Steffen W. Schmidt is a Professor of Political Science at Iowa State University. He grew up in Colombia, South America, and has studied in Colombia, Switzerland, and France. He obtained his Ph.D. from Columbia University, New York, in public law and government. Schmidt has published six books and over seventy articles in scholarly journals. He is also the recipient of numerous prestigious teaching prizes, including the Amoco Award for Lifetime Career Achievement in Teaching and the Teacher of the Year award. He is a pioneer in the use of Web-based and real-time video courses and is a member of the American Political Science Association's section on Computers and Multimedia. He is on the editorial board of the Political Science Educator. Schmidt has a political talk show on WOI radio, where he is known as Dr. Politics. The show has been broadcast live from various U.S. and international venues.
Review
"The chapter of congress is great, along with the chapters on the presidency and the courts."
Summary
Students are often hesitant to become involved in the political process, but American Government and Politics Today 2009-2010 Edition, 14e inspires readers to take action. The book uses intriguing examples and hands-on exercises to engage readers in the fascinating intricacies of American government -- including details from the recent presidential election. As it introduces concepts, it illustrates that active participation can be as simple as calling a local politician to share an opinion, registering to vote, or viewing a town council meeting on local access cable -- demonstrating how small steps can make a big difference.
