Anne Marie Cammisa is a visiting professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. Previously, Cammisa was professor of government at Suffolk University in Boston. She is the author of From Rhetoric to Reform? Welfare Policy in American Politics. Paul Christopher Manuel is professor of government and director of the leadership program in the School of Public Affairs at American University.

• Preface Chapter 1: Of Ideas and Institutions: The Foundational Tension of American DemocracyIntroductionWhy Does American Government Appear to Be Spinning Its Wheels?The Foundational Tension: Majority Rule versus Minority RightsHow the Foundational Ideational Tension Limits Innovative Policy Development: Ideas Conceptualized as Cognitive LocksConclusionStructure of the Remainder of the BookChapter 2: The Path of Political Development in Great Britain and the United States: A Brief Comparative HistoryWhy American Government Operates under Checks and Balances, and British Government Does NotThe Evolution of the British ParliamentKey Institutional Features of British DemocracyThe Creation of the American Presidential SystemKey Institutional Features of American DemocracyConclusionChapter 3: Agenda Setting and Agenda Control: Case One: A Legislative History of the 1994 Republican Contract with AmericaThe 1994 Contract with AmericaIntroduction to the 104th

Cammisa and Manuel have produced an interesting analysis of the 'efficiency' versus 'deliberation' arguments surrounding the value of parliamentary systems versus presidential systems. This timely book reviews potential reforms of the American system while comparing it to a modified British equivalent. The authors cite gridlock, a lack of accountability due to divided government, and the lack of a vote of no confidence as weaknesses in the American style of government that promote dysfunction, inefficiency, and a lack of accountability to voters. The authors take care to compare the strengths and weaknesses of the American presidential system through a series of case studies on the Contract with America and the Affordable Care Act. The innovative area of the book lies in its predictive chapters, which discuss avenues of change or reform if the US adopted a system similar to the UK's. The . . . .treatment of the subject by the authors is excellent. This book would be an excellent supplement to any introductory government class. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers and undergraduate students.