Dictionary

American Political Dictionary

 by Heather Braum

BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Plano, J. and M. Greenberg. (1997). The American Political Dictionary (10th ed.). Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.

PURPOSE

This material was originally published to serve as a tool to provide students of government the necessary facts and language to understand government, providing a guide to the American political lexicography (Plano, 1997, viii). The book was created for use by professors, students, and media professionals, to better understand all of the political terms that are thrown around in Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court, and other political and governmental entities.

AUTHORITY

This work was published in 1997, so it is fairly current. However, there is an 11th edition that is in print. Any library that is looking to purchase this book will probably want to purchase the 11th edition, instead of the 10th edition, which is reviewed here. The two authors have published 11 editions of this dictionary; both are professors emeritus of political science and have published extensively in the political science discipline, giving this dictionary plenty of authority.

SCOPE

The subject content is obviously limited to American government and politics. The audience is for high school students and above.

FORMAT

The organization of the terms in 14 subject chapters might make initial findings of terms difficult. However, if users know what subject the term fits under, they should be able to locate what they are looking for. The index in the back of the book will also facilitate easier usage of finding terms.

ARRANGEMENT

The dictionary is organized by subject. Each subject has the relevant terms organized alphabetically. An index is available at the back of the book.

ENTRIES

In each of the 14 subject chapters, the chapters are broken into four sections. The first section includes defined terms related to the chapter subject. The definitions are followed by a paragraph that gives the historical and current significance in relation to American government. The definitions section is followed by sections of important agencies, cases, and statutes. Each of these sections is organized alphabetically and includes a description of description of their significance. Cross-references are provided, where suitable. 

SPECIAL FEATURES

One special feature of this dictionary is that it is more than a dictionary. After the term is defined, the historical significance is given of the term. This provides more information to the user, than a normal dictionary would.

USE

This dictionary would be used by American government students to learn the political terminology and also to learn about why those terms are important to the discipline. The extra sections of agencies, cases, and statutues provide further information that is relevant to the American government discipline.

CRITIQUE

The 11th edition can be purchased for $58.85 from Amazon.com. This might be a little high for some libraries, especially for a dictionary, but with the additional information regarding the historical significance of each term, as well as relevant agencies, statutues, and cases for each subject, makes this dictionary an important addition to a college library. Not only will the resource define political terms for students, but it also with tell them why each term is important to the political science discipline, as well as point to related cases, statutes, and agencies.

REFERENCES

Amazon.com. (n.d.). Amazon.com: American Political Dictionary: Books: Jack Plano, Milton Greenberg. Retrieved May 4, 2007, from http://www.amazon.com/American-Political-Dictionary-Jack-Plano/dp/0155068679/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-7416716-3467964?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178555402&sr=1-1