Guided by the belief that students must first understand how American and Texas government developed to fully grasp the issues facing the United States in the 21st century, O'Connor/Sabato/Haag/Keith offers the strongest coverage of both history and current events of any brief college text devoted to American and Texas politics. This best-selling Essentials book provides the core concepts and historical context students need to understand American and Texas government and the most crucial and controversial issues affecting their state and nation.

Essentials of American & Texas Government includes seven complete chapters on Texas government and politics and has been extensively revised to provide the most in-depth and current coverage of the 2006 midterm elections, the second George W. Bush administration, the Iraq War, and increasing controversies related to the conduct of the war on terrorism, including renewed calls for additional congressional oversight of the Executive Branch. The new edition also emphasizes the extent to which shared political values shape and affect national and state policy and influence key political conflicts.