AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS TODAY helps students experience the excitement that comes from active, informed citizenship. Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes' landmark text is renowned nationwide for its balanced, unbiased, comprehensive, and up-to-date coverage of constitutional, governmental, political, social, and economic structures and processes. The overriding theme of the book is the importance of informed active citizenship, and the pedagogy underscores this theme by soliciting critical thinking about political issues and encouraging students to become involved the political process. With keen awareness of its audience, American Government and Politics Today incorporates current examples, the Internet, and other media to stimulate learning and excitement about American government. This truly interactive text gives students more than reading material; it gives them tools to become good citizens.