Larry N. Gerston, professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State University, interacts with the political process as both an author and an observer. As an author, he has written eleven academic books in addition to CALIFORNIA POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT: A PRACTICAL APPROACH, including MAKING PUBLIC POLICY: FROM CONFLICT TO RESOLUTION (1983), POLITICS IN THE GOLDEN STATE (with Terry Christensen, 1984), THE DEREGULATED SOCIETY (with Cynthia Fraleigh and Robert Schwab, 1988), AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: POLITICS, PROCESS AND POLICIES (1993), PUBLIC POLICY: PROCESS AND PRINCIPLES (1987), PUBLIC POLICYMAKING IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY: A GUIDE TO CIVIC ENGAGEMENT (2002), RECALL! CALIFORNIA'S… POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE (with Terry Christensen, 2004), AMERICAN FEDERALISM: A CONCISE INTRODUCTION (2007), CONFRONTING REALITY: TEN ISSUES THREATENING TO IMPLODE AMERICAN SOCIETY AND HOW WE CAN FIX IT (2009), NOT SO GOLDEN AFTER ALL: THE RISE AND FALL OF CALIFORNIA (2012), and REVIVING CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT: POLICIES TO RENEW NATIONAL COMMUNITY (2015). Gerston serves as the political analyst for NBC11, a San Francisco Bay Area television station, where he appears on a regular basis. He has written more than a 125 op-ed pieces for newspapers throughout the nation and speaks often on issues such as civic engagement and political empowerment.