Excellent review of the electoral process
349516
Hope Mr. Trende's theories hold in 2014 and 2016.  He makes a good case for his ideas.  I only worry that whoever is trying to take our government down will be stopped by these elections.  I'm not sure we have enough time.
29496
This is an excellent, well written book. I recommend to all voters.
4195362
This is just an extraordinary book on judicial appointments written by two distinguished political scientists with decades of experience studying the federal courts.  While it obviously is primarily designed to be a brief (168 pages, including the extensive notes) introduction to the process of judicial selection for the general reader, it skillfully incorporates some of the most significant research findings drawn from professional journals and papers. As a result, even those who are somewhat familiar with the topic and the professional literature will derive some valuable new insights. The writing is brisk and moves quickly and smoothly through the material, with the assistance of some helpful charts.  In addition, the book's coverage is not limited to the Supreme Court but covers all three levels of the federal judiciary. One nice feature is that some interesting statistical data from "The Supreme Court Compendium," edited by one of the co-authors, are sprinkled throughout the discussion (e.g., no more than 20% of lower court nominations have generated any opposition). The authors' discussion of "do Presidents get what they want?" in making nominations, and if so, for how long, is particularly effective. After all, how accurately can Presidents, Senators or the rest of us predict how a nominee will perform once safely on the bench? A most timely contribution given the current Roberts nomination process and the unknown Associate Justice nominee yet to come.
4538776
This book covers a LOT of material.  It covers the history, politics, current issues and possible solutions of nine MAJOR hot spots for debate in the upcoming election. If you feel as though the media creates a lot of noise around issues with little substance, this book helps fill in many of the gaps and helps point out solutions to move us forward. It's also surprisingly hard to put down, maybe because it reads more easily than most other politically-educating books. The stories, analogies and general nature of the prose make it actually kind of fun to read. I'm not going to lie.. it's pretty long (400+ pages) but the layout of the chapters make it easy to skip around to the issues that interest you the most, and to come back to the others later when you are ready for more.

I found the chapters about China the most interesting, of course, but I was actually pretty surprised at how much I learned from the other issues Kiernan covers. I loved how streamlined Kiernan's history of unions was, especially because its an issue I've heard a lot about but never quite understood. The way it was explained in this book really resonated with me and I'm pumped about it.  I also loved how swiftly he explains think-tanks, lobbyists, the different sides of the immigration debate, big tobacco, healthcare, the real threat of terrorism, and our prison systems. I had no idea how serious some of these issues are and can't believe so many of us walk around without thoroughly understanding each one.

Unlike one of the reviewers, I found Kiernan to be beyond informative AND well informed on the issues he discussed and he covers a LOT of them. If he went into extreme detail on each subject, the book would have been 9x as long. I think the amount of information included is the perfect amount to thoroughly grasp the issues without being weighed down with nitty-gritty dull details that belong on C-SPAN. READ IT!
3334473
Great book.  If you are interested in election reform this is a great read.  It presents relevant facts and is written in a manor you could read straight through or as a reference on specific topics.
2008276
Eye opening and engaging. Writing style is entertaining, yet the authors take the time to go into the details and explain the financial machinations suficiently that a relative newcomer can understand and follow along.

This is an important book that people should read before elections... it WILL change the way you vote.
3012148
The book did a great job of explaining the complex relationship and interactions between the executive branch, legislative branch, department of state, defense department and the average American voter (national will).  The author clearly demonstrated how these diverse organizations and their leadership must balance both "Force and Power" to meet their goals.  It was a great review of key civil-military relations and national events that I lived through, but did not fully understand at the time.  Thanks for the enlightenment!
317676
Everything anyone could ever want to know about the debate to change the U.S. Presidential election system from the present Electoral College to an all-national popular election. Dr. Best presents the arguments others have  written against the Electoral College before explaining why those arguments  are incorrect.  Her defense of the Electoral College is witty, concise, and  well explained.  A must read for anyone interested in American politics and  government.
4467863
How to Fix America is beautifully written, well-thought out strategy on how to fix the electoral process in our country. It is a very interesting premise and appeals to conservatives and liberals alike.
4183549
This is an excellent book and effective primer. It discusses many lessons learned when an organization establishes an Internetprogram to increase more involvement in the political process during the 2000 election. There are personal stories of some participants, which should engender interest.
Disclaimer:  I am mentioned and discussed in it.
4272342
There's a serious advantage in reading a book describing an election, written by an outsider rather than an insider - the outsider rarely has as much of an agenda. In this case, Dan Balz provides an excellent description of the 2012 presidential elections - the Republican primaries and the general elections. The book contains both the big story arcs - the Democrats' efforts at defining Romney and Romney's attempts at casting Obama's record in a certain light (it is a sad reflection on all of us, the voters, that the campaigns deemed this a more effective tool than presenting their candidates and their own ideas). The book also contains some anecdotes from the campaign trail, such as Romney's son's apology to Obama after expressing he wanted to punch him - an apology gracefully presented and gracefully accepted.

