Bushmanders & bullwinkles : how politicians manipulate electronic maps and census data to win elections /

Most politically alert Americans no doubt appreciate the fact that the decennial redrawing of congressional district lines is neither neutral in process nor nonpolitical in consequences. These are the dual concerns of this book on congressional redistricting written not by a political scientist or historian, but by a professor of geography at Syracuse University. In terms of process, Monmonier is concerned with the relative priorities that should be given to race, shape (such as compactness and contiguity), and geography. As to consequences, he covers the primary goal underlying most redistricting efforts--protecting incumbents and eliminating opponents. But added to conventional concerns are some new ones. For example, Monmonier examines how redistricting has been changed by computers using geographical informational systems. He also explores the controversies over the 2000 census. He concludes by examining how alternative electoral arrangements such as cumulative voting and multimember districts can offer fair representation and eliminate what he terms "Bushmanders"--the kind of meandering, race-based congressional districts "encouraged by the Department of Justice under the [G.W.] Bush administration"--and "Bullwinkles"--the newer, more bizarrely meandering districts whose silhouettes' resemble the uneven sprawl of bull moose antlers. Highly recommended for upper-division undergraduates and above. E. C. Dreyer University of Tulsa

With the 2000 census completed, congressional districts will soon be redrawn. And how they are redrawn may determine who controls the next Congress. Monmonier instructs readers in the complexities of the remapping process and explores its possible outcomes. According to the author, "the goal of most redistricting efforts" is to protect incumbents, but there are other goals. After the 1990 census, one aim was to increase minority representation then-president Bush's gerrymandering led to the creation of New York City's bizarrely shaped 12th congressional district, which, according to Monmonier, resembles Bullwinkle's antler. It may seem surprising that a Republican administration would want to create districts that would elect minorities (who are less likely than whites to vote Republican), but as Monmonier (How to Lie with Maps), a geography professor at Syracuse University, explains, such districts can, paradoxically, decrease minority representation in Congress by adding white voters to surrounding districts. The author relates the history of political gerrymandering (named after Elbridge Gerry, governor of Massachusetts and later the fifth U.S. vice-president), but he makes his strongest case when talking about the future. Monmonier argues that the U.S. needs to consider other alternatives to racial gerrymandering to ensure better minority representation in Congress (e.g., proportional representation which caused the downfall of Lani Guinier). The fact is that race matters, Monmomier observes; the emphasis should be on how racial electoral conflicts are resolved. (Apr.) Forecast: This is a timely and important book, but too technical for any but devoted cartographers and political junkies. Perhaps its arguments will trickle into public consciousness by way of political journalists rather than through a wide readership. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved