The Oxford Handbook of American Political Parties and Interest Groups

L. Sandy Maisel is a former candidate for Congress and a Democratic party activist, he is the author of From Obscurity to Oblivion: Running in the Congressional Primary, Parties and Elections in America: The Electoral Process (published in its Third Edition, Post-Election Edition in 2001), and Two Parties -- Or More? The American Party System, with John Bibby, published in a second edition in 2002; he is also the editor of The Parties Respond: Changes in American Parties and Campaigns, now in its fourth edition, as well as the general editor of Jews in American Politics and Political Parties and Elections in the United States: An Encyclopedia. Sandy is also the series editor of Dilemmas in American Politics series. He is William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government, Chair of the Government Department, and Director of the Colby in Washington Program.Professor Berry specializes in the areas of interest groups, citizen participation, nonprofits, and public policymaking. He is the author or co-author of Lobbying for the People (Princeton, 1977), The Interest Group Society (Longman, 4th ed., 2007), Feeding Hungry People: Rulemaking in the Food Stamp Program (Rutgers, 1984), The Challenge of Democracy (Houghton Mifflin, 9th ed., 2007), and The Rebirth of Urban Democracy (Brookings, 1993), winner of the American Political Science Association's 1994 Gladys Kammerer Award for the Best Book in American Politics, and the American Political Science Association Organized Section on Urban Politics' 1994 Best Book in Urban Politics Award.

• PART I: INTRODUCTION ; PART II: THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ; PART III: PARTY HISTORY ; PART IV: PARTIES IN THE ELECTORAL PROCESS ; PART V: PARTY ORGANIZATION ; PART VI: PARTY IN GOVERNMENT ; PART VII: INTEREST GROUPS: BIAS AND REPRESENTATION ; PART VIII: INTEREST GROUPS: DIMENSIONS OF BEHAVIOR

Review from previous edition Oxford has assembled a remarkable group of political party and interest group experts in this Handbook. The volume includes established leaders in the field and up and coming stars. For those wishing for a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the state of American parties and groups, this is the book to read. It will enlighten those wanting to see where the field has been and where it is going.