Customer Reviews

Why Parties?: The Origin and Transformation of Political Parties in America (American Politics and Political Economy Series)

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This book represents some of the best work on American political parties that political science has to offer. The empirical work covers the majority of party history, has impressive depth as well as breadth, and shows a remarkable sensitivity to historical and political context for a study based in rational choice theory. The theory is a bit lacking, however. Aldrich tries to explain parties as solutions to various collective action and cycling problems, but he does not explain how these solutions come about in the first place nor even how they really overcome the problems in any theoretically rigorous way. Still, it is a standard, and should be on any poli sci graduate student's shelf.

This book represents some of the best work on American political parties that political science has to offer. The empirical work covers the majority of party history, has impressive depth as well as breadth, and shows a remarkable sensitivity to historical and political context for a study based in rational choice theory. The theory is a bit lacking, however. Aldrich tries to explain parties as solutions to various collective action and cycling problems, but he does not explain how these solutions come about in the first place nor even how they really overcome the problems in any theoretically rigorous way. Still, it is a standard, and should be on any poli sci graduate student's shelf.

For what it is it is very well written and clear. The problem is what it is. The book is a scientific explanation of the origin of political parties. It's really for someone with an advanced knowledge of political science. The author assumes that the reader knows many things (e.g., probit statistics). However, if you try hard and stick with it, you can get most of the points of the book, but it's not a casual read. I became frustrated many times while reading this.

Aldrich's book is a good overview for the political science rationale for political parties. The book doesn't drive home a single theory quite as well as some works in the literature, but rather explores several different ideas. This actually ends up making it great as a general reader or textbook. It's also quite accessible, even to non-political scientists.

I bought this book because I thought it was about the history of political parties. It's actually a political science book that uses some history to make its point. If you're looking for political science it seems like a good book. If you're looking for political history, don't bother.

This book was an instance classic in the field of American Political Parties. It is a must read for any scholar of american politics.