Customer Reviews

California Politics & Government: A Practical Approach

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've got the latest, sixth edition of this book, and I am very impressed. Relevant, well-organized, and very-well written, this book is a firt-rate primer for those interested in California politics. The book is written in the style I appreciate the most: to the point and matter-of-fact, without needless theorizing and editorializing.

This is not an ordinary textbook. It is not boring or pedantic. Gerston and Christensen present a fascinating panorama of California politics. The book has ten chapters, each of which contains valuable insights and interesting details. The authors completely succeeded in presenting factual information, including tables and graphs, in a way that does not overwhelm the reader or make him want to skip over these things. This masterful integration of factual information into the flow of the narrative makes the book truly enjoyable.

I have a Ph.D. in Political Science; and I rely on information from this book when I get ready to lecture on California politics in my American Government and Politics course in the college I teach. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get acquainted with California politics. And even advanced students of the subject, will find the up-to-date information in this book a valuable tool for understanding California's politics and society. Pick up this awesome resource today.

I have no complaints over the book. I did not use it very much but was helpful when I did.

This book will never stand on its own. It attempts to introduce far too many ideas in too few pages. It's a lot like Cliffnotes. Used alone, the reader will be left with a skeleton of concepts and ideas...

The book is a muddied introduction to the organization, history, and sociology of the state. Ideas are dumped, not explained. Half of the names appear in only one sentence. It left me unable to remember or care about some of the 50+ names. Sections are seldom coherent.

I ended up using the TOC to draw up my own organized outline. I filled in the pertinent details using wikipedia and ca.gov. And I paid attention to the newspaper. It worked much better.

The book was in good condition and was received in less than a week. For price and shipping time I would recommend.

I was very pleased with my purchase of California Politics & Govt. The book was in great shape and was just like new. The shipping time was wonderful.