American Government (Wilson)

"American Government" is a textbook, now in its tenth edition, written by noted public administration scholar James Q. Wilson and political scientist John J. DiIulio, Jr.. DiIulio is a Democrat who served as the director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Wilson has chaired and participated in numerous White House task forces and commissions, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bush in 2003. The book examines and analyzes the government of the United States, covering every aspect of government from elections to interest groups. It is currently published by Houghton Mifflin.

This book is currently used in both college and Advanced Placement high school courses across the United States. The book is roughly 780 pages and includes the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Bill of Rights, outcomes of various elections throughout American history, and famous court cases. It is accompanied by a companion website that features practice test questions and detailed explanations on each chapter.

Controversy

The textbook became an item of national news coverage in April, 2008. A New Jersey high school senior expressed concerns to a think tank, the Center for Inquiry, regarding what he felt was conservative bias in the textbook, specifically inaccuracies about its coverage of global warming.cite news | first=Nancy | last=Zuckerbrod | coauthors= | title=Student Sees Problems With H.S. Text | date=2008-03-08 | publisher= | url =http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jbrQTGcd9yRqQEuE_5cArsv8kvcwD8VTVOE80 | work =Associated Press | pages = | accessdate = 2008-04-27 | language = ] The senior also wrote a opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times. [cite news | first=Matthew | last=LaClair | coauthors= | title=Give me the lesson without the spin | date=2008-03-27 | publisher=Los Angeles Times | url =http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-op-laclairapr27,1,4119982.story | work =Los Angeles Times | pages = | accessdate = 2008-04-27 | language = ] The group issued a critical report on the textbook. [cite news | title=CFI Textbook Critique | date=2008-04-09 | publisher=The Center for Inquiry | url=http://www.centerforinquiry.net/uploads/attachments/CFI_Textbook_Critique.pdf | pages = | accessdate = 2008-05-04 | language = ] The group's criticism of the coverage on climate was buttressed by a few scientists, and then additional criticism from legal scholars who claimed the book presented a skewed view of separation of church and state. The publisher Houghton Mifflin announced that it would review the book [cite news | first=Andrew | last=Revkin | coauthors= | title= A Textbook Case of Downplaying Global Warming? | date=2008-04-10 | publisher=The New York Times Company | url =http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/a-textbook-case-of-downplaying-global-warming/ | work =The New York Times | pages = | accessdate = 2008-04-27 | language = ] , as did the College Board which oversees college-level Advanced Placement courses used in high schools.

Wilson responded to the complaint in an editorialcite news | first=James | last=Wilson | coauthors= | title=Quit twisting my words: An American government textbook author defends his work against allegations of conservative bias. | date=2008-04-27 | publisher=Los Angeles Times | url =http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-wilson27apr27,0,5311132.story | work =Los Angeles Times | pages = | accessdate = 2008-04-27 | language = ] , arguing that the text is not unduly biased, and that dispute with regard to global warming is considerable.

External links

* [http://politicalscience.college.hmco.com/students/ Official Companion Website]
*Center for Inquiry's [http://www.centerforinquiry.net/uploads/attachments/CFI_Textbook_Critique.pdf Textbook Accuracy Report] [PDF]

References