Customer Reviews

Analyzing Politics: An Introduction to Political Science (with InfoTrac)

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This book was used in my Introduction to Political Science course. The book is incredibly easy to read and explains the essential basics of political science quite well. The historical examples and analysis within the text provide superb contextual support for the theories explained by Grigsby. While the book is riddled with leftist overtones, it manages to not misconstrue right-wing viewpoints and values. The beliefs of the author, however, are clearly defined. Additionally, the section regarding International Relations is a bit barebones.

I haven't used this book, but need to correct the review by "A Student."

The roots of the Republican Party are classical liberalism. I.e., the liberalism of John Locke; the liberalism that believes in individual property rights and free markets. We call Republicans conservatives, but the classical conservatives believed in a more rigid class system and distrusted free markets because they disrupt social orders.

Perhaps "A Student" should have spent more time listening and less time complaining. He might have learned something.

And that, in a nutshell, is the great difficulty in teaching political science. When teaching chemistry, students don't assume they already know everything. When teaching political science, some students are unable to learn because they are convinced they already know. It only happens with strong conservatives and strong liberals. God bless the moderates--they're the only ones with open minds.

I used this book for PoliSci 101 and although I found it easy to read, I was bothered throughout by the assumptions that every person shares Grigsby's liberal political views on abortion, homosexual issues, etc. I felt as if this book was trying to convert all students into democrats, as if it were THE WAY. The message throughout was, democrat=good, republican=bad. The text even misconstrued the Republican party roots by calling it quote, classical liberalism, unquote. I would rather a textbook to be more unbiased and present information without a liberal agenda attached. However, this may be why it appeals to university professors in the first place.