Behind the brash showmanship of modern Republican and Democratic party conventions, the vicious electioneering, the spectacle of congressional hearings and the continuous, unforgiving media attention, there lies the world's longest running experiment in practical government, an experiment as confused, contradictory and colourful as the people who run it. This guide offers an up-to-date account of the workings, functions and relations of American institutions, from the Constitution and the Presidency, through Congress and the Supreme Court, to the complex bureaucracy which underpins them all.