Guided by the belief that readers must first understand the origins of American government to fully understand the issues facing the United States today, this market-leading text offers the strongest coverage of both history and current events of any college textbook devoted to American politics.     From hallmark features like “The Living Constitution” to new features like the illustrated historical timelines, Essentials of American Government: Continuity and Change provides the historical context readers need to understand our government and the most crucial and controversial issues affecting the nation in the 21st century.  This Essentials edition includes the coverage found in the comprehensive version of the text but in a condensed format.    This bestselling book has been extensively revised to provide in-depth coverage of the 2008 presidential and congressional elections, President George W. Bush’s second administration and the 110th Congress, continued controversies related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on terrorism, and domestic concerns related to rising gas and food prices and the subprime mortgage crisis.