“In Political Communication and Deliberation, Gastil weaves together seemingly disparate theories, practices and levels of analyses – from the most basic forms of public talk among citizens to exchanges among nation-states – with impressive clarity and insight. The result is a much needed synthesis of the meaning and role of deliberation in contemporary American democracy that will be of great value to students, scholars, and practitioners alike.”

– Michael X. Delli Carpini, University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School for Communication

“Political Communication and Deliberation is a thorough, thoughtful, readable, accessible, and smart book. Gastil’s analyses and cases will surely spark deliberation. It is a gift to citizens, students, scholarly inquiry and the future of our democratic system.”

– Sharon E. Jarvis, University of Texas at Austin Departments of Government and Communication Studies and the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation

“This book synthesizes an astonishing range of contemporary research with élan and clarity. It combines sophistication and a comprehensive coverage of the subject with clear and involving writing. No other text makes the basic issues of deliberative democracy accessible to college students. Gastil successfully communicates not only the challenges of deliberative democracy, but its excitement and enormous promise. Many different courses would benefit from his outstanding scholarship and compelling pedagogy.”

– William Keith, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Department of Communication

“In this remarkable book, Gastil shows how the concept of deliberation can be used to understand and evaluate the functioning of diverse political institutions, from elections to the media. With a superb command of diverse literatures, along with his characteristic good sense and wit, Gastil makes clear just how important talk is to a democratic society. Chock full of novel insights into political dynamics that we often take for granted, Political Communication and Deliberation will be of interest to both fledgling and seasoned students of politics.”

– Francesca Polletta, University of California-Irvine Department of Sociology

“Professor Gastil has been a leading voice in the deliberative democracy movement for the last 15 years, and with this book he has created a wonderful resource that adeptly captures the broad, valuable work being done both inside and outside academia concerning public deliberation and political communication. I hope this book will help spark a whole new generation of courses focused on this critical topic.”

– Martín Carcasson, Colorado State University Department of Speech Communication and the Center for Public Deliberation

“Political Communication and Deliberation is a groundbreaking volume. It advances our theorizing about deliberation, analyzes deliberative practices in a wide range of venues, and offers prescriptions for improving our democracy.”

– Robert Asen, University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Communication Arts

“Gastil has written a very useful and readable book. Full of concrete examples and references to real world politics, students and practitioners alike will find much here to help them navigate the complexities of deliberative democracy.”

– Simone Chambers, University of Toronto Department of Political Science