Details the career path, presidential policies, key events, trivial facts, and historical impact of each president from George Washington to Bill Clinton.
Accessible, authoritative, and entertaining in the signature style of theComplete Idiot'sGuide® series, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to U.S. Government and Politicsprovides a wonderful foundation of knowledge about the way our country's system of government works. Understanding how our government functions and the political forces that influence it is vital for all Americans. At the high school level, U.S. government, the class formerly called civics, has evolved to become a focus of the Advanced Placement test. In 2007, the AP U.S. government and politics exam was the most widely taken test among high school students on a college track, with over 333,562 students sitting for the 3.5-hour exam. Several strictly test prep books help students prepare for this exam. However, they're limited to the key points covered by the exam and don't afford much information outside the strict curriculum. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to U.S. Government and Politics gives the reader much more. As a comprehensive overview and history of the subject, this book is designed to help anyone interested in learning about our government and the origins of its complex inner workings, our political system, and key elements that have affected our growth as a nation-all while serving as a the best supplementary reading a student can get to help them prepare for the AP exam.
You're no idiot, of course. You know the American Revolution started when those guys in Boston threw some tea off a boat. Or was it when Paul Revere made his famous ride? Let's face it: when it comes to knowing about our nation's struggle for independence, our grade-school memories are about as trustworthy as Benedict Arnold. Don't blush red (or white, or blue) yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide® to the American Revolution is an authoritative overview of the conflict, filled with little-known facts that will enlighten even the most educated history buff. In this Complete Idiot's Guide®, you get:
Explains how the government works and the functions of its many parts, covering such topics as the system of checks and balances, the Constitution, and the division of state and federal powers.
Provides an overview of the people, events, and ideas that shaped the twentieth century, covering wars and political conflicts, innovations in technology, and the contributions of such great minds as Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein
From George Washington to George W. In the course of the 2008 presidential campaigns, Americans became involved in the political process at a level rarely seen in modern history. But even before the historic race, George W. Bush's tenure had left many Americans wondering how we got to where we are today. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to the American Presidency takes readers from the first president to the one who just stepped down-exploring the legacies of the greatest leaders and the black marks against others, and showing the ways in which they left their stamp on both the nation and the presidency itself. • Written by the author of the highly successful The Complete Idiot's Guide® to American History, Fifth Edition • Appendices that list the presidents and their vice presidents, the presidential elections, and further reading
The good, the bad, and the ugly behind the NWO The "New World Order" (NWO) is a conspiracy theory describing the evolution, or existence of one-world government administered by the powerful elite. Now Alan Axelrod offers an understandable look at what the NWO really means to people and lets the reader decide which theories are correct- or whether perhaps it's a little bit of every proposed theory. He discusses: • The Knights of Templar, the Illuminati, the Masons, ancient and modern-day religionists and how they paved the way for a possible Fourth Reich • The link between the lost island of Atlantis, Hitler, and the first President Bush with the concept of a future one-world government • The United Nations, Yale University's Skull and Bones society, the Rockefellers, Morgans, Rothschilds, and Kennedys
You’re no idiot, of course. You know your own mind, but when it comes to understanding what’s really going on in your head—all those synapses! all those neurons!—you feel like you’re just about brain-dead. Don’t let it unnerve you! The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Understanding the Brain proves that you don’t need to be a genius to be in the know—and gives you lots of fun stuff to think about, too. In this Complete Idiot’s Guide®, you get: • The history of human knowledge of the brain. • Insights into what causes brain disorders—and how best to treat them. • Thoughtful tips about the many different ways we learn new information. • Fascinating, little-known facts about the nervous system.