AmGov
Long Story Short
- Christine Barbour - Indiana University, USA
AmGov: Long Story Short helps students learn the nuts and bolts of American Government. Unlike competitors, this bestseller responds to the need for quick studying and skimming with ten succinct chapters that make it easy to read, revisit, and return to content quickly. Reading aids like bullets, annotations, and arrows walk students through important facts and break up the material in short, engaging bites of information. Though brief, the Third Edition of this core book is still robust and current enough to provide everything that students need to be successful in their American Government course. Whether for the on-the-go student who doesn’t have time to read and digest a lengthy chapter, or for the instructor who wants a book that will stay out of their way and leave room for plenty of supplementary reading and activities, AmGov provides a perfectly simplified foundation for a successful American Government course.
Supplements
For additional information, custom options, or to request a personalized walkthrough of these resources, please contact your sales representative.
LMS cartridge included with this title for use in Blackboard, Canvas, Brightspace by Desire2Learn (D2L), and Moodle
The LMS cartridge makes it easy to import this title’s instructor resources into your learning management system (LMS). These resources include:
- Test banks
- Editable chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides
- Sample course syllabi
- Lecture notes
- All tables and figures from the textbook
You can still access the online resources for this title via the password-protected Instructor Resource Site.
I’ve been using AmGov: Long Story Short since the first edition, and have stayed with it because my students read, engage, and learn more than with any other textbook I’ve used. Never before have I had students writing to me solely to tell me how much they are enjoying the text. In my anonymous end-of-semester surveys most students report that they’ve done more reading than they do with other textbooks. And their mastery of the material bears it out. Being shorter doesn’t mean AmGov is short on content. It covers the material effectively and engagingly. It meets students where they are without talking down to them, and they come away knowledgeable, not thinking government is just another boring class they have to take, but instead is a vital, even an interesting, part of their lives.
The Vantage digital materials are easy to set up and highly flexible, providing as much or as little as a faculty member wants to assign. Basic knowledge checks, data exercises, short videos, thinking problems and chapter quizzes are all excellent and timely and, again, get outstanding reviews from my students. Anyone looking for a text that students will actually read, engage with, and learn from can do no better than AmGov: Long Story Short.
AmGov looks and feels like a quick reference guide, but when you read and teach from it you discover the information is indeed quite complete for an introductory-level course. Students appreciate being directed by their reading to the main points and punchlines (mirroring some aspects of how they might normally collect information online), while instructors have enough room to put the information in their own voice, without feeling compelled to fill in gaps.
My initial choice for Barbour’s wonderful book was its brevity and attractive layout. My big surprise was how well it’s actually written. The narrative is fresh and readable. The graphics are colorful and engaging. AmGov: Long Story Short organizes the lessons into digestible nuggets which is perfect for contemporary students. And it does all of this while still elevating the discussion. AmGov explores some very sophisticated concepts in political science in a very accessible way.
I have used this book in-class and on online and the students have universally reported positive feedback. One of my colleagues began using this book last semester based on my recommendation and he came into my office recently singing its praises!
Sample Materials & Chapters
Chapter 1. Politics and Citizenship
Chapter 2. The United States' Founding
Sage College Publishing
