With complete updated coverage of the 2004 elections, this Texas Edition of the election update of the number one book in American government continues to provide the most current and engaging introduction available for the course.

Written in the belief that we must first understand how American government and politics have developed in order to fully understand the issues facing our nation today, O'Connor and Sabato offer a historical perspective and bring the story of our system right up to the present with an abundance of current and student-relevant examples.