes, the processes, and the institutions. Numerous feature boxes explore timely issues, draw cross-cultural comparisons, promote critical thinking, and provoke thoughtful opinions. The alternate edition of this classic text includes the exact same coverage as the comprehensive version but without the policy chapters.

With the intense political conflict of the most expensive presidential campaign in American history and the hotly-contested primary campaigns that led to the national conventions in 2008, Politics in America’s theme of the constant competition for power and resources–“who gets what”–has never been more relevant.