Public Policy Books

This book gives the best break down of the political and economic thoughts that are currently being used in academia. This book gives a general synopsis of all the current thoughts that are out there, as well as those that were prominent in the past. This book does not take sides nor does it argue for a specific ideological path, it just gives the main arguments that each discipline promotes. The book then applies each of these discipline's thoughts to major areas such as labor. This is the perfect book for those that want to learn more about political economy without having to wade through the propaganda of the different ideologies.

Easy to read one does not need a college degree to understand the concepts in this book. The author breaks down these complex ideologies and theories into simple to understand descriptions. Important for all to read, and even the layman can understand fully the key terms that are being thrown around on the nightly news.

A truly superb book! Clark is kinder to economists in the Introduction to the 2nd ed. than he was in the 1st ed., though his criticisms of economists for their pretense of being "value free" and "objective" probably was more accurate in the 1st ed. We'll find unicorns grazing in the flower bed before we find value free and objective economists, or value free and objective science for that matter.

The 1st 2 chapters read very much like a text book and may be difficult to wade through for those with minimal backgrounds in economics and political science. But this should not discourage readers as Clark's discission of the 4 major schools of political economic thought--Classical Liberalism, Radicalism, Classical Conservatism, and Modern Liberalism--is excellent. Though relatively succinct and written at an "introductory" level, Clark does an excellent job of laying out the fundamentals of each of the 4 schools of thought as well as the evolution of thinking within each school through summary discussions of the "architects" of each school. He then offers a brief and very fair critique or each school of thought. For those unfamiliar with the diversity of political-economic thought, which is most people (and, sadly, certainly includes virtually everyone who majored or minored in "business school" economics in college), these 4 chapters alone make the book worthwhile reading .

But for most readers, the real forte of the book comes in Part III in which Clark examines the major issues in political economy today; such as, inflation, unemployment, poverty, inequality, labor, minorities (to include women within the political-economic arena), education, culture, the enviornment, and international trade. Within each of these areas, Clark identifies the arguments of each of the 4 schools of political economic thought in terms of what each sees as the roots of the issue, the nature of the issue today, and what should and/or should not be done about it.

For someone looking for a relatively brief examination of these issues, which gives a genuinely fair presentation of diverse and competing views, there simply is no other book published today. One important strenght of Clark's work is it does explode the myth of economics as a "science", as well as the myths of the discipline of economics being value free and not grounded in ideology, and the myth there is some kind of general consensus among economists.

Regardless of a person's political-economic ideological orientation, readers will become more aware and more appreciative of alternative and competing points of view. And they will be able to see more easily what passes for "economic" reporting and analysis in the news media and by government officials is little more than propaganda--the promulgation of the favored econmic world view as truth. This is extremely important because, even (especially) for those who agree with "mainstream" economic analysis, there are numerous dangerers in falling into the trap of believing the fundamental ideological/value questions of economics and the relationship between the economic and political system have been asked, answered, and agreed upon. Such tunnel vision is a prescription for disaster which Clark's book can help us avoid. So put on the hip boots; wade through the 1st two chapters (heavy but necessary); and then enjoy.

This is an excellent textbook on the British political system. It is thorough, well-organized, and engagingly written. I have used this book in teaching an undergraduate politics course and found it very effective. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in understanding British politics.

This is a very useful and highly readable work on the British political system. It's well-organized and thorough, and the author includes occasional anecdotes that hold the reader's attention. I used this book in teaching a college course on comparative politics, and the students got a lot out of it. I highly recommend it as an all-purpose work on British politics for anyone interested in the subject.

In this philosophical work on budget control politics, Professor Marini explains how the executive budget provided the practical means for the implementation of the administrative state.(AKA: The Nanny State or the The Bureaucratic State.) Marini however, goes beyond other critiques of the administrative state by demonstrating that state theory is in direct opposition to and hostile towards the natural rights theory of American constitutionalism. The question Marini will force careful readers to ponder is this: If the purpose of constitutionalism is the prevention of tyranny, what is the goal of the administrative state?

