Updated in a new 13th edition, this book is organized around a concise and contemporary approach that provides an overview of the American Political system and its institutions by using the constitution as its backdrop.

Free of ideological and political bias, this book is structured to engage the reader in a concise and stimulating way. Covering the framework of government, its institutions, the rights of the individual, and public policy, this updated edition contains both the the 2008 historic campaign and President Obama's first year in office.