Books about Polarized from Amazon.com

A “timely and compelling” analysis of America’s bitterly divisive partisan politics (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

In recent years American politics has seemingly become much more partisan, more zero-sum, more vicious, and less able to confront the real problems our nation faces. What has happened?

In The Second Civil War, respected political commentator Ronald Brownstein diagnoses the electoral, demographic, and institutional forces that have wreaked such change over the American political landscape, pulling politics into the margins and leaving precious little common ground for compromise. The Second Civil War is not a book for Democrats or Republicans but for all Americans who are disturbed by our current political dysfunction and hungry for ways to understand it—and move beyond it..
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Part of the "Great Questions in Politics" series, Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America combines polling data with a compelling narrative to debunk commonly-believed myths about American politics–particularly the claim that Americans are deeply divided in their fundamental political views. This second edition of Culture War? features a new chapter that demonstrates how the elections of 2004 reinforce the book’s argument that Americans are no more divided now than they were in the past. In addition, the text has been updated throughout to reflect data from the 2004 elections.

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Price: $12.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2007.

The idea of America as politically polarized—that there is an unbridgeable divide between right and left, red and blue states—has become a cliché. What commentators miss, however, is that increasing polarization in recent decades has been closely accompanied by fundamental social and economic changes—most notably, a parallel rise in income inequality. In Polarized America, Nolan McCarty, Keith Poole, and Howard Rosenthal examine the relationships of polarization, wealth disparity, immigration, and other forces, characterizing it as a dance of give and take and back and forth causality.

Using NOMINATE (a quantitative procedure that, like interest group ratings, scores politicians on the basis of their roll call voting records) to measure polarization in Congress and public opinion, census data and Federal Election Commission finance records to measure polarization among the public, the authors find that polarization and income inequality fell in tandem from 1913 to 1957 and rose together dramatically from 1977 on; they trace a parallel rise in immigration beginning in the 1970s. They show that Republicans have moved right, away from redistributive policies that would reduce income inequality. Immigration, meanwhile, has facilitated the move to the right: non-citizens, a larger share of the population and disproportionately poor, cannot vote; thus there is less political pressure from the bottom for redistribution than there is from the top against it. In "the choreography of American politics" inequality feeds directly into political polarization, and polarization in turn creates policies that further increase inequality..
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The events of 9/11 and the ensuing conflicts in the Middle East have demonstrated how fundamentalist thinking, by all involved, can cause suffering on a global scale. In this careful study, Stephen Larsen examines the psychological roots of fundamentalism. Fundamentalist thinking occurs, says Larsen, when people read metaphors literally and being certain becomes more important than anything else. Larsen explains how our brains can be hardwired to believe this way. Any one of us can fall prey to inflexible, black-or-white thinking. Larsen provides a guide on how to recognize fundamentalist thinking in ourselves and in others so that we can curb negative tendencies and create a more compassionate and peaceful world, one person at a time..
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The author, a political scientist, historian, businessman and former military professional uses illustrations and analogies to explain his points in a lively, easy to read and understand original work. This book is for people who want to understand today's political landscape and how to take action if they aren't happy with what they see. Young people just becoming eligible to vote, as well as seasoned voters should read this book. People wanting moderate balanced candidates to choose from in November of 2008 (and every election thereafter) must speak up in 2007. This book shows the reader why this is so and how to do so with maximum impact. Written with the feel of a self-help book, Neither Liberal Nor Conservative Be seeks to stop polarized politics by causing people to explore their political philosophy and think about what they believe with regard to the purpose, rules and definitions of politics and government. New insights provided include: Why voters feel they are being forced to choose between the lesser of two evils (and what to do about it). Evaluating the acceptability of political solutions to social issues. Developing your own personal political philosophy. Why inconsistency is a key factor enabling polarized politics to exist. Three principles that can be used to overcome inconsistency. How to evaluate political issues without the labels of liberal or conservative. How to talk about politics with unreasoning zealots (on both sides). Achieving better government by focusing on the desired outcomes of government instead of conflicting accusations about who to fear and who to blame. What issues are today s equivalent of Prohibition and how they can be settled. The conflicts of Polarized Politics will not resolve themselves. Read this book to find out the simple easy things you can do to make a difference..
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Informed and driven by his experience as an upper-middle-class African American who lives and works in a predominately white environment, provocative author Lawrence Otis Graham offers a unique perspective on the subject of race. An uncompromising work that will challenge the mindset of every reader, Member of the Club is a searching book of essays ranging from examining life as a black Princetonian and corporate lawyer to exploring life as a black busboy at an all white country-club. From New York magazine cover stories Invisible Man and Harlem on My Mind to such new essays as "I Never Dated a White Girl" and "My Dinner with Mister Charlie: A Black Man's Undercover Guide to Dining with Dignity at Ten Top New York Restaurants," Graham challenges racial prejudice among White Americans while demanding greater accountability and self-determination from his peers in black America.

