"About: - Why do we need politics? This is a common question, from both naèive observer and disillusioned adult. This book answers the universal query by demonstrating that politics is a very human system, not some bizarre mechanism foisted upon an unwilling public by its overlords. - Most importantly, Ed's central thesis is built around the truth that everyone is a politician. Yes, even the readers of this book, despite not being eligible to vote, hold influence over how politicians function. - No matter how odd, leaden, or contradictory its methods can appear, almost everything that governs politics is driven by human tendencies, needs, and responses. - Using nine chapter essays, Edward Keenan explains these governing principles: the power of public opinion, the methods of rhetoric, the difference between policy and process, the reasons why politicians "lie." - Keenan uses numerous anecdotes and real-life case studies from across history, the continent, and the globe to bring life to these ideas. - The end goal is to bring the beginnings of independent thought and curiosity about how a government works...and doesn't work. And to understand the challenges of governing a large society, one that often filled with rifts and misunderstandings. - Back matter contains a glossary, index, and sources. This book will be an excellent research and supplementary reading tool for any civics and government section. - Fully illustrated in colour by Julie McLaughlin."--