Average Customer Review:
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Good., 2006-04-06
I was assigned several chapters from this book to read for one of my political science classes. I can't say I've come across any other books like this that describe the nature of electoral politics and realignments when they occur.
My professor did mention that this book revolutionized just how we view the electoral process. A good read, one that I would recommend. Diagrams are useful.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Great book but a bit too expensive... , 2005-12-19
I just finished writing a critique on this book for a core political science class and it's definitely a classic. I would recommend it to all political science majors and anybody interested in voting behavior. But again, why is it so expensive?
5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Why is this book so expensive?, 2004-09-21
Classic, empirical work in political science. This book is essential for any high school civics teacher, undergraduate political science major, or graduate student ... but why on EARTH is it $40 used?
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
The most misunderstood book in political science, 2003-09-06
An Economic Theory of Democracy is among the most influential books in political science. It is also among the most misunderstood. The book has 300 pages of content. The famous median voter theorem represents three of them. The remaining 297 pages involve extensions, limitations and generalizations -- exactly the sort of thing that most critics think it lacks. In the end, the book is really about the problems of limited information rather than about a unidimensional spatial model.
2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Good as a starting point, 2002-11-07
Downs is the seminal piece in rat choice voting behavior - and for good reason. A clear understanding of the Downs theories of voting ties together many strands of work and allows for a good framework for scholars who follow him. The book is a must read for political scientists and for anyone who wants to understand the voting literature.