The best selling book for Introduction to American Government, AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS TODAY, THE ESSENTIALS helps students experience the excitement that comes from active, informed citizenship in a concisely organized package. Bardes, Schmidt, and Shelley's text is renowned nationwide for its balanced, unbiased, comprehensive, and up-to-date coverage of constitutional, governmental, political, social, and economic structures and processes. The overriding theme is the importance of informed active citizenship. The pedagogy underscores this theme by soliciting critical thinking about political issues and encouraging students to become involved the political process. With keen awareness of its audience, AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS TODAY, THE ESSENTIALS incorporates current examples, the Internet, and other media to stimulate learning and excitement about American government. This truly interactive text gives students more than reading material--it gives them tools to become good citizens.