Understanding Politics - Ideas, Institutions, and Issues (10th Ed)
by Thomas M. Magstadt
Cengage Learning; | January 2012 | ISBN-10: 1111832560 | PDF | 592 pages | 32.6 mb 
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Politics-Thomas-M-Magstadt/dp/1111832560

"Politics is a gateway to a broader and better understanding of human nature, society, and the world." This idea has inspired each edition of UNDERSTANDING POLITICS: IDEAS, INSTITUTIONS, AND ISSUES. Thomas Magstadt's book gives due attention to contemporary political issues and calls attention to the more enduring underlying questions. With its strong, engaging "politics are pertinent" theme and current, cutting-edge coverage, the Tenth Edition fascinates students with its coverage of three fundamental premises: 1) politics is a pervasive force in modern society; 2) government is too important to be left in the hands of a few; and 3) everyone has both the opportunity and the obligation to participate in public life in a democracy. The Tenth Edition focuses on such vital concepts as democracy, dictatorship, citizenship, voting behavior, elections, leadership, ideologies, war, revolution, world politics, and public policy.

About the Author
Thomas Magstadt earned his doctorate at the Johns Hopkins Schools of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He is the author NATIONS AND GOVERNMENTS: COMPARATIVE POLITICS IN REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE, Sixth Edition, (Wadsworth Publishing c'2011), and AN EMPIRE IF YOU CAN KEEP IT: POWER AND PRINCIPLE IN AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY (CQ Press, 2004). He has also published numerous journal articles and has been a frequent op-ed contributor to newspapers. He has taught at several colleges and universities and chaired departments at Augustana College (Sioux Falls) and the University of Nebraska (Kearney). He has taught at the Thunderbird School, the Air War College in Montgomery, Alabama, and the University of Missouri--Kansas City Alabama. He was a Fulbright Scholar in the Czech Republic from 1994 to 1996. From 2007 to 2010, he lectured on the European Union at the University of Kansas.