A user's guide to Democracy : how America works

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Title:

A user's guide to Democracy : how America works

Author:

Capodice, Nick, author.

ISBN:

9781250751843

Edition:

1st ed.

Physical Description:

x, 354 pages : illustrations ; 19 cm.

Contents:

Introduction -- THE POWERS THAT BE. Chapter 1. The Legislative Branch -- Chapter 2. The Executive Branch -- Chapter 3. The Judicial Branch -- STATES OF THE UNION. Chapter 4. Federalism -- Chapter 5. Local Government -- A GOVERNMENT BY THE PEOPLE. Chapter 6. Elections and How They Work -- Chapter 7. The Electoral College -- Chapter 8. Political Parties -- Chapter 9. Voting -- THE DOCUMENTS. Chapter 10. The Declaration of Independence -- Chapter 11. The Constitution -- Chapter 12. The Bill of Rights -- Chapter 13. The Amendments -- THE ROBES. Chapter 14. Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know -- Chapter 15. Anticanon: Four Bad Supreme Court Decisions -- A USER'S GUIDE. Chapter 16. How to communicate with your legislators -- Chapter 17. How to lobby for what you believe in -- Chapter 18. How to write a bill -- Chapter 19. How to stage a peaceful protest -- Chapter 20. How to run for office.

Subject Term:

Democracy -- United States.

Political participation -- United States.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Politics and government.

Added Author:

McCarthy, Hannah,

Toro, Tom

Summary:

From the hosts of New Hampshire Public Radio's Civics 101 and New Yorker cartoonist Tom Toro, a lively crash course in everything you should know about how the US government works. Do you know what the Secretary of Defense does all day? Are you sure you know the difference between the House and the Senate? Have you been pretending you know what Federalism is for the last 20 years? Don't worry--you're not alone. The American government and its processes can be dizzyingly complex and obscure. Until now. Within this book are the keys to knowing what you're talking about when you argue politics with the uncle you only see at Thanksgiving. It's the book that sits on your desk for quick reference when the nightly news boggles your mind. This approachable and informative guide gives you the lowdown on everything from the three branches of government, to what you can actually do to make your vote count, to how our founding documents affect our daily lives. Now is the time to finally understand who does what, how they do it, and the best way to get them to listen to you. --

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	320.473 CAP	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Wildwood Library (Mahtomedi)	320.473 CAP	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

From Nick Capodice & Hannah McCarthy, the hosts of New Hampshire Public Radio's Civics 101, and New Yorker cartoonist Tom Toro, A User's Guide to Democracy is a lively crash course in everything you should know about how the US government works.

Do you know what the Secretary of Defense does all day? Are you sure you know the difference between the House and the Senate? Have you been pretending you know what Federalism is for the last 20 years? Don't worry--you're not alone. The American government and its processes can be dizzyingly complex and obscure.

Until now.

Within this book are the keys to knowing what you're talking about when you argue politics with the uncle you only see at Thanksgiving. It's the book that sits on your desk for quick reference when the nightly news boggles your mind. This approachable and informative guide gives you the lowdown on everything from the three branches of government, to what you can actually do to make your vote count, to how our founding documents affect our daily lives. Now is the time to finally understand who does what, how they do it, and the best way to get them to listen to you.

Author Notes

Hannah McCarthy is the co-host of Civics 101 from New Hampshire Public Radio. She came to New Hampshire by way of Brooklyn where she worked as a radio producer and writer. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Nick Capodice is the co-host of Civics 101. Before coming to NHPR, Nick worked in the Education Department at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, where he wrote and led tours, trained educators, and helped design digital exhibits. He also led beer history and tasting tours for Urban Oyster in Brooklyn.

Tom Toro is a cartoonist for The New Yorker and a fiction writer. He is the author/illustrator of How to Potty Train Your Porcupine (Little, Brown & Company, 2020) and Tiny Hands (Dock Street Press, 2017). Tom lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, kid, and cat. Visit her website to learn more!

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Capodice and McCarthy, cohosts of New Hampshire Public Radio's Civics 101, debut with a lucid guide to how the U.S. government functions. Aided by humorous illustrations from New Yorker cartoonist Toro, the authors describe the purpose and structure of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches; explain how caucuses and primaries work; sketch the histories of the three-fifths compromise, the congressional filibuster, federalism, the New Deal, etc.; differentiate among the roles of federal, state, and local governments; and offer concise analyses of major Supreme Court decisions. They also walk readers through the Declaration of Independence and the Constitutional amendments, and offer helpful lessons on citizen participation, including how to vote, lobby members of Congress, plan a protest, and run for office. Though Capodice and McCarthy tack to the left (they highlight how few African Americans have made it to the Senate, and note that laws barring convicted felons from voting result "in the disproportionate disenfranchisement of men of color"), they are careful to stay above the partisan fray. The result is an informative and appealing civics lesson for first-time voters and old hands alike. Agent: Julia Eagleton. (Sept.)

Kirkus Review

An easily digestible, illustrated guidebook to the agencies and institutions that make up the federal government. Fans of the old Schoolhouse Rock! song "I'm Just a Bill" ("and I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill") will appreciate the straightforward approach that Civics 101 podcast co-hosts Capodice and McCarthy bring to the job of describing "how America works." At the top of their discussion is the doctrine that each of the three branches of government is coequal, enshrining a system of checks and balances that emerged from James Madison's Federalist essay urging that "ambition must be made to counteract ambition." If that system is more observed in the breach than the act these days, it's because the legislature has not asserted itself sufficiently. That said, the authors write, "the House can be a wild and crazy place," subject to political movements like the tea party that shake things up periodically, while the Senate is less exuberant and more aloof, its members protected by six-year terms that were put in place, one supposes, to keep them above the fray. The Senate, write Capodice and McCarthy, was "created for debate," with Senators able to talk for as long as they wish about any given bill--"or any other matter." Both sides of Congress are inefficient, but that's a feature and not a bug, meant to keep laws from spilling out of the Capitol dome too haphazardly. There are scarcely any qualifications for becoming president, either, apart from age and citizenship. The authors try for nonpartisanship, but it's clear enough that they're unimpressed with the current occupant of the White House: "There are a whole lotta firsts in the Trump administration," they write, "but here's the one we're going with: He is the first president since Polk to not have a pet." Just the thing for students of civics--which, these days, should include the entire polity. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

The United States system of democracy is a complicated one. That's okay, say Capodice and McCarthy; the most efficient form of government is despotism, and democracy is designed to be very much not that. Accompanied by black-and-white illustrations from cartoonist Tom Toro, the text lays out governmental structure and civic operations in a clear, readable tone that resists oversimplification. Sections cover the three branches of government, the evolution of federalism, the election process, foundational documents, and major Supreme Court cases. Readers will understand the different powers of the House and the Senate, how Teddy Roosevelt expanded executive power, the origins of political parties, and the many failures of all branches of government in addressing the question of slavery. The final section, "A User's Guide," covers communicating with legislators, peaceful protest, and running for office. Though there is no index, chapters are clearly labelled, and even just reading the opening pages of each chapter provides a good civics lesson. This friendly, comprehensive guide stands out among overly dry or overly specific texts.

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

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