Packed with the latest research, POLITICS, PARTIES AND ELECTIONS IN AMERICA provides a comprehensive account of what political parties do, how they are organized, how party leaders behave, the functions of political parties and their limitations, the unique features of American political parties, and the impact of political parties within the American political system. The text is straightforward, presenting rigorous concepts and recent scholarship in a manner that students can readily understand. Its balanced and up-to-date coverage of political parties imparts practical knowledge of the realities of political life.