Appleton and Ward, professors from Washington State and Rice University, have gathered contributors from academic institutions to write about the development and performance of state political parties. The essays are alphabetical by state with a similar format for each, including historical development (before 1960), modern development, current organization, and a resource guide and bibliographic references for the major political parties. For many of the states, the resource guide is in tabular form with addresses and access and contents information for the state political party archives. References range from newspaper and journal articles to titles such as the Tip O'Neill autobiography,
Man of the House. Important publications are indicated by asterisks.
Sharpe Reference just published The Encyclopedia of the Republican Party; The Encyclopedia of the Democratic Party [RBB N 15 96], a four-volume set that concentrates on the national front. State Party Profiles makes a good companion volume. This is a well-written, -edited, and -researched acquisition for political science collections in academic and large public libraries.