This thoroughly updated edition of Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes' popular text offers balanced, unbiased, comprehensive, and up-to-date coverage of constitutional, governmental, political, social, and economic structures and processes. The book's overriding theme is the importance of informed active citizenship, and the extensive pedagogy underscores this theme by soliciting critical thinking about political issues and encouraging students to become involved in the political process. With keen awareness of its audience, AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS TODAY incorporates current examples, the Internet, and other media to stimulate learning and excitement about American government. This truly interactive text gives students more than reading material; it gives them tools to become good citizens.

This new condensed version of the author's best-selling AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS TODAY, (which is popular across the country for its balanced, unbiased, and up-to-date coverage of constitutional, governmental, political, social, and economic structures and processes and for the way it encourages students to become involved in the political process) covers the fundamentals, offering less policy and analysis coverage and fewer features to distract readers from the basics of American Government.

Enrich your students' experience with this superb Study Guide. Each chapter contains Chapter Summaries, Key Terms, Fill-in-the Blank, True/False, Multiple Choice, and Short Essay Questions.

Prepared by James Perkins, San Antonio College. Each chapter contains the following: Chapter Summary, Key Terms, CD-ROM America at Odds, and Fill-in-the Blank, True/False, and Multiple Choice Questions.