Almanac of American Politics - Hardcover

Barone, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0892340819 ISBN 13: 9780892340811

Publisher: Random House, Inc., 1997

Synopsis

The elections of 1996, expected to settle political arguments, instead left them unsettled. Congressional Republicans and President Clinton both won, but not on the terms they hoped. Now, as the nation approaches the end of the century, power is flying out of Washington. The political landscape more closely resembles the pre-industrial America that Alexis de Tocqueville described in the 1830s than the industrial America in which most of us grew up. Centralization and hierarchy equality, and the nation is deeply divided along cultural and regional lines. We are seeing the birth of a 21st Century Tocquevillian America, and in this new-old America the political rules and players are different from those most Americans are ever. No other book offers so much information and such a clear map to our political present and future.

Included are:
-- Insightful, colorful profiles and photographs of all 535 Members of Congress and all 50 governors
-- Voting records on important legislation
-- A provocative introductory essay with an overview of past elections, major political figures, and predictions about where the country is headed
-- Revealing descriptions of each state and congressional district with historical, economic, social and political background information
-- Congressional ratings by National Journal and a dozen influential interest groups
-- Updated maps showing each congressional district including recent redistricting changes
-- 1996 election results for each Member of Congress and presidential results by congressional district

The Almanac of American Politics also includes Michael Barone's invaluable political analysis and predictions, including a snapshot of the likely contenders for the presidency in 2000. The result is a book so comprehensive and up-to-date that former Senator Bill Bradley calls it "indispensable for anyone who follows American politics." For anyone interested in politics in America, The Almanac of American Politics is an essential book.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Barone, senior staff editor at Reader's Digest, has visited 433 of the 435 congressional districts. The author of Our Country: The Shaping of America from Roosevelt to Reagan, Barone regularly appears as an analyst and commentator on various television and radio news shows. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School.

Grant Ujifusa is a senior editor at Reader's Digest in Pleasantville, New York. A native of Worland, Wyoming, Ujifusa received an A.B. from Harvard in 1965, and did graduate work at Brandeis and Brown Universities. He lives in Chappaqua, New York, with his wife Amy and sons Andrew and Steven.

From the Back Cover

Day after day and year after year, the most consulted, respected, and influential book in Washington.

"That Washington bible, packed with detail about national and state politics...is a legendary stand-by."

-- The Economist

"The single best reference there is for Congress and Washington specifically and the country generally."

-- Jim Lehrer, The NewsHour

"Indispensable...If politics is the art of the possible, this compendium of statistics and information has gone as far as humanly possible."

-- "Fun reading...The Almanac of American Politics knows every detail of this country's political landscape and in the process includes enough odd facts to satisfy any trivia buff."

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

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House, Inc.
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0892340819
• ISBN 13: 9780892340811
• Binding: Hardcover