Covering the standard topics of undergraduate American government courses, the editors (all professors of political science from the U. of Wisconsin at Madison) present a collection of readings, historical and contemporary, that offer differing views on such topics as federalism, civil rights, bureaucracy, the federal judiciary, the mass media, political parties, interest groups, government and the economy, and foreign policy. The readings are generally from the mainstream, offering conservative and liberal viewpoints. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)