Dr. Marini, a professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, explores the tensions arising from an "administrative state" within a constitutional regime of separated powers. He concludes that "the federal budget has come to be the principal instrument of politics in the American administrative state" (Preface, p. xii). This book should be included in the core required readings for the study and understanding of public budgeting, administrative theory and administrative bureaucracy.

This book investigates the politics, global political-economy stakes in the Caspian Sea region. The book is a collection of articles to inform the reader about the significance of this trans-national resource which has the potential to change the economic, political and social ventures in central Eurasia. The book tracks the roots and development of the recent global interest in the Caspian Sea oil and pipelines. At the beginning of the new millennium Caspian energy resources have assumed increased geopolitical importance. Once fully exported to world markets, flows of large volumes of Caspian oil through non-OPEC lands may erode the power of OPEC, and therefore politically and militarily supported by the only super power of this century- the USA. This is an excellent survey of the geo-politics of the Caspian oil, painstakingly researched, tightly structured, and elegantly presented.

At the end of the Cold War, Eurasia emerged as the world's axial supercontinent. The lure of enormous reserves in the Caspian Sea region has made the region the focus of fierce competition between multinationals and the powerful states. This book is about this important geo-economic struggle and provides an essential background to understand the recent conflict in the region, from Afghanistan to Iraq. This is the context in which one should be talking about emerging forms of political and economic control, military control and a forceful push for the US-led globalisation. This book is an essential reading on this increasingly important topic.

Marvin Olasky's new book on Katrina stands out among the rest because it is the first to look closely at "what worked" as well as what failed in the days following the storm. It is the first to identify the important role that faith-based efforts played in the recovery, and most importantly, it is the only book to offer real strategies for the future.

Hurricane Katrina was a national disaster that was played out on an international stage. In this age of instant and graphic communication where there is an increasingly thin line between news and entertainment, the whole world watched while the hurricane bore down on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The world watched with sick fascination as pictures of death and devastation flashed across their television screens. Untold millions watched as the New Orleans levies let go, inundating the city with water. And the world saw the response which was both impressive in its speed and frustrating in its disorganization. In The Politics of Disaster, Marvin Olasky, professor of journalism at the University of Texas and editor-in-chief of World magazine, takes a look back at this disaster and looks forward to the inevitable "Katrinas" of the future. "This book examines incidents, some partially preventable, that have a major negative impact on the ability of an entire community to live peaceably."

Olasky dissects the disaster and gazes into the future. He begins by asking what went wrong in New Orleans. He traces the bulk of the problems to two sources. The first is what he calls "Katrina's paperocracy." This sarcastic sentence tacitly describes the paperocracy: "Perhaps New Orleans could have used even more planning and more meetings to unify the FEMA, OEP, LOEP, NHC, MCI, and ESF plans and experience." New Orleans was prepared, on paper at least, to deal with a Hurricane. Various agencies had plans in place. But these plans were contradictory and allowed little flexibility. Fear of overstepping boundaries, fear of litigation, kept the plans from being effective. "The brutal fact is that big government tends toward big bureaucracy, which means elaborate paper flow but the tendency of one misplaced card to bring down the house."

The second source of problems was the media. "National media had become a megaphone for hysteria and blame. Among the casualties were truth, speed in offering help, and progress in both international affairs and domestic relations." Reporters focused undue attention on the traumatic, dramatic events at the Superdome and the Convention Center. Olasky looks at the reality of the crime and violence in the days after the storm and shows how the media stirred hysteria, constantly reporting rumor as fact and fiction as rumor. This hysteria did great damage to the city. For example, reports of armed gangs and snipers were largely false, but relief efforts were put on hold while soldiers and police were dispatched to hunt down these non-existent criminals. As Olasky says, "crying and yelling made for much better ratings than calm assessment of the damages." News became entertainment. A real-life tragedy became little more than an action movie, and millions sat transfixed by it.

