The American Political Party System: A Reference Handbook. By Michael C. LeMay. Contemporary World Issues. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2017. 368 p. $60.00 (ISBN 978-1-4408-5411-8). E-book available (978-1-4408-5412-5), call for pricing.

The American Political Party System: A Reference Handbook brings together readable, informative essays about the formation and influence of and controversies surrounding political parties in the United States; profiles of significant people and organizations; responsibly argued opinion essays from a variety of perspectives; and important primary-source documents and data. Major sections include “Background and History,” “Problems, Controversies, and Solutions,” “Perspectives,” “Profiles,” and “Data and Documents.” Examples of subsections and entries include “The Transformative Election of McKinley and the Progressive Era, 1896–1932,” “Structural Barriers or Impediments to Third-Party Candidates,” “Make America Great Again PAC,” “MoveOn.org,” “David Koch (1935–),” “Harry Reid (1939),” “Jill Stein (1950–),” “Donald Trump’s Proposed Immigration Policies,” “Election Results, 2016 Presidential Vote, by Select Group Categories,” and “Millard Fillmore’s Speech, June 26, 1856, on American Party Principles.”

This reference work provides similar discussion to the comparable American Political Parties and Elections: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2007); obviously, The American Political Party System is more up to date. The inclusion of opinions, biographical and organizational profiles, and data and documents also goes beyond the scope of the older work. Indeed, The American Political Party System has 368 pages, while the Oxford work has 175.

The American Political Party System provides a very detailed, eleven-page table of contents and a thorough sixteen-page index with entries for people, organizations, and political events, controversies, and resolutions such as treaties and Constitutional amendments.

The American Political Party System succeeds in being politically fair. It provides a variety political perspectives and a fair treatment of major controversies. It also provides an excellent balance of historical context and present struggles. As such, the work models responsible scholarship, allowing various voices to speak for themselves and placing them in a contextual frame. One can imagine this work being useful not only for people studying political science and civics but also for students writing opinion essays and speeches in English and communication classes.

The American Political Party System: A Reference Handbook provides a great deal of breadth and potential use for a single hard-bound volume. It belongs on the shelves of public, high school, and two-year and four-year academic libraries, and it is an excellent value at its price.—Steven R. Edscorn, Executive Director of Libraries, Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma