About the Book
With complete Election 2008 updates and analysis, AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: HISTORICAL, POPULAR, AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES, TEXAS EDITION, offers a uniquely current and comprehensive introduction to American government and politics, as well as several chapters devoted entirely to Texas politics. This engaging new text provides fresh perspectives on key concepts to pique readers' interest and deepen their understanding and appreciation of the political process. The text introduces political institutions first to provide a strong historical emphasis, and then explores chapter topics in a uniquely effective way through historical, popular, and global perspectives. This remarkable new text provides a thorough introduction to both the core concepts of American government and the basic foundations of Texas politics.
About the Author :
Professor Kenneth Dautrich (Ph.D., Rutgers University) teaches public opinion and public policy in the Department of Public Policy at the University of Connecticut. His research focuses on public opinion about the news media and free expression rights. He has authored a number of books and articles including THE FUTURE OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT (Roman and Littlefield, 2008), THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND THE MEDIA IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION (Cambridge University Press, 2003), and HOW THE NEWS MEDIA FAIL THE AMERICAN VOTER (Columbia University Press, 1999). He is currently finishing a book entitled THE PARADOX OF PUBLIC OPINION (Oxford University Press). Dautrich has conducted many public polls on media, voting, and public policy issues for organizations such as Time Magazine, The Freedom Forum, and a variety of state and federal government agencies. He has been a research fellow at The Freedom Forum's Media Studies Center and Rutgers University's Heldrich Center. He has also served as policy advisor for Governor Jodi Rell. His research on public attitudes about the First Amendment has been supported by the Media Studies Center and the Knight Foundation. David A. Yalof (Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University; B.A. and J.D., University of Virginia) is professor and department head of political science at the University of Connecticut. His expertise and teaching and research interests include constitutional law, judicial politics, and the presidency. Dr. Yalof is the author of Pursuit of Justices: Presidential Politics and the Selection of Supreme Court Nominees, winner of the American Political Science Association's Richard E. Neustadt Prize for the Best Book on the Presidency. He is also the co-author of The First Amendment and the Media in the Court of Public Opinion (with Kenneth Dautrich) and The Future of the First Amendment: The Digital Media, Civic Education, and Free Expression Rights in America's High Schools (also with Ken Dautrich). Dr. Yalof has written numerous articles for publications such as Political Research Quarterly, Judicature, and Constitutional Commentary. His most recent work, Prosecution Among Friends: Presidents, Attorneys General, and Executive Branch Wrongdoing was published by the Texas A & M University Press. He is currently working on a book-length project examining the role that constitutional precedents played in the recent debate over health care reform. David Prindle is a Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Hermosa Beach, California, he earned a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1970, an M.A. from UCLA in 1972 and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977. He joined UT's Government Department in 1976 and has since won five teaching awards. Dr. Prindle is the author of PETROLEUM POLITICS AND THE TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSION (University of Texas Press, 1981), THE POLITICS OF GLAMOUR: IDEOLOGY AND DEMOCRACY IN THE SCREEN ACTORS GUILD (University of Wisconsin Press, 1987), RISKY BUSINESS: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF HOLLYWOOD (Westview Press, 1993), THE PARADOX OF DEMOCRATIC CAPITALISM: POLITICS AND ECONOMICS IN AMERICAN THOUGHT (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005), STEPHEN JAY GOULD AND THE POLITICS OF EVOLUTION (Prometheus Books, 2009) and THE POLITICS OF EVOLUTION (Routledge/Taylor and Francis, 2015). His hobbies include fly-fishing, reading detective novels and getting lost in beautiful places. Charldean Newell was Richard Kraemer's co-author for the first edition of this textbook in 1979 and continued as the lead author when Dr. Kraemer retired from the project in 1992. Dr. Newell died in 2014 at the age of 75. A Fort Worth native, she earned her doctorate in Government at the University of Texas at Austin in 1965. In addition to textbook writing, she was the author of THE EFFECTIVE LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANAGER (ICMA Press, 2004) and CITY EXECUTIVES (SUNY Press, 1989) and editor of MANAGING LOCAL GOVERNMENT: CASES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT EFFECTIVENESS (ICMA Press, 2009). In her 37-year career at the University of North Texas she won awards from students, colleagues and alumni, as well as prizes from national public-administration organizations. Despite her ferocious work ethic, Dr. Newell was a cheerful and generous writing partner. Phone conversations about the next edition of this textbook were conducted amid laughter, often including her continuing critiques of the travails of her beloved Texas Rangers baseball team. She always beat her deadlines and provided acute but respectful commentary on the chapter first-drafts of her co-authors. Although she is no longer contributing new information to this book, many of her sentences and paragraphs continue to adorn its prose and its continuing themes reflect her passion for the subject matter. Her co-authors are pleased that her name is still on the cover. Mark Shomaker (B.A., M.P.A., Texas A&M University; J.D., St. Mary's University School of Law) served as an Associate Editor for the St. Mary's University Law Journal and is the author of "The Paradox of the Homestead Exemption," which was published in the American Journal of Family Law. He is currently an Instructor of Government at Blinn College in Bryan, Texas, where he has served on several textbook, faculty selection, and teaching excellence awards committees. Before joining the faculty at Blinn College, Professor Shomaker was employed as an associate with three Texas-based law firms, as a Brief Attorney for the Court of Appeals for the Second Judicial Circuit in Fort Worth, and in various roles with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Houston.
Review :
"...the historical overview is excellent. Overall, the chapters read well."
"The style of writing is highly appropriate for the current generation of students...The approach in this book...should be highly beneficial to the reader."
"The writing style is easy to read and comprehend without too elemental for a college level text. It is user-friendly and almost conversational in its readability and presents the material in an easy- to-follow, smooth-flowing stream of narrative."
