Customer Reviews

A Novel Approach to Politics: Introducing Political Science through Books, Movies, and Popular Culture

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

 

 

I adopted this book for my intro to political science course after several trials of other introductory texts. The problem with "textbooks" in general is they tend to be rather dry, hard to follow and fail to capture the spirit of the material (a.k.a. boring). Introductory texts are even more of a challenge as they lump a large body of knowledge into a condensed version. Ultimately, as a professor, even I have a hard time digesting the material in most textbooks. The Van Belle and Mash text is the exception to the rule. The book is entertaining and easy to read. While the authors do stretch at times to make a joke (sometimes at the cost of actually learning something), they provide a refreshing and very accessible look at political science. It is a text students will actually read (one can hope) and enjoy.

Fantastic learning book for those interested in politics. Author does a great job adding humor and insight to reality. This is a job well done.

I ordered this book for a winter session course at my university and received it the day before my exam. Once I opened the book it was very easy to get through. Much of the book bounces back and forth between references to pop culture and real events that shaped politics and political theory. During my time reading in preparation for the exam fast approaching I couldn't help but laugh at the witty and occasionally dry but equally hilarious comments and footnotes. If you like satire news sources like theonion.com, the Daily Show, or Colbert Report, you will surely find this book to be an easy way to get back into learning about politics with a few laughs along the way.

I read this book to prepare for a state assessment in political science. Unlike other PS101 textbooks, this one makes a ton of sense and is easy to read. The analogies, pictures, commentary and real-world example really provide a way for the various concepts and terminology to become understandable. I would recommend this book to any professor teaching a bunch of freshmen students with zero understanding in the realm of politics. It would also be good for high school teachers...

Review from a student's perspective:
This book was used as our course textbook for my political science 101 class. It has some ridiculous entertainment value at first that makes it more accessible versus your "just the facts" textbook, and is very up to date in terms of current world events. When it comes down to wanting to study for a test, though, there's some passages that are overextended or just plain unrelated. This isn't to say learning does not occur--at the heart it's your average textbook. However, in an attempt to keep the zany humor going, some inaccuracies occur, much to the displeasure of my professor (he's decided not to use the text again).

Review from an average reader's perspective:
This book is, as earlier stated, ridiculously funny. You can read, be entertained, and actually learn a thing or two about politics and the functions of government. So what if much of it seems like a rehash of your high school American government class; admit it, you don't remember half of it, anyway. The footnotes in this book are hilarious--they are more like comedic asides than footnotes.

However, I am very much concerned by the typos in the tables used in this book. In the first chapter, the name "Darth Vader" is correctly spelled, while in two tables in Chapter Ten it's misprinted as "Darth Vadar." Also, the state of Washington seems to have conquered Utah in a map of the US in another chapter, with "WA" appearing on both. (It's mostly the misspelling of Darth Vader that has me worried--for a book that prides itself on pop culture references, what else could the authors be getting wrong--though this is probably a problem at the copy-editing level.)

To sum up: the "novelty" began to wear off the further I got in to the book--especially when the authors gave their shameless plug for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book) Teacher's Edition: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction in Chapter 8. An average person could find this enjoyable, but I'm not sure why the average person might buy it, as it is a college textbook.

One last warning: printed in a non-serif font (similar to Arial). Eyestrain and/or drowsiness can occur more quickly this way. Serif fonts (like Times New Roman) are easier to read in printed form--hence why most books you pick up are in serif fonts. (This truly is a reason why I'm disappointed with this book--it might not matter to you, but it matters to me, as a book must be readable.)