Monday, October 01, 2012

A beginner's guide to American Politics (Jon Roper)

Knowing that I was heading out to the US and wanting to spruce up my working knowledge of US politics, I picked up a copy of the pocket-sized, 180 page American Politics: A Beginner’s Guide a few weeks beforehand.

It turned out to be a great introduction to the history of the country’s foundations, its constitution, the never-ending election cycle, the relationship between church and state as well as foreign policy. The second chapter’s articulation of the US model of federal government with its “separated institutions sharing powers” was particularly helpful, layered on top of chapter four’s discussion around how state governments fit into federalism.

There’s plenty of history, along with topical examples from the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations to illustrate the points being made by author Jon Roper.

Recommended as an informative but easy read. Available in paperback and Kindle editions for less than £7.

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