The required text for this class is American Government, James Q. Wilson and John J. Dilulio, Jr. (11th Edition, 2008). It is linked here. I realize - because I have taken many college classes in my own lifetime - that, in some instances, you pay a lot of money for a textbook and, when you take the class, you wind up wondering why you ever did so. Sometimes, depending upon your personal goals, it may even seem rational to go without buying the text until after the first test, just to see how well you can do without it. I understand all of this. I really do. But you should know that the text for this course is "required" in the sense that you will need it to have any chance at all of passing the course. The weekly assignments are directly from the text. If you do not have it, you cannot do them. The Study Guide questions (which are direct preparation for the tests) are based on the text. If you do not have it, you will not be able to answer them. So, pick up the book. You will put it to use. As it also turns out, it is well-written and a good reference book. Who knows, you may actually want to keep it!