Keeping the republic draws students into the study of american politics showing them how to think critically about who gets what and how while exploring the twin themes of power and citizenship students are pushed to consider how and why institutions and rules determine who wins and who loses in american politics and to be savvy consumers of political information. In keeping the republic authors christine barbour and gerald wright draw students into the study of american politics teaching them to think critically about who gets what and how and exploring the twin themes of power and citizenship readers are pushed to consider how and why institutions and rules determine who wins and who loses in american politics and to be skeptical of received wisdom every element of the text is crafted to provide the tools students need to be thoughtful . Keeping the republic draws students into the study of american politics showing them how to think critically about who gets what and how while exploring the twin themes of power and citizenship students are pushed to consider how and why institutions and rules determine who wins and who loses in american politics and to be savvy consumers of political information. keeping the republic the essentials 8e is the goldilocks of the introductory american politics textbook market the authors do an excellent job of weaving the themes of power and citizenship throughout the book and i appreciate the fact that wright and barbour emphasize analysis and evaluation throughout their book. Keeping the republic draws students into the study of american politics showing them how to think critically about who gets what and how while exploring the twin themes of power and citizenship students are pushed to consider how and why institutions and rules determine who wins and who loses in american politics and to be savvy consumers of political information