For today's busy student, we've created a new line of highly portable books at affordable prices. Each title in the Books a la Carte Plus program features the exact same content from our traditional textbook in a convenient notebook-ready, loose-leaf version - allowing students to take only what they need to class. As an added bonus, each Books a la Carte Plus edition is accompanied by an access code to all of the resources found in one of our best-selling multimedia products. Best of all? Our Books a la Carte Plus titles cost less than a used textbook! With a focus on competition for resources, this balanced, but provocative text uses Harold Laswell's classic definition of politics-"Who gets what, when, and how"-as a framework for presenting a clear, cohesive and stimulating introduction to the American political system. Thomas Dye, along with new co-author Bartholomew Sparrow, has written a lively and absorbing narrative examining the struggle for power that is American politics: the participants, the stakes, the processes, and the institutions. Numerous feature boxes explore timely issues, draw cross-cultural comparisons, promote critical thinking, and provoke thoughtful opinions. The alternate edition of this classic text includes the exact same coverage as the comprehensive version but without the policy chapters. Politics in America's theme of constant competition for power and resources - "who gets what" - has never been more relevant because of the intense political conflict of the most expensive presidential campaign in American history. Furthermore, the hotly-contested primary campaigns that led to the national conventions in 2008 make this a highly engaging topic.