Some of the items are rather timeless since they are a part of American history but a more critical and diverse perspective of even the historical discussion is needed.
It's noticeably dated at the Bush administration, which was over 3 administrations ago. For example, Shay's rebellion is reduced to a protest among poor farmer's and there's no hint of actual events involving indentured servants and slaves or the element of race and how this rebellion shaped racial codes and public policy afterwards. There is also some decidedly white-washing of particular historical events that does not consider race, class, or more complicated variables. I would not use this textbook though to provide a comprehensive overview of American Government, public policy or politics for graduate level students.Ī lot of information is oversimplified to the point where it isn't accurate, also some of the definitions, like "politics" are just flat out wrong. It reads more like soundbites in places, which is probably very appropriate and accessible for undergraduate students or maybe even high school students. There's little complexity and often concepts and events are oversimplified to their most basic elements. The book is fairly comprehensive, almost to a fault. Reviewed by Sosanya Jones, Assistant Professor, Howard University on 12/14/20 Journalism, Media Studies & Communications.