"In Member of the Club. [Graham writes of] heartbreaking ironies and contradictions, indignities and betrayals in the life of an upper-class black man." --Philadelphia Inquirer

"Lawrence Graham Surely knows about the pressures of being beholden to two very different groups." --Los Angeles Times

Lawrence Otis Graham is a popular commentator on race and ethnicity. The author of ten other books, his work has appeared in New York magazine, the New York Times and The Best American Essays..
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Analysts and pundits increasingly perceive a widening gulf between "red states" and "blue states." But, how deep do political divisions actually run in the United States? Are they truly wreaking havoc upon the social fabric? Has America become a house divided? This important new book, "Red and Blue Nation?", gets to the bottom of this perplexing issue..
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America's political parties are sharply polarized these days—and some of this polarization extends well beyond the political class to large segments of the mass electorate. As the 2008 presidential race kicks into gear, the political climate certainly is not becoming less polarized. With important issues to address—such as immigration, health care, and funding of the Iraq war—it is critical that essential policies not be hostage to partisan political battles.

Building on the findings of the first volume of Red and Blue Nation? (Brookings, 2006), which explored the extent of political polarization and its potential causes, this new volume delves into the consequences of the gulf between "red states" and "blue states." The authors examine the impact of these political divisions on voter behavior, congressional lawmaking, judicial selection, and foreign policy formation. They shed light on hotly debated institutional reform proposals-including changes to the electoral system and the congressional rules of engagement-and ultimately present research-supported policies and reforms for alleviating the underlying causes of political polarization.

While most discussion of polarization takes place in separate spheres of journalism and academia, Red and Blue Nation? brings together a unique set of voices with a wide variety of perspectives to enrich our understanding of the issue. Written in a broad, accessible style, it is a resource for anyone concerned about the future of electoral politics in America.

Contributors: Joel D. Aberbach (University of California - Los Angeles), Peter Beinart (Council on Foreign Relations), Sarah A. Binder (Brookings Institution and George Washington University), Deborah Jordan Brooks (Dartmouth College), Andrea L. Campbell (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Larry Diamond (Hoover Institution), John Ferejohn (Hoover Institution), Christopher H. Foreman Jr. (Brookings Institution and University of Maryland), William A. Galston (Brookings Institution), John G. Geer (Vanderbilt University), Laurel Harbridge (Stanford University), Marc J. Hetherington (Vanderbilt University), Keith Krehbiel (Stanford University), Eric M. Patashnik (University of Virginia), Nelson W. Polsby (University of California - Berkeley), Jonathan Rauch (Brookings Institution and National Journal), Martin Shapiro (University of California - Berkeley), Barbara Sinclair (University of California - Los Angeles), Martin P. Wattenberg (University of California - Irvine), James Q. Wilson (Pepperdine University), and Benjamin Wittes (Brookings Institution).

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