The Political World of a Small Town - (Contributions in Political Science) by Nelson Wikstrom (Hardcover)

About the Book

This case study of a small town is the basis for a sweeping and broad analysis of the character of American politics and fills an important void in the literature when many of our national leaders are the product of small towns. This text for students in state and local government, urban government, and political sociology uses various methodological strategies and in-depth interviews with elites and average citizens to test nationwide data about the American political scene today and provides an incisive analysis of local political culture, electoral behavior, and socio-economic factors behind community leadership.

Book Synopsis

This case study of a small town is the basis for a sweeping and broad analysis of the character of American politics and fills an important void in the literature when many of our national leaders are the product of small towns. This text for students in state and local government, urban government, and political sociology uses various methodological strategies and in-depth interviews with elites and average citizens to test nationwide data about the American political scene today and provides an incisive analysis of local political culture, electoral behavior, and socio-economic factors behind community leadership.

Review Quotes

"'Impersonal' structured opinion surveys can help us greatly in understanding developments in American politics. But political scientists on the whole don't spend enough time immersed in the day-to-day exchanges of political life as most citizens experience them, and as a result much of our research has grown too abstract and abstracted. The Political World of a Small Town, based on the kind of insight which comes from the direct, concrete encounters of a trained observer with his subject, is a welcome and valuable addition to our literature."-Everett C. Ladd Executive Director, Roper Center of Public Opinion Research University of Connecticut at Storrs

"This book is in the tradition of in-depth case studies of municipalities dating to the early part of this century. The author breaks new ground by integrating the pluralists' literature with the elitists' literature and the earlier more sociological studies. This important book merits reading by all persons interested in small town politics."- Joseph F. Zimmerman Professor of Political Science State University of New York at Albany

.,." a fine study of the political behavior and the politics of one typical small town. This community, West Point, Virginia, is, according to the author, a mirror image that reflects the greater themes that are a part of American politics. A fascinating book. It is useful to revisit the small town and see how the processes at work there reflect the larger society. It is also useful to see how the grassroots political process is still very similar to that practiced in the country 100 or 150 years ago."-Small Town

?... a fine study of the political behavior and the politics of one typical small town. This community, West Point, Virginia, is, according to the author, a mirror image that reflects the greater themes that are a part of American politics. A fascinating book. It is useful to revisit the small town and see how the processes at work there reflect the larger society. It is also useful to see how the grassroots political process is still very similar to that practiced in the country 100 or 150 years ago.?-Small Town

..." a fine study of the political behavior and the politics of one typical small town. This community, West Point, Virginia, is, according to the author, a mirror image that reflects the greater themes that are a part of American politics. A fascinating book. It is useful to revisit the small town and see how the processes at work there reflect the larger society. It is also useful to see how the grassroots political process is still very similar to that practiced in the country 100 or 150 years ago."-Small Town

About the Author

NELSON WIKSTROM, Associate Professor of Political Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, is the author of Councils of Government: A Study of Political Incrementalism (1977), co-editor of Municipal Government, Politics, and Policy: A Reader (1983), and has written at some length on state and local government and American politics.