"In the vein of On Tyranny and How Democracies Die, the bestselling author of Republic, Lost argues that our democracy no longer represents us and shows that reform is both necessary and possible"--

"American Political Parties and Elections: A Very Short Introduction examines the electoral process in the United States and explains why it is widely misunderstood. Why is participation in elections so much lower in the United States than in other mature democracies? What role do the political parties play in the electoral process? And why do unregulated groups such as 527 advocacy organizations have as much, if not more, influence than candidates'...

A timely analysis of the power and limits of political parties-and the lessons of the Civil War and the New Deal in the Age of Trump. American voters have long been familiar with the phenomenon of the presidential frontrunner. In 2008, it was Hillary Clinton. In 1844, it was Martin Van Buren. And in neither election did the prominent Democrat win the party's nomination. Insurgent candidates went on to win the nomination and the presidency, plunging...

"An examination of the ways in which grievance has come to define our current culture and politics, on both the right and left. More and more Americans are convinced that they're losing because somebody else is winning. More and more tally their slights, measure their misfortune, and assign particular people responsibility for it. The blame game has become very popular. Grievance needn't be bad. But what happens when people take their grievances to...

When an election is coming up, you usually expect a face-off between the two major US political parties-Democrats and Republicans. It's easy to forget that there are numerous minor parties-and even groups within a single party-that have different goals. Why do we need political parties? In modern elections, they are important in shaping candidates' positions on issues, determining who is nominated to run on a party ticket, and working behind the scenes...

How partisan politics lead to the Civil War What brought about the Civil War? Leading historian Michael F. Holt convincingly offers a disturbingly contemporary answer: partisan politics. In this brilliant and succinct book, Holt distills a lifetime of scholarship to demonstrate that secession and war did not arise from two irreconcilable economies any more than from moral objections to slavery. Short-sighted politicians were to blame. Rarely looking...

Discusses the two-party system in the United States, including how it began and how it affects the political system.

"In this character-driven narrative history, Aram Goudsouzian portrays the key transformations that played out over that dramatic year. It was the last 'old politics' campaign, where political machines and party bosses determined the major nominees, even as the 'new politics' of grassroots participation powered primary elections. It was an election that showed how candidates from both the Left and Right could seize on 'hot-button' issues to alter...

"A history of antiracist and abolitionist activism in the Civil War-era Republican Party"--