The Almanac of American Politics 2000 (Paperback)

~ Michael Barone (Author), Grant Ujifusa (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Almanac of American Politics 2000, published by the National Journal Group (which also publishes the weekly political newsmagazine National Journal), is a must-have for every political junkie. Its 1,856 pages are filled with information about the 50 governors of the United States and every member of Congress--including their committee assignments, by what percentage of the vote they won their seats, and how much money they spent doing it. Organized alphabetically by state, the book examines all 435 congressional districts, including their population, racial makeup, median income, and median house value, but one of its most prominent features is its quirky descriptions of each district's history. You'll learn in these pages, for example, that Pez candy is made in Orange, Connecticut, and that one of Wisconsin's districts is inhabited by more cows than people.

For this 15th edition, political handicapper Charlie Cook offers assessments of all of the House, Senate, and gubernatorial contests taking place in 2000. The almanac's purchasers also gain free, unlimited access to a proprietary Web site that will provide updates on key congressional votes and primary and special elections. --Linda Killian

Review

"Indispensable . . . this compendium of statistics and information has gone as far as humanly possible."        --The Washington Post

"Michael Barone is to politics what statistician-writer Bill James is to baseball, a mix of histo-
rian, social observer, and numbers cruncher who illuminates his subject with perspective and a touch of irreverence."        -- Chicago Tribune

"The ultimate guide for political junkies like you and me."        --Tim Russert, Meet the Press

"None of us could live without it."        
        --Cokie Roberts, ABC News

"That Washington bible, packed with detail about national and state politics . . . is a legendary standby."        --The Economist

"The single best reference there is for Congress and Washington specifically and the country generally."          --Jim Lehrer, The NewsHour -- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1632 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; illustrated edition edition (August 3, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812931947
• ISBN-13: 978-0812931945
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,548,343 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Barone again produces a stellar summary of American politics, September 22, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews

The 2000 Almanac is a clear improvement on the 1998 version with more up-to-date analysis, newer pictures of the elected officials and the Cook analysis of each district.

As always, the observations regarding the representatives and senators and their states and districts are outstanding. The insight and understanding of both politics and policy exhibited by Barone is inspiring to all those who are fascinated by the electoral process.

The addition of Cook's impression of each district and his handicapping of upcoming races provides some additional insight but is a bit terse in most cases and provides little more than Barone's predictions within member profiles included in previous almanacs.

That said, this is clearly an improvement on the 1996 and 1998 versions, which seemed to go overboard in defending the new GOP majority.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, November 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Almanac of American Politics 2000 (Hardcover)

The Almanac of American Politics 2000 is simply amazing. It contains a lengthy essay about every single U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and Governor as well as an amazing amount of information about all fifty states. If you are interested in politics you MUST have this book. It is well worth the price!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, detailed info, January 28, 2001

By	M. Dukas "Mark" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have enjoyed several editions of this book. They make excellent references, for when you want some background on some congressman or Senator who is in the news, who you might not be too familiar with. The descriptions of the local districts are very interesting, and in cases where I am familiar with the districts, I have found the write-ups to be remarkably fair and accurate, written in a pithy "Zagats" style perhaps. The criticism of "bias" from other reviewers, I feel is unfounded. The authors do characterize the politicians tendencies, but that is key to the value of the book, they do not mock or poke fun, just inform. Only problem is that they should publish the new editions FASTER after the November elections. Since most incumbents are re-elected, they should, in my opinion, come out with new edition by Jan after Nov elections.