California Politics: A Primer - Softcover

“This well-organized and clearly written book provides students with a solid foundation in California government and works well in an introductory course. In addition to explaining the nuts and bolts of everything from institutions to the budget to the initiative process, it explores political debates and controversies and motivates students to learn what is at stake in state level politics.”

“The strengths of Van Vechten’s text are its brevity and its preference for straight talking. Students appreciate the absence of hyperbole and exaggeration that tends to accompany a lot of the discussion of California politics. I am relieved to have found the book, especially since it is so much more affordable and readable than others. ”

"Van Vechten's book is the best introduction to California politics available. Covering topics from direct democracy to citizen engagement, her analysis of California politics is of such high quality that I often use this book as my main political science textbook, even in American politics courses."

By emphasizing how history, political culture, rules, and institutions influence choices that lie at the heart of governing, this book presses the reader to think about how these forces conspire to shape politics today and how they will determine the state of affairs tomorrow. The thoroughly revised fourth edition includes coverage of the political problems raised by the state's persistent drought, the widening of health care access to low-income children and adults, the increase in the state's minimum wage, controversy over legislation for mandatory vaccination of schoolchildren, and the state's precariously balanced budget.