The primary lessons that Ginsberg (John Hopkins U.), Lowi (Cornell U.), and Weir (U. of California at Berkeley) hope to impart in their treatment of the standard topics of introductory American politics are how American government is connected to the world, how students are connected to government, and why students should think critically about government and politics. They attempt to accomplish this with a number of pedagogical tools, such as the inclusion of "for critical analysis" and "policy debate" boxes dealing with such issues as the occupation of Iraq and the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act in their chapters on American political culture, the Constitution, federalism, civil liberties, civil rights, public opinion, the media, political participation and voting, political parties, campaigns and elections, groups and interests, Congress, the presidency, the bureaucracy, and the federal courts. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Read Less