John R. Hibbing is the Emeritus Foundation Regents University Professor of Political Science and Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has been named a Guggenheim Fellow, a NATO Fellow in Science, and a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Kevin B. Smith is the Leland and Dorothy Olson Professor of Political Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is an award-winning teacher and the author of nine previous books, including The Ideology of Education: The Market, the Commonwealth, and America's Schools and Analyzing American Democracy.

John R. Alford is Professor of Political Science at Rice University. He has published in areas as diverse as coal mine safety, pro-natalist policies in Eastern Europe, and congressional elections. He has also been active as a consultant and expert witness in the area of redistricting and election law.

1. Living With the Enemy 2. Getting Into Bedrock With Politics 3. There Is No Normal 4. Drunk Flies and Salad Greens 5. Do You See What I See? 6. Different Slates 7. Politics Right Down to Your DNA 8. The Origin of Subspecies 9. Conclusion: Groom This! Appendix: The Left/Right 20 Questions Game