The second section of the book discusses what went right. Olasky looks at rescue, relief and recovery and shows how faith-based organizations, primarily the Salvation Army, the Southern Baptist Convention and local churches, by far outperformed any government agency. The absence of a paperocracy allowed these organizations to move quickly and decisively. He looks also at corporations such as Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Fed-Ex which played an integral role in relief efforts and which put the government to shame with their speed, preparedness and organization.

In the third section the author suggests ways of reforming national disaster policy and then, in the fourth, proposes how faith-based organizations can take the lead in post-disaster relief efforts. The book wraps up with a chapter on international disasters and another that looks at how America is equipped to deal with one of three disasters likely to strike her in the future: earthquake, terrorism and pandemic.

The final chapter, "Beyond Worry," provides a biblical basis for not becoming overwhelmed with fear of the future. We must avoid both fatalism and undue worry, and place our confidence in God's providence. "Maybe we need to reawaken that understanding if we are to deal with disasters in ways neither foolhardy nor fearful." We can have full assurance that God is in control, that nothing happens apart from His knowledge, even events that are difficult to understand. "What's hard to accept is that the road to contentment runs through misery." As has been so clearly shown in the death of Jesus Christ, pain and suffering can be terrible means to a wonderful end.

The Politics of Disaster shines some much needed light on the events of Katrina, proving that so much of what we witnessed on television was pure fiction. While the disaster was an act of God, it was made far worse by politics, pride and falsehood. We can only hope and pray that the next time a major disaster strikes America, she will be better prepared and that she will have learned from the mistakes of Katrina, for future disaster is inevitable. Clearly the fruit of much research and much consideration, this is an excellent book and one I enjoyed thoroughly.

Many colleagues had recommended this book to me as a classic in preservation literature. I just finished it and they are right. This book gives enough information that can be generally applied to most any local preservation battle. What is new is that it gives preservationists a clear view about what elected officials respond to when pressed by competing interests. This is what makes this book valuable. It is not a book about how to write a historic district nomination. Rather it is how to get an historic district passed, so that local citizens can regulate their historic resources. The book is all about winning the battle, and acknowledges that compromises may have to be made. The chapters are short and informative. I say a cookbook, because if you follow Schmikle's written instructions, you can reproduce his successes in your own town.

The Politics of Historic Districts: A Primer for Grassroots Preservation (Paperback) by William E. Schmickle (Author) was a suggested read for our Historic Preservation Commission. We all received copies from a benefactor. Every HPC should be so fortunate. The books are now marked in yellow marker pen and bristling with colored paper tabs. The book is full of diplomatic answers to the tough questions and challenges received when you're trying to create an historic district.

If you have always wanted to find out the real scoop behind issues like the integration of undocumented immigrants into the US work force & their effect on the US economy (do they really "steal jobs"? are they "taking jobs Americans don't want"?), what actual legal rights immigrants do and don't have, whether out-of-status ("illegal") immigrants pay taxes (hint: they do), what effects "closed border" policies have on immigrants and the national economy, what immigrants really face as they attempt to "legalize" their status--then this is a book that will rock your world. Guskin & Wilson have gathered together a formidable array of evidence and arguments concerning immigration in the US in a very readable and accessible format based on "questions" that you hear people ask every day.

The book starts by defining terms ("Who are the immigrants? How do we define immigrants? How many immigrants are here? Is there a `new wave' of immigration?, etc."). It then addresses, in easy-to-read but very complete and documented sections, the "root causes" of migration and immigration, the history of the US with respect to refugees and political asylum, facts about how one gets a visa, a "green card," and "legalization" procedures for immigrants, economics, environmental and health issues, crime, deportation issues, "guest worker" and amnesty programs, and the big question behind it all: "Can We Open Our Borders?"

