Bibby, John, and Sandy Maisel. Two Parties or More? The American Party System. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2002. An exploration of the strengths, weaknesses, and functions of minor parties in a two-party dominant system.
Brewer, Mark, and Jeffrey Stonecash. Dynamics of American Political Parties. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009. A historical account of the evolution of American political parties.
Chambers, William Nisbet, and Walter Dean Burnham. The American Party Systems, 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1975. An excellent collection of essays discussing the historical stages of development of the political party system.
Epstein, Leon D. Political Parties in the American Mold. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1986. An impressive investigation into political parties’ ability to adapt to changing political, social, economic, and technological conditions.
Gibson, Rachel, Paul Nixon, and Stephen Ward, eds. Political Parties and the Internet: Net Gain? London: Routledge, 2003. A timely collection of articles assessing the positive and negative implications of political parties and the Internet.
Green, Donald, Bradley Palmquist, Eric Schickler, and Giordano Bruno. Partisan Hearts and Minds. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002. A comprehensive study of the party in the electorate that argues for the enduring centrality of partisanship as a political cue for many Americans.
Johnson, Dennis W. No Place for Amateurs. New York: Routledge, 2001. Argues that political consultants, pollsters, media experts, political action committees, fund raisers, and debate coaches have take on the functions of political parties, diminishing parties’ significance in the political process.
Key, V. O., Jr. Politics, Parties, & Pressure Groups, 5th ed. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1964. The classic treatise on political parties covering their history and development, structure, and function.
Lepore, Jill. The Whites of Their Eyes. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010. An examination of the Tea Party in historical context.
Maisel, L. Sandy, and Jeffrey M. Berry. The Oxford Handbook of American Political Parties and Interest Groups. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. A comprehensive handbook defining terms related to political parties and interest groups.
Riechley, A. James. The Life of the Parties. New York: Free Press, 1992. A lively, detailed account of the history of American parties from the founding to the present day.
Riordon, William L. Plunkitt of Tammany Hall. St. James, NY: Brandywine Press, 1994. Political wisdom dispatched by a New York party boss in the 1800s.
Sifry, Micah L. Spoiling for a Fight. New York: Routledge, 2003. A survey of contemporary third parties, including case studies of Ross Perot and Jesse Ventura of the Reform Party and Ralph Nader of the Green Party.
White, John Kenneth, and Daniel M. Shea. New Party Politics. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. An account of the influence of new communications technologies, including the Internet, on American political parties.
