Today we are politically polarized as never before. The presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 will be remembered as two of the most contentious political events in American history. Yet despite the recent election upheaval, The American Voter Revisited discovers that voter behavior has been remarkably consistent over the last half century. And if the authors are correct in their predictions, 2008 will show just how reliably the American voter weighs in, election after election.
The American Voter Revisited re-creates the outstanding 1960 classic The American Voter---which was based on the presidential elections of 1952 and 1956---following the same format, theory, and mode of analysis as the original. In this new volume, the authors test the ideas and methods of the original against presidential election surveys from 2000 and 2004. Surprisingly, the contemporary American voter is found to behave politically much like voters of the 1950s.
"Simply essential. For generations, serious students of American politics have kept The American Voter right on their desk. Now, everyone will keep The American Voter Revisited right next to it."
---Larry J. Sabato, Director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics and author of A More Perfect Constitution
"The American Voter Revisited is destined to be the definitive volume on American electoral behavior for decades. It is a timely book for 2008, with in-depth analyses of the 2000 and 2004 elections updating and extending the findings of the original The American Voter. It is also quite accessible, making it ideal for graduate students as well as advanced undergrads."
---Andrew E. Smith, Director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center
"A theoretically faithful, empirically innovative, comprehensive update of the original classic."
---Sam Popkin, Professor of Political Science, University of California, San Diego
Michael S. Lewis-Beck is F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Iowa. William G. Jacoby is Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University. Helmut Norpoth is Professor of Political Science at Stony Brook University. Herbert F. Weisberg is Professor of Political Science at Ohio State University.
Library Journal
Anyone wishing to understand political psychology and especially voting behavior in the United States should start with this penetrating, provocative analysis of the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004, which reprises the insightful 1960 classic, The American Voter. A quartet of outstanding political scientists-Lewis-Beck (Univ. of Iowa), Helmut Norpoth (Stony Brook Univ.), William G. Jacoby (Michigan State Univ.), and Herbert F. Weisberg (Ohio State Univ.)-carefully and critically examines the nonpartisan National Science Foundation's National Presidential Election Surveys of 2000 and 2004 in order to demonstrate the significance of voting behavior for the American polity, particularly with respect to the crucial choice of the American presidency. In 15 chapters paralleling those of the earlier title and each including a "Comment and Controversy" section, they succeed with distinction. This impressive and persuasive piece of political science scholarship is neither a quick nor an easy read. Serious undergraduates, graduate students in political science and political scientists will be best rewarded by this treatment of the psychological and attitudinal factors explaining and supporting voter behavior. The gold standard of serious scholarship in the era of political polarization; highly recommended for undergraduate and graduate school libraries.
—Stephen K. Shaw