At every turn, Guskin & Wilson answer with logic and clarity the tough questions they have chosen to focus their discussion--questions that emerge from people's "real fears" about immigrants and immigration, "fears about jobs, wages, and changing communities." Their forthright answers will surprise you sometimes. Reading parts of the book aloud to a friend, I got to the section entitled: "Do immigrants bring down wages?" My friend began to argue before I'd even started reading, that of course they would claim that they did not, but that in fact it was the lowest-stratum workers on the scale who were displaced by low-paid immigrant workers. But not only do Guskin & Wilson acknowledge that wages are depressed by the use of undocumented workers, they add that: "Although these numbers [competition from immigrant workers may have lowered the wages of the 10 percent of US workers who had dropped out of high school by about 5 percent between 1980 and 1994] are fairly small in terms of the US workforce, they are a serious matter for working people who are trying to survive on a low income. ... Many of the people affected are African Americans or U.S.-born Latinos." (p. 69)

My friend was surprised at this straightforward answer. But what I found valuable about the book's discussion was that it did not stop at that point. Guskin & Wilson continued to place the phenomenon into a larger economic perspective, pointing out that the major reasons for the lower pay rates for undocumented workers (immigrants with documents earn about the same rate as US citizens) are driven by their status issues--that is, they are easily threatened and bullied by their bosses, they tend not to claim their legal rights for fear of being deported, and they are thoroughly vulnerable in a way that other workers are not.

In order to stop the "race to the bottom" for low-wage workers, they argue, we need to "try to improve pay for unauthorized workers so their low wages no longer exert downward pressure on wages in general." This would be vastly more effective than the ambivalent "crack-downs" we have seen recently, or stronger enforcement of immigration laws. After the amnesty of 1986, "real wages of the newly legal workers rose an average of 15 percent." If this happened now, wages would likely rise for all workers, especially those in jobs where many workers are undocumented. The answer to unnaturally low wages is to raise the wages, give workers their legal rights, and encourage them to organize with other workers to gain a higher standard, of course. This is common sense, but it has not been a point commonly articulated in discussions about US immigration.

The discussion of the possibility of an Open Borders policy is particularly thought-provoking and useful. The authors, relying on common sense again as well as the data they have collected and analyzed, examine real-life examples of open border policies, and indicate clearly what would need to be done to make them work in the current situation in the US.

Guskin & Wilson support their arguments and explanations with an impressive range of sources, from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE, formerly INS) documents and explications of policies, the extensive scholarly literature on immigration policy, texts of laws, legal precedents and court decisions, committee and subcommittee documents from all branches of government and administration, and fact sheets and press releases from every governmental and non-governmental group imaginable, out to articles and coverage of particular events in the international press (Europe, South America, BBC, and more, including internet publications).

The suggested readings and resources are a very useful collection, and the list is expanded and updated at their book's website, [...].

I cannot say enough good things about this timely, clear, and informative book. It fights and breaks myths and stereotypes, cuts through the often foggy rhetoric of immigration policy, and encourages readers to learn more, to break the discussion barriers and openly address the issues in public, and to act on behalf of (im)migrants everywhere--which is, in the end, the same as acting to improve our own lives, communities, and the world.

This book is easy to use, one theme per chapter, with about a dozen questions answered in each, so you can quickly go to your weak spots or find needed info. What I most appreciated was how it confronts questions many of us are afraid to ask. One chapter goes right to the point with "Do immigrants hurt our economy?" while the last chapt does the big one, "Can we open our borders?" (There are 12 chapts.) My big fear was that the writers' answers to the questions would be airy lefty platitudes. I was surprised to see that the writers actually have concrete evidence from serious studies and research, statistical when needed, that prove what we've wished to be true but often were afraid to ask. They give the citations and references. It's solid. I had no idea there was so much bulletproof info. behind us. Thankfully, the authors keep each answer short. It's really practical.

The Table of Contents gives a good sense of the issues covered. I finally found it on-line. Type in thepoliticsofimmigration then a dot and the letters o-r-g without the dashes.

Reviewed by Kathleen Dowdell for Reader Views (6/06)

For people who love the city of Chicago or who are interested in the intricate details of how cities are laid out to accommodate diverse activity, this book was meant for you. This is a well written and thoroughly researched documentation of the history of zoning in the city of Chicago. Zoning, regulations that separate residential and industrial activity, is a complex process whose idea germinated from Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago, which supported the need for the city to control its cultural and economic identity. After years of planning and drafting, the Chicago City Council adopted the zoning ordinance on April 5, 1923, thus the beginning of the development of Chicago as we see it today.

As zoning needs changed in the 1950's, planners sought to establish Chicago as a world- class city and used zoning to do just that. They began to promote high-rise, high-density office and residential development based on population forecasts which predicted dramatic growth in the city. As controversial as zoning became over the years, the city gained much experience in working with developers, residents, and grass-roots organizations that wanted a say in how their neighborhoods were being developed. Skyscrapers were shooting up everywhere and many were concerned they would smother the openness of the retail districts and views of the lake. Over the years, height and volume limits increased making Chicago what it is today, the architectural genius and much coveted work/leisure city of the world.

Published in 2006, "The Politics of Place: A History of Zoning in Chicago" gives a brief overview of the early development of Chicago from the time it incorporated as a village in 1833 through today. There are some interesting aerial views of the city as well as residential and commercial developments. This would make a nice gift for an architectural historian or people who work in commercial or residential planning and development.

A Cook's Guide To Chicago: Where To Find Everything You Need And Lots Of Things You Didn't Know You Did by Marilyn Pocius is expanded and updated second edition of an informed and informatively detailed exploration into the great city of Chicago's tasty delicacies and dishes. Inclusive of recipes ranging from Yucca With Marilyn's Mojo; Genna's Spinach Risotto; and Lee's Borscht to Pickled Pink; Double-Ginger Rhubarb Chutney; and Chef Tim's Vietnamese-Style Pork Tenderloin, A Cook's Guide To Chicago offers readers not only the addresses, histories, and tastes of remarkable restaurants, but easy-to-follow and "kitchen cook friendly" recipes from them as well. A Cook's Guide To Chicago is very strongly recommended for all readers with an interest in the culinary arts and for those wishing to discover the most intriguing culture of the amazing Chicago area.

a brillant, insightful exposition of a fascinating subject -- a must read for historians and all persons interested in government regulation.

This engaging and colorful account of the history of U.S. food regulation provides excellent perspective for better understanding the recent spate of high-profile, food regulation trade disputes between the U.S.and Europe, and within Europe, such as the "Banana Wars", "British Beef", and "Genetically modified corn" incidents. A must-read for anyone who who has interest in the unique nature and psychology of government actions in dealing with issues around "our daily bread". This book appears to have been subjected to a very rigorous "peer review" and I expect it will become a classic reference work.

A possible way out; formalizing housing informality in Egyptian cities.

Soliman (architecture, U. of Alexandria, Egypt) assesses the growth of informal housing in the Egyptian cities of Greater Cairo, Alexandria, and Tanta, arguing that the cities' inhabitants have captured great amounts of wealth in land. He first examines the development of informal urban land arrangements, exploring the various actors involved. He argues that the underutilized fixed wealth of housing could be unleashed for capitalist development if the government were to formalize property rights with legal property titles, thereby allowing the poor to convert fixed housing assets into liquid form.

Soliman, Ahmed M.
A possible way out; formalizing housing informality in Egyptian cities.

Univ. Press of America 2004. New. ISBN: 0761827021. Soliman (architecture, U. of Alexandria, Egypt) assesses the growth of informal housing in the Egyptian cities of Greater Cairo, Alexandria, and Tanta, arguing that the cities' inhabitants have captured great amounts of wealth in land. He first examines the development of informal urban land arrangements, exploring the various actors involved. He argues that the underutilized fixed wealth of housing could be unleashed for capitalist development if the government were to formalize property rights with legal property titles, thereby allowing the poor to convert fixed housing assets into liquid form.