Public Policy Books

This is a very important, finely edited text. A rare resource for those concerned about policies affecting endangered species. It's clear, accessible, and well-organized.

Professor Bernhard has written a lucid yet dense explanation of phenomenon that, while much commented on, remains unexplained: Central Bank Independence. Considering the relationship between legislators, parties and central bank independence, Bernhard inserts politics back into a topic where it was previously neglected.

A valuable contribution to political economy and comparative politics.

well i thought this book was one of the most easyest ones to read. It saved my grades! Hope you all find it as helpful as i did.

We used this text in graduate school in a class on planning and community development. The text is relatively easy and enjoyable to read. The author does an excellent job of describing complex procedures in an understandable way.
Very recommended for anyone who needs or wants an introduction to planning mechanisms in almost any field!

I am extremely impressed with the thought and care that the author has put into this work. As volatile a subject as the "Child Sexual Abuse War" can be, he has managed to maintain an objective and unbiased look at the work thus far that can only help the effort to get to the truth and elucidate some kind of justice. He covers both sides of the issue in a way that allows you to make up your own mind, even if you don't agree with the person who read the book before or after you. It is factual and documented with an appendix in the back that will open doors of understanding you won't find anywhere else. The work is far from complete, but that is not the author's fault. The fault lies in a world that is trapped within the gridlock that the author describes. At least maybe by looking at it this clearly, we can do something about it. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the book is out of print. Buy it used. I don't know why anyone would sell it, but I see that they are. It's a treasure. Get it while you still can.

The second in the series of Bauwelt Berlin Annuals. This book contains the building events which shaped 1997 in Berlin. I use all the Bauwelt books regularly because they are so thorough in their presentation. Plans, sections, construction site photos and interviews or perspectives from the everyday man that humanize the otherwise mechanical process of construction. I look at different projects each time I open the book. The major projects in this book POTSDAMER PLATZ (Renzo Piano, Arata Isozaki), Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum (<--There is also a whole comprehensive book on this building), Foster's Reichstag, Aldo Rossi's Housing, The Phillip Johnson House, SPITTELMARKT, Hotel Adlon (Patzschke, Klotz und Partner, AIC, Ezra Attia and AD Living Design), The "New Suburbs" of Franzoesisch-Buchholz, Neu-Karow, Aalemannufer, Staaken, Rudower Felder and Altglienicke. Don't miss the timeline in the back for the day to day feel of Berlin, and the comprehensive list of new buildings in the second half of the book.

Pilkey argues that barrier islands move, whether we like it or not, and that attempts to stabilize them nearly always make things worse. A wonderful read, especially for your next beach vacation. Pilkey is regarded as something close to the devil incarnate by coastal developers and their allies

Prior to the 1973 Supreme Court decision granting women unrestricted abortion access during the first three months of pregnancy, some states had decided to take initiative in revisiting 19th century abortion restrictions/prohibitions and discarding the now-worthless laws.

Because the first anti-abortion laws were passed prior to the development of antiseptic surgery/antibiotics, and had actually led to an increase in organized crime's involvement (eager to profit off of women's desperation) the statues could not accomplish any policy objective by the mid 20th century. Coincidentally, fetal life had never been among the concerns of the original legislators.

Doctors could attempt to treat illegal abortion complications, but paradoxically could not offer women services which would prevent the horrific medical crises to begin with.

Consequently, a patchwork of reform laws began developing under the recommendation of the American Law Institute, the Clergy Consultation Services, and fair minded legislators who were navigating realization the laws had to be reformed, with uncertainty of how far those reforms should go. Unlike the women's liberationists of the later 1960's who framed abortion as a woman's right and conversely positioned denial as a tool of women's subordination, the professionals involved in these cases also reasoned their control of the process would remove the social stigma then attached to abortion. If women could be screened prior to undergoing an abortion, only virtuous women would receive the procedure and society would be preserved.

However easy to disparage their intentions from the vantage point of a self-identified 'third wave' feminist who has never known a world without legalized abortion, I recognize their involvement in the policy process as a critical step in obtaining an eventual nationwide repeal ruling.

As the futility of conservative reform statues and widely varying laws became apparent, newly minted reproductive rights activists became less willing to accept anything less than a standardized national repeal.

With the Bush administration openly vowing to turn back the clock on women's rights (and the obvious willingness of some state legislatures in helping to achieve that goal) case studies such as these will prove to be an indispensable resource for scholars and activists alike. Understanding our past helps prevent future returns.

This book was vary helpful in a project I was working related whith town devastation and it rebuilt. I liked the way the authors presents the history of Beirut, how the city was developed and destroyed and how was the process of it reconstruction. The book is full illustrated with the correct amount of colorfull pictures and project drawings of the highest quality. Excuse my english, but it isn't my language.

It's an incredibly thorough report of a depressing reality and I think I understand why no one has written a review yet. Whoever has read this may feel dejected about its revelation that people with the power to hide or distort scientific findings that would probably turn consumers against their money-making products are willing and able to destroy the most honest scientists and subvert the least honest ones. People with this power may be corporate policy setters of dangerous products, their lawyers, the scientists they are able to subvert into science-bending endeavors, and many others ... including personnel in government agencies, which further includes one I've long suspected ... the National Institute of Health. That agency appears to have made efforts to correct the problem that I call the "we gotta do what will satisfy the pharmaceutical guys" but I'm not sure such efforts will work permanently there ... or anywhere else. Obsessive drive for materialistic acquisition has blotted out concern for other humans' welfare in so many of our powerful people, whether they be entrepreneurs, scientists, legal wizards, politicians, or whatever. I'm finding myself doubting the likelihood of behavioral reform among the corruptible people described in this book.