For today's busy student, we've created a new line of highly portable books at affordable prices. Each title in the Books à 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 à 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 à la Carte Plus titles cost less than a used textbook! With a focus on competition for resources, t his 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 Texas Edition of this classic text includes the same coverage as the comprehensive version, but includes 7 additional chapters on Texas politics. 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.