Presidential Elections: Strategies and Structures of American Politics

Brimming with data and examples from the tumultuous 2000 election and laced with previews of 2004, the eleventh edition of this classic text offers a complete overview of the presidential election process from the earliest straw polls and fundraisers to final voter turnout and exit interviews. The comprehensive coverage includes campaign strategy, the sequence of electoral events, and the issues, all from the perspective of the various actors in the election process: voters, interest groups, political parties, the media, and the candidates themselves. Visit our website for sample chapters!

About the Author :
Nelson W. Polsby is the Heller Professor of Political Science and past director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC-Berkeley. He is vice president of the Political Studies Association of the UK, a member of the Academic Advisory Board of AEI, and a former Brookings and Guggenheim Fellow. He is editor of the Annual Review of Political Science. His books include How Congress Evolves (2003); New Federalist Papers (with Alan Brinkley and Kathleen M. Sullivan, 1997); Media and Momentum (editor with Gary R. Orren, 1987); Congress and the Presidency (1986); and Consequences of Party Reform (1983). Aaron Wildavsky was, at the time of his death, Class of 1940 Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at UC-Berkeley, and founding dean of Berkeley's Graduate School of Public Policy.

Review :
"For as long as I can remember, a new presidential season meant a new edition of Polsby & Wildavsky's Presidential Elections. It also meant?and will surely mean again?a slew of misunderstandings by journalists, observers, participants, and students.If only they had read this latest edition, they might begin the season focusing on real possibilities and real developments, arguing about 'where we are now' and not 'where we never were'...." --Byron E. Shafer, Hawkins Chair of Political Science, University of Wisconsin "Presidential Elections is the rare book that is a classic while still being contemporary. Readers not only come to fully understand how presidential elections operate today, but also how the current process came to be, and what it is likely to become in the future." --Peverill Squire, University of Missouri "With the possible exception of V. O. Key's Politics, Parties, and Pressure Groups, it is difficult to think of any other book in the history of American political science that has gone through so many new editions over such an extended time span and with such consistently high quality. What still sets this book apart from its competitors is its sense of perspective: about how day-to-day strategic decisions are affected by the institutional environment, about how the dynamics of presidential elections fit into the larger picture of American national government." --William G. Mayer, editor of The Making of the Presidential Candidates 2004 "For as long as I can remember, a new presidential season meant a new edition of Polsby & Wildavsky's Presidential Elections. It also meant-and will surely mean again-a slew of misunderstandings by journalists, observers, participants, and students. If only they had read this latest edition, they might begin the season focusing on real possibilities and real developments, arguing about 'where we are now' and not 'where we never were'." --Byron E. Shafer, Hawkins Chair of Political Science, University of Wisconsin