Accessible, authoritative, and entertaining in the signature style of theComplete Idiot'sGuide® series, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to U.S. Government and Politicsprovides a wonderful foundation of knowledge about the way our country's system of government works. Understanding how our government functions and the political forces that influence it is vital for all Americans. At the high school level, U.S. government, the class formerly called civics, has evolved to become a focus of the Advanced Placement test. In 2007, the AP U.S. government and politics exam was the most widely taken test among high school students on a college track, with over 333,562 students sitting for the 3.5-hour exam. Several strictly test prep books help students prepare for this exam. However, they're limited to the key points covered by the exam and don't afford much information outside the strict curriculum. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to U.S. Government and Politics gives the reader much more. As a comprehensive overview and history of the subject, this book is designed to help anyone interested in learning about our government and the origins of its complex inner workings, our political system, and key elements that have affected our growth as a nation-all while serving as a the best supplementary reading a student can get to help them prepare for the AP exam.

Every aspect of the U.S. government is profiled--from its people and places to its operations and procedures. The approximately 930 A-Z entries feature biographies of notable government leaders, analysis of 100 landmark Supreme Court cases, information on visiting government sites, and much more.

Government publishing provides a wealth of information that is often difficult to find in other sources. This annotated bibliography identifies and describes those federal documents (monographs, journals, maps, posters, pamphlets, and media kits) that are likely to be in highest demand by students, teachers, and lay citizens of all ages and demographic backgrounds. Taking up where the last edition left off, it covers newer and more popular titles (1995 through 1996), along with a few classics from previous years and a few periodicals from 1997. The book is arranged by subject (e.g., ecology, recreation, business and finance, military affairs, consumer issues, civil rights). Each entry provides complete bibliographic data-a bibliographic description, issuing agency, SuDocs number, GPO ordering information, and an annotation. It will help users locate U.S. government documents in the library or purchase them at various access points, including GPO bookstores and regional distribution centers.

From Nick Capodice & Hannah McCarthy, the hosts of New Hampshire Public Radio’s Civics 101, and New Yorker cartoonist Tom Toro, A User's Guide to Democracy is a lively crash course in everything you should know about how the US government works. Do you know what the Secretary of Defense does all day? Are you sure you know the difference between the House and the Senate? Have you been pretending you know what Federalism is for the last 20 years? Don’t worry--you’re not alone. The American government and its processes can be dizzyingly complex and obscure. Until now. Within this book are the keys to knowing what you’re talking about when you argue politics with the uncle you only see at Thanksgiving. It’s the book that sits on your desk for quick reference when the nightly news boggles your mind. This approachable and informative guide gives you the lowdown on everything from the three branches of government, to what you can actually do to make your vote count, to how our founding documents affect our daily lives. Now is the time to finally understand who does what, how they do it, and the best way to get them to listen to you.