Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America. By George C. Edwards III. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004. 224p. $26.00.

George Edwards has filled the breech created by the recent death of Lawrence Longley as a powerful voice within political science opposing the electoral college. In the foreword, Longley's longtime associate, Neal Peirce, notes that one of the great puzzles of the 2000 presidential election was that it failed to prompt a massive public outcry against the system that elevated George W. Bush to the presidency, despite Al Gore's 539,893 positive margin in popular votes. Another great puzzle is the lack of any consensus among political scientists on the issue, as described in Choosing a President (2002), edited by Burdett Loomis and myself.