Everything You Think You Know about Politics...and Why You're Wrong
Author: Kathleen Hall Jamieson
Here, at last, is the book for anyone who ever wondered how the media extravaganzas we call political campaigns really work. Everything You Think You Know About Politics…and Why You're Wrong explores why the American public, seemingly so eager for "unspun" information about candidates and their positions, invariably ends up feeling manipulated by our political process.Challenging the reader with strategically placed quizzes, well-known commentator on the media and politics Kathleen Hall Jamieson surveys the existing public record on voting patterns, campaign promises, and all manner of electioneering and comes up with an engaging mix of analysis, surprising factoids, and political cartoons. This book separates the facts from the convenient fictions that deter Americans from caring about the processes and outcomes of elections.
Library Journal
With the assistance of a team of researchers, JamiesonDwho is dean of the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Packaging the PresidencyDpresents a collection of essays that empirically challenge some widespread political assumptions. The findings are extrapolated from the Annenberg Campaign Mapping Project, the most thorough investigation conducted of modern presidential campaigns, which was based on analyses of 2,535 speeches, 880 ads, and 23 debates. The author stresses the importance of campaigns: presidents work hard to keep their campaign promises, or voters will penalize them. Campaign ads are important, and negative ads are useful when they criticize an opponent's policies. Televised news is racially biased, one of her studies reveals: persons of color are more likely to be portrayed as perpetrators and whites as victims, although most crimes are intra- and not interracial. The optimistic Jamieson disputes the unsubstantiated view of a broken political system manipulated by scheming politicians who run rampant over an apathetic electorate. This scholarly yet accessible appraisal is recommended for academic and larger public libraries.DKarl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Booknews
Focusing on the media-shaped perceptions of the American public, Jamieson (communication and public policy, University of Pennsylvania) explores feelings of manipulation in politics. Based on information of the last two presidential elections, she surveys the existing public record on voting patterns, campaign promises, polling, soundbites, negative ads, and election strategies. Jamieson's analysis focuses on the content and effects of campaigns, the use of advertising, and the influence of the news media. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Christian Science Monitor - Chinni
[Jamieson] does an excellent job of looking at how political bias in the newsroom affects coverage...at the very least there is honest information and, in the endless spin cycle of Washington, that's no small thing.
The New York Observer - Stephen Metcalf
Ms Jamieson is widely regarded as one of the finest critics of media and politics in the United States, and has produced a book that will doubtless serve as the vade mecum for the upcoming campaign season...Ms. Jamieson's book is remarkable in its own assiduously researched, often tightly argues way. The sections on local news coverage and the defeat of the McCain tobacco bill are superb.
New interesting book: The Spanish Kitchen or Thai Cooking
Abe Lincoln Goes to Washington 1837-1863
Author: Cheryl Harness
From Lincoln's early practice of law in Springfield, Illinois, through his election to the Presidency of the eve of the Civil War, to his untimely assassination, Harness weaves an enormous amount of information into this compelling picture of our 16th President's public and private life. Readers see Lincoln happy and gangly during his first dance with Mary Todd, playful with his young sons, and strong under pressure as he drafts the Emancipation Proclamation and delivers the Gettysburg Address.
Publishers Weekly
Picking up right where she left off in Young Abe Lincoln, Harness begins the second installment of her biography in 1837, as the 28-year-old state legislator rides into Springfield, Ill. The conversational narrative sets the milestones of Lincoln's personal life into the wider political and economic developments of his turbulent times, following him through career setbacks, his ascension to the White House and leadership during the Civil War, and ending with his assassination. Able as the text is, it is Harness's paintings that most vividly convey Lincoln's private and public personalities. Her densely populated pictures alternate between sweeping scenes (a curious Illinois crowd listening to Lincoln debate Stephen A. Douglas; the President greeted by newly freed slaves as he walks the streets of the fallen Confederate capital) and close-up glimpses of her subject with his cherished family, as he romps on the parlor floor with his boys and anxiously keeps vigil at his dying son's bedside. Illustrated and extensively captioned maps will help young audiences measure the progress of the war and understand the impact of specific battles. Solid storytelling meets sound history. Ages 5-up. (Feb.)
School Library Journal
K-Gr 4A richly illustrated and well-researched history. Harness's text is full of facts about Lincoln's family life and political career. Even more facts and situations are presented visually in the paintings that surround and envelope the printed words. While some of the darkest moments of Lincoln's life (his depression and his marital problems) are not mentioned, the death of his beloved son Willie and his assassination are important parts of the story. Portraits, names, maps of Civil War sites and the division of North and South, borders, scrolls, banners, slogans, and dramatic scenes engage the eye and colorfully enrich the story. There is so much detail to see and absorb that the book calls for individual reading rather than reading aloud. There is substance enough for reports, but the emphasis on details of Lincoln's personal life and the elaborate, full-color visuals invite reading for interest as well. While there are undoubtedly many biographies of Lincoln on every library's shelves, Harness's individualized book design makes this a fine purchase.Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Kirkus Reviews
To the growing number of picture-book biographies add this sequel to Young Abe Lincoln (1996) that covers the latter half of Lincoln's life. From the tall, lanky new lawyer who tucked his papers inside his stovepipe hat to the president who led a divided country through civil war, Harness profiles a personal and political Lincoln in a variety of settings and states of mind. Her informal style lends a familiarity to the narrative, interspersing quotes, excerpts, anecdotes, and speeches into the straightforward story line. Without romanticizing Lincoln's role in history, the author allows this larger-than-life president to be human by presenting the anguish and torment he suffered at home as well as in his role as president during a time of civil war. Illustrated maps rife with captions and dates outline the chronology of events and provide a jumping-off point for more serious war buffs. An enormous amount of information and a number of complex issues are pared down to an approachable, satisfying sketch of the simple country lawyer who became "Father Abraham, the Emancipator."
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