This geographic overview of the 2012 general election examines the process at many different stages and locations. Essays treat such topics as electoral structures—reapportionment, the Electoral College, and redistricting—and the key Republican primary elections, notably Iowa, Florida, and Ohio. Some of the 40 contributors (mostly academic geographers or political scientists) address the Obama and Romney campaigns in detail, covering donor contributions, campaign stops, the debates, and newspaper endorsements. Others examine the outcomes from regional, state, county, metropolitan, and suburban perspectives; from the point of view of Hispanic, African American, or Asian American subgroups; or in terms of religion, e.g., how the Bible Belt responded. One chapter is devoted to issues such as congressional voting on the environment, the farm bill, foreign policy, and health care. Specific state and local elections of consequence are also treated, e.g., Scott Brown in Massachusetts or the Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Montana Senate elections. Also covered are the key referenda of 2012, including same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization. The full-color maps are clear and numerous, and the final chapter explains the cartographic methodology. This reference tool will help readers at all levels to quickly isolate the issues of lasting importance. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduates and graduate students; general readers; professionals/practitioners

Choice Reviews

[T]he maps are well done and make this a unique work. These visualizations of county-level election data are unrivalled. . . .The Atlas of the 2012 Elections is highly recommended for students and scholars of political science and to practitioners in the field of politics and government. The pricing is accessible for many libraries – although the work is best suited to academic libraries and public libraries with patrons interested in politics and government.

Reference Reviews

Praise for Atlas of the 2008 Elections:

This beautifully executed work uses maps, charts, and text to effectively analyze and communicate the interplay of political forces and geography in the 2008 elections. The atlas is divided into 10 chapters, each with maps and commentary. Chapters 2 through 6 focus on the presidential election, describing the outcomes of the primaries and caucuses that led to the nominations of Senators Obama and McCain, their election campaigns, media coverage, and endorsements. Election results are analyzed at the state and county levels, then by region, with an emphasis on swing states. Comparisons with the 2004 election are provided. Socioeconomic indicators are examined by focusing on the extremes—the 200 counties with the highest and lowest rankings on selected variables. The resulting maps and narratives effectively portray the effect of variables such as military presence, education, in- and out-migration, employment by economic sector, creative class employment, race, ethnicity, and income on the election outcome. Chapter 7 examines selected campaigns for Senate seats and governorships, while chapter 8 discusses the geography of voting on several state referenda involving controversial issues, including same-sex marriage, abortion, and physician-assisted suicide. Chapter 9 focuses on election results at the congressional-district level and analysis of several important 2009 House votes. Finally, chapter 10 offers 10 brief scenarios about the American electoral landscape. The 200-plus maps are the heart of this work, of course, and they do not disappoint, effectively using a wide range of colors, clear captions, and a variety of mapping styles. The atlas ends with a sampling of bumper stickers and commemorative stamps that evoke nostalgia just three years after the election. The index covers, and effectively differentiates, graphs, maps, tables, and text. Much more than a reference work, this atlas will engage the casual reader as well as the political junkie. Recommended for all public, academic, and middle- and high-school libraries—many libraries will want to add a copy to their circulating collections as well.

Booklist, Starred Review

Praise for Atlas of the 2008 Elections:

Political geographers use three contexts to study elections and political behavior: demographic (men vs. women, young vs. old), where people live (urban vs. rural), and proximity (people tend to make voting decisions similar to those nearby). The 200 maps here describe an election that was historic in that it was the first election of a Presidential candidate of African American descent and was marked by an unprecedented interest and high turnout of voters and widespread use of social media. Each of these ten chapters contains maps and narrative primarily depicting voting patterns at the national level from the primaries to the final returns. There’s even a suggestion that changing Election Day to two days in September would raise turnout.

Library Journal (Reference)

Praise for Atlas of the 2008 Elections:

Brunn (Cities of the World) and coeditors Gerald R. Webster, Richard L. Morrill, Fred M. Shelley, Stephen J. Lavin, and J. Clark Archer—all professors of geography at institutions across the United States—here present ten chapters of geographical and political perspectives on the 2008 U.S. presidential election, with nods to views from other disciplines such as history, economics, and sociology. Also examined from those standpoints are six other races, including important senatorial and gubernatorial quests; eight statewide referenda; four votes of the 111th U.S. House of Representatives; and topics such as primaries, campaigns, general elections, and regional patterns. Each chapter’s accessible narrative is accompanied by several well-rendered maps (for a total of more than 200)—the combination serves to clarify issues of interest in the 2008 election in a way that is unmatched by other works. The editors close with ten scenarios that could positively influence national elections, e.g., public financing of presidential elections and abolishing the electoral college. BOTTOM LINE This title succeeds at making political geography accessible and demonstrates the power of the discipline in relation to questions of social science. It is an excellent addition to most higher education and large public library collections because of its clear, attractive visual style and easily understood information.

Library Journal

Praise for Atlas of the 2008 Elections:

A superb and richly illustrated explanation of the spatial and temporal differences in the U.S. electorate. The maps help to disentangle characteristics of the population from settlement patterns in the United States, which helps answer the perennial question of why the map of state-level election results is so red but the election is so close. It should be read by geographers, geography students, political scientists, the electorate, and the campaign staff of both major political parties.

Geographical Review