Electing a U. S. President

School Library Journal

Gr 7-9-- This general overview of the presidential election process covers the basics of a campaign, including campaign staffs, primaries, advertising, finances, and conventions. Although Reische has obviously done much research and writes well, her book suffers from one serious flaw. She attempts to tie virtually every aspect of the process to either the 1988 or the upcoming 1992 election. In so doing, she shifts the focus from the historical development of the presidential campaign to a discussion of material that is often extraneous or dated. As an example, she mentions as a major candidate Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder, who has already withdrawn from the race. Some of the information is so trivial that it does not merit inclusion. The overuse of soon-to-be-dated material will cause confusion and limit the book's usefulness. --Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO