Thorough yet concise, this popular brief book emphasizes the historical development of the American political system, who governs, and to what ends. The twelfth edition of AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: INSTITUTIONS AND POLICIES, BRIEF VERSION, offers coverage of the 2014 campaigns and elections; budget battles and the sequestration of funds; ongoing debates about immigration, gay marriage, and other key issues in American politics; and foreign-policy decisions on Afghanistan, the Middle East, and North Korea.
Author Biography
James Q. Wilson most recently taught at Boston College and Pepperdine University. He was Professor Emeritus of Management and Public Administration at UCLA and was previously Shattuck Professor of Government at Harvard University. He wrote more than a dozen books on the subjects of public policy, bureaucracy, and political philosophy. He was president of the American Political Science Association (APSA), and he is the only political scientist to win three of the four lifetime achievement awards presented by the APSA. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, in 2003. Professor Wilson passed away in March of 2012 after battling cancer. His work helped shape the field of political science in the United States. His many years of service to his AMERICAN GOVERNMENT book remain evident on every page and will continue for many editions to come. John J. DiIulio, Jr. is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania and has won each of Penn's most prestigious teaching awards. He was previously Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton University. He received his PhD in Political Science from Harvard University. He has been a senior fellow and directed research programs at several leading think tanks including the Brookings Institution and has won awards from the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management, the American Political Science Association, and other bodies. He has advised presidential candidates in both parties, served on bipartisan government reform commissions, and worked as a senior staff member in the White House. Meena Bose is director of the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency, Peter S. Kalikow Chair in Presidential Studies, and Professor of Political Science at Hofstra University. She received her PhD in 1996 from Princeton University. Dr. Bose teaches courses on the American Presidency, Presidential Leadership and Policy Making, and American Politics. She is the author or editor of several volumes in presidency studies and American politics. She taught for six years at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
