Review by Choice Review
The topics highlighted here are among the most interesting and vexing issues in US politics. They include regulation of campaign finance and the Internet, the Bush v. Gore decision, and racial and partisan gerrymandering. The quality of the contributions is universally high. They are generally clear and readable, although probably not for introductory-level undergraduates, and they draw extensively on current scholarship. Some articles analyze issues in a relatively neutral way, and others display the authors' views more, but such opinions are always well supported. Among the highlights is Evan Gerstmann's article on Bush v. Gore: it nicely surveys major criticisms and defenses of the decision and considers what it means for equal protection and voters' rights. Law and Election Politics would make a good supplemental text for a course on elections. Most of the articles do not stress legal/constitutional aspects of the issues in depth, so the book might be less useful for a law-oriented class than an election one. There is a little overlap among articles (e.g., a few touch on similar campaign finance issues), but all are valuable in their own right. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. J. Heyrman Berea College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
