The Almanac of American Politics, 2008 (Paperback)

~ (Author), Richard E. Cohen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Bible of American politics." - George Will "The ultimate guide for political junkies like you and me." - Tim Russert, Meet the Press "Michael Barone is to politics what statistician-writer Bill James is to baseball, a mix of historian, social observer, and numbers cruncher who illuminates his subject with perspective and a touch of irreverence." - Chicago Tribune "Indispensable.... This compendium of statistics and information has gone as far as humanly possible." - Washington Post "It's simply the oxygen of the political world. We have the most dogeared copy in town." - Judy Woodruff, CNN "The single best reference there is for Congress and Washington specifically and the country generally." - Jim Lehrer, The NewsHour"

Review

"The indispensable resource for anybody who takes campaigns and elections seriously. Published since 1971, it offers richly detailed analysis on both national and state politics. Broken down by state and congressional district, it offers not just background on a given member or senator's voting record, but expansive insight on the history, culture and demographics that shape a region's voting patterns. It was founded by Michael Barone and is now produced by a trio that collectively know more about politics than anybody else in the hemisphere. . . . Whether you're on the beach or at the lake, prop up your feet and dive into a random state or district. You'll come away with an invaluable political education."-Jonathan Martin, Politico.com (Jonathan Martin Politico.com 20070927)

"Filled with enough facts to satisfy most any political junkie."-Al Kamen, Washington Post (Al Kamen Washington Post 20070927)

"The one book that EVERY political junkie should want under the tree this year. The Almanac of American Politics is-simply put-the book The Fix would bring with him if he was stranded on a desert island. Not only does it have detailed information about each member of Congress and his or her district, it's filled with the sort of quirky facts and minutiae that make politics so great. . . . What else can we say? Go. Buy. This. Book."-Chris Cillizza, washingtonpost.com blog, "The Fix" (Chris Cillizza washingtonpost.com 20070913)

"Fascinating."-Matthew Continetti, weeklystandard.com, "Campaign Standard" blog (Matthew Continetti weeklystandard.com 20070920)

"The Bible for political junkies. . . . The Almanac also sheds some light on the more fun side of Congress. . . . Don't forget that Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich is the only member of Congress to list all the bowling allies in his district on his Congressional Web site."-Reid Wilson, Real Clear Politics.com (Reid Wilson realclearpolitics.com ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1850 pages
• Publisher: National Journal Group; illustrated edition edition (September 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892341173
• ISBN-13: 978-0892341177
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #132,407 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE must-have for any political fan, November 17, 2007

By	Mark Greenbaum (South Orange, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For those that follow national politics in much the same way that fans follow football or baseball, this book is the absolute #1 must-have. I know that many political fans have eagerly awaited the release of this newest volume -- it was released a couple months behind schedule -- and I was delighted to see when it came on sale recently.

For those unfamilar with the Almanac, the book is released every two years and it is basically an encyclopedia of all national politics. Broken up mainly by state, it gives detailed sketches of all of the governors, U.S. senators, and U.S. representatives, including how they've done in their previous elections, their backgrounds, how they've voted on certain key votes, and how liberal or conservative the congressional districts are. The Almanac also provides breakdown of the states themselves: how they've voted in previous presidential elections, how the voter registration numbers look, and other information. I've noticed that this year the authors have added some very interesting sections on which states will be awarded additional seats by the next census, and which ones will lose seats. This information will be obviously be pretty key after 2010. Finally, this volume gives some good coverage of the impending 2008 presidential race.

The price tag is probably the biggest negative, but it is still well worth it. Plus, while the book will cost upwards of $75 if you go to a bookstore, you can get it on Amazon for under fifty bucks. A good deal, if you ask me. The Almanac is a great book for a political junkie to read over-and-over-and-over again, and it is also a superb resource tool for people interested in just learning about the government and our elected officials. It's always a fun read, even if many of the Member profiles are recycled volume-to-volume.

Five stars.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As balanced as I've ever seen it, November 19, 2007

By	David A. Bede (Singapore) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Here it is again - the political junkie's biennial facts fix. Since the 1970s, all the demographic information, statistics, maps and historical background you could expect in a single volume have been available in this one. That hasn't changed with the latest model, and there's still no rival when it comes to having all the facts in one place.

What has changed? As longtime readers know, Michael Barone's conservative bias has been palpable in a number of past volumes (probably peaking along with Republican dominance of Congress in the mid-90s). It has decreased in recent issues, but it's hard for us liberal readers to avoid seeking - and usually finding - examples of Republican rhetoric thinly disguised as fact. I'm pleased to report that this edition is better than most other recent ones in that regard. One can't help but suspect that the 2006 elections made Barone want to chortle about the bleak 2008 prospects for all the new Democratic members - but for the most part, the analysis of past and future elections is straightforward and facts-based, for Democratic and Republican members alike.

Certainly, there are still points where you can at least see the bias wanting to come out. For example, the entry for Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) manages to tell the truth about why Casey's father was not allowed to address the 1992 Democratic National Convention - sort of. You can tell Barone wants to repeat the standard Republican lie about it being entirely due to the abortion issue, but instead he argues only that the decision was "certainly related to his stance on abortion but also brought on by his skepticism about Bill Clinton." Close enough, but then, the incident is mentioned again in discussing Sen. Chuck Schumer's DSCC chairmanship in terms that probably do cross the line into rhetoric-land. The more blatantly snide comments (chiding liberal voters for not supporting right-wing black or female candidates, for example) are, however, pleasantly absent this time around.

The analysis is sometimes a bit dry as a result of the relative evenhandedness, but I don't suppose that's really something we should complain about. Political junkies on the left and right alike will probably enjoy flipping through this copy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Information,please;not spin!!, October 22, 2008

By	Thomas E. Hickman (Fairplay, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

An hour with TAAP is more informative than a year of watching CNN. If you want the truth about the people who make decisions in your behalf, read The Almanac of American Politics. The book is a fair, comprehensive account of politicians without the manipulation of the networks and their biased reporters. Barone and Cohen take the responsibility of informing their readers of what goes on in Washington; they have no interest in selling cars and beer; but more importantly, they have no interest in who gets elected. If you want to find out the truth, read TAAP, if you want others to do your thinking for you, watch network TV.