Promise and Performance of American Democracy
"The writing style in the Bond/Smith text is one of its main strengths. The narrative is cohesive and my students find it more enjoyable than most of their other textbooks. I am particularly impressed by the ability of the authors to convey some of the most challenging political science theories and research to undergraduate students in easily understood language. . . . I enjoy the authors' theme, as it is well-integrated throughout the text. . . .The promise and performance assessment sections help keep the narrative alive throughout the text.""I am gratified to see that the authors seem to be completely on the same page with me regarding how to teach this Intro course. In many ways, their experiences seem to correspond to my own, and the things that they wish to emphasize match the ideas that are important to my teaching. I think that the overarching structure of comparing the promise of a given aspect of American politics to its real-world performance is a sensible one, and it models for students how to be thoughtful and discerning consumers of political information. In every aspect of the political world, there is the goal and there is the reality. Students should be aware of the goal and at the same time, they should be equipped to assess how close or distant it is from the reality through careful and objective examination of data. . . . I tell students that it is much better to examine the evidence critically and then come to some reasoned conclusion about which parts are working well and which are in need of some attention. The promise and performance framework fits this nicely.""This text does all that an introductory text should do and then some. Most American government textbooks are broadly interchangeable--they cover the same material with little variation. In the case of this textbook, there is that little extra. The thing that impressed me is the way the authors have distilled important political science research for a general audience of undergraduates. Exposing students to competing models at an early stage in their studies can be a good way to model for them how the social sciences operate. Rather than simply writing down "the right answer" to spit back on an exam, students get a chance to see that political scientists are part of an ongoing process of inquiry into how to explain political behavior and political phenomena. . . . This [book] features some of the most timely topics from today's headlines along with some of the most recent research findings. It does an exceptional job of providing lots of data for students to pour over in a series of tables and figures.""I think this book has a lot of strengths. . . .The color graphics and photos are excellent, the thematic development is consistent, and the integration of political science research is unmatched in the American government textbook market.""Overall, I believe the Bond and Smith book is well balanced, well researched and nicely written so that students not exposed to the material will find it interesting, engaging and assessable."