With a focus on competition for resources, this balanced, but provocative text uses Harold Laswell's classic definition of politics—“Who gets what, when, and how”—as a framework for presenting a clear, cohesive and stimulating introduction to the American political system.

Thomas Dye, along with new co-author Bartholomew Sparrow, has written a lively and absorbing narrative examining the struggle for power that is American politics: the participants, the stakes, the processes, and the institutions.  Numerous feature boxes explore timely issues, draw cross-cultural comparisons, promote critical thinking, and provoke thoughtful opinions. 

With the intense political conflict of the most expensive presidential campaign in American history and the hotly-contested primary campaigns that led to the national conventions in 2008, Politics in America’s theme of the constant competition for power and resources—“who gets what”—has never been more relevant.