 |
|
Title: The Logic Of American Politics
ISBN: 1568028911
Author:
Samuel Kernell
Gary C. Jacobson
Publicate Date: 2005-07-15
Publish: 2005-07-15
List Price: $72.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
 |
|
|
|
|
Amazon Lowest New Price: $9.26
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.72
Amazon Merchant Price: $65.65
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Customer Review: |
|
1: Worth reading outside of class
As an undergraduate, I find newsman's assertion that I can't grasp free rider problems insulting. It's not rocket science.
Anyway, the prose is amazing, the book is chock full of fascinating historical examples, and the exposition of ideas is logical and tidy. It doesn't even strike one as a textbook upon reading. The typical dry, textbook blandness can be found nowhere.
After my class was over, we hadn't completed the book, but it was interesting enough for me to finish it on my own -- and I'm an engineering major!
|
2: Great book - one of the best in the area
I have used this textbook in my undergraduate course in American Politics for over 5 years because it is one that encourages students to use theoretical tools to think critically and to understand how government works as well as anticipate what will happen given a set of circumstances - that is what theory is all about. The rational choice perspective is presented very clearly and I have not had a student who has not gained some greater understanding of the governmental process through their reading of this textbook. Moreover, the book is rich in historical and contemporary examples. The book is not perfect, but few textbooks meet that criteria. And it is certainly not above the heads of college undergraduates, but rather interesting enough to get them engaged, and challenging enough so that their brains grow a bit rather than having material that is dummied down for them. It does have some big words in it, but students can look them up or the teacher can explain them to them... ; )
|
3: 3 stars for effort, but not well-executed
Kernell and Jacobson try to combine historical and rational-choice understandings of American government in this text, but not in a particularly successful manner. The issues of collective action and free rider problems are above the heads of most undergraduates, who care about what actually happens in politics, not what a game-theoretic model in a book thinks should happen. The writing style is also very dense. It's not particularly engaging for the reader, and the occasional cutesy attempt to insert cartoons or other stylistic improvements falls flat. The history is very interesting to someone who cares, but doesn't show the average student why history is important, why it matters that they know it in order to properly understand American politics today. For a slightly better take on an American government textbook with a historical focus, take a look at Landy and Milkis' new textbook.
|
|
|
|
|