I walked away from this book, thinking that Mitt Romney is by far a nicer person than he was made out to be (then again, I thought he was a very decent guy to begin with). I still think that while presenting some valuable arguments (mostly, the unsustainability of our debt), his loss reflects the fact that the majority of America believes that both on economic and especially social issues (women's rights, gay rights and immigration), Romney and the Republicans are currently on the wrong side of history. That, and the fact that Obama's campaign ran an incredible ground game that will be the model for all future elections.
2910984
The Electoral College is misunderstood by many. We Elect a President: The Story of Our Electoral College, although written for children, clearly explains the Electoral College and other important aspects of the structure of our government to all. Emma's Corner (the authors fourth-grade  daughter's contribution) and The Founders' Corner are wonderful additions! The book is beautiful. I love the illustrations by Kate E. Cooper and the font selection for the print. This book is a must for all students - young and old. Thank you , Tara Ross,  for once again teaching us more about America!
3442037
Brody provides an excellent description of the role of evangelical Christians within and along side the Tea Party movement, including core issues, key individuals and organizations, and teamwork with libertarian elements.  While providing a good perspective on the origin and purposes of the Tea Party, the book also clearly explains how fiscal conservatism and limited government fits within the evangelical Christian worldview.  He relates interesting stories of important individuals and their role in the movement - some well-known and many "ordinary" people on extraordinary missions.  The challenge in writing and publishing any political book in an election year is keeping up with events and getting the book quickly into the hands of readers/voters and potential campaign workers.  Don't wait until 2013 to buy the book!
2154707
Very readable and a look at the human side of legislature
2669241
Very good intro/overview about the workings of our political parties and suggestions for improvements. Electoral College section was interesting and helped me understand this mysterious entity.
3105862
How Obama Won by Earl Ofari Hutchinson
A Comprehensive Dissect of Obama's White House Win

I have to be honest that I've never followed politics for many reasons. But in the past year, I've worked with Earl Ofari Hutchinson, read four of his books and followed his blog posts. It has been a crash course in politics.

The unbiased details that he shares and the historic information that he provides to support his conclusions are fascinating to me because I love to learn the story behind the news. Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a nationally recognized political analyst and author who has had his finger on the pulse of the political system for years and he uses that experience to help the reader dissect Obama's win.

That is also one of the things I really liked about his latest book, How Obama Won. So many things happened through the 20+ months of campaigning, that I had lost track of many of the details. Through the 20 chapters of this book, he starts with Obama announcing that he will run, his big and important win in the Iowa primary and brings the reader through the final days of the election. I was talking to a friend who was reading this and he mentioned that it felt like a friend was explaining the election to your personally.

In the pages of How Obama Won, Hutchinson discusses many things that helped propel Obama to victory and some things that had the potential to derail his candidacy. These topics include: the economy, fund raising, the black vote, Oprah's support, "the Bradley Effect", Jesse Jackson, Reverend Wright, the race issue, the Clintons, choosing the right vice president, Sarah Palin, Colin Powell, blue collar America, and more.

There are very high expectations for President Obama and his administration. This book is to the point and will take you back through the election process and remind you of the details that got Obama to his current position. Take a look back at this historic election that people will study for years to come. This is your chance to dissect Obama's win. Sure Obama got more votes, but what lead up to him getting those votes? That's what you learn in How Obama Won.
762085
A well documented treatise on the current state of our election process. Very scary. The number of cases of fraud and stolen votes revealed in this book will make you a believer in Voter ID. The next time someone tells you we don't need Voter ID, just lend him your copy of this book.