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“I have been using The Logic of American Politics for more than twenty years, and I cannot imagine using another text to teach my introductory class. By coming at the study of American government and politics through the lens of collective action, Kernell, Jacobson, Kousser, Vavreck, and Johnson provide students with a cognitive framework for thinking about deliberation, compromise, and consensus—all things that are essential to a healthy democracy but have recently been in short supply.
“I’ve been using The Logic of American Politics for more than a decade because it checks all the boxes for a textbook: comprehensive coverage of the major parts of American government; a theme that helps students see connections among various aspects of politics; and timely updates that keep the content fresh. This is the best book on the market.”
"The Logic of American Politics is a terrifically rich summation of our knowledge in this particular area; more importantly, it is a masterfully articulated blueprint for how to think about politics in general. In my opinion, there is not a more potent exposition of the current theories and empirical evidence in political science. For that reason, I not only assign this book to undergraduate students, but also in many of my PhD courses to give young scholars a foundation for doing original research in the field."
“Any political system can be evaluated in terms of its durability, whether it resolves collective action problems, solves the tragedy of the commons, protects individual freedom and ensures equity. The wonderful thing about The Logic of American Politics is that it helps students both understand this and then evaluate the American political system on these terms. It is a great textbook for those who want to think critically about politics in the United States.”
“The Logic of American Politics is a consistently valuable resource for any educator hoping to explain the seemingly illogical elements of American Politics. The format of the textbook spans all major substantive areas of American Politics, including foundational elements, institutions, public opinion, and policy-making, while incorporating current political issues and examples throughout the text.
“The Logic of American Politics offers the best theoretically driven understanding of American politics for undergraduates; I’ve used it for nearly twenty years at a variety of institutions. It goes far beyond simple civics to teach students how to think like a political scientist. It explains historical and contemporary political patterns through concepts like collective action, delegation, and agenda control while remaining accessible for even first-year college students.”
“The Logic of American Politics offers a fresh perspective into the American system of government—one rooted in collective action problems in politics and how government institutions solve and create them.
“I have been a fan of The Logic of American Politics for many years. It has managed to nimbly stay on top of the everchanging world of American politics. The textbook seamlessly mixes in fundamental truths of the discipline with contemporary references to recent changes. Lively prose is combined with innovative and cleverly presented data analysis to produce a work that challenges my students but does not go over their heads. It reinforces the connections I try to make between my students’ everyday lives and the political world around them.
"The Logic of American Politics is a stellar textbook for introducing students to the fundamentals of American government. It draws on core ideas in political science to elucidate each important feature of the American political system. Students get a healthy dose of political history along the way from many compelling historical and contemporary examples. Kernell et al set the stage for students to engage with the political system constructively by showing that underneath all the sound and fury, our politics has a certain logic that can be understood."
"The Logic of American Politics is that rare introductory textbook that does not condescend to its readers. Rigorous and serious without being intimidating, the book provides students with both a solid empirical foundation for understanding the nuts and bolts of American government and politics as well as a supremely useful theoretical toolkit of core collective action concepts.
“The Logic of American Politics is the leading textbook in the field for many reasons: it provides comprehensive coverage in an analytically sophisticated and accessible way. Organized around critical collective action problems in politics and government, it is well written, acquaints students with relevant evidence and invites them into a critical mode of analysis of central questions about democratic governance. I’m a frequent and highly satisfied adopter!”
“The Logic of American Politics provides an edifying combination of social science concepts, political history, and clear connections to current events. It helps students understand everything from the country's founding to today's headlines."
“I dislike most textbooks. They usually privilege factual knowledge over giving students the building blocks they need to evaluate inferences from evidence, which is what students need in upper division courses. When I teach American Government, I use The Logic of American Politics because it teaches students the logic collective action, which is not easy to understand.
“Logic engages students on multiple levels to provide an unrivaled textbook on American politics. Its narrative history teaches students the context and background necessary to appreciate the development and design of the constitutional system. Its analytic approach gives students social scientific tools to conceptualize the interactions of American political institutions, politicians, and citizens.
“Logic is an essential resource for teaching about US politics today, which often appears to have no logic to it.”
"The Logic of American Politics is one of the most accessible introductory texts in the field. Employing “collective action” as its unifying theme, it makes it easy for students to identify how topics as disparate as Congress, the Presidency, the Civil Rights Movement, voting, and public opinion are connected to one another."
“The Logic of American Politics is comprehensive, captivating, and clear. It is the perfect book to help students learn about collective action and its role in shaping American government throughout the country’s history. It provides students with a common language and a set of tools for analyzing what is happening in the United States today. I especially appreciate how the book uses pictures, graphics, and tables to break down complex concepts, making the material more engaging and easier to understand. I strongly recommend this book!”
11th ed we use 10th Good book
Will use in Fall want a hard copy too