Politics Government Books

This book does a very good job of exposing the decision making process in general. The the writer explores the subject of how people respond to the messages of politicians and describes numerous studies on the effectiveness of political campaigns. However, the insights that one can gain from these observations go much beyond the political sphere. The insights reveal the very nature of how people respond to external messages.

As the writer mentions, it is not just democrats who overrate the rational aspects of decision making process. The flawed thinking is shared by many others in the field of marketing, sales, general management and simply put - in every day life. The book shows how people are inherently wired to make decisions based on the emotional impact of the message to one's "value system". Once the decision is made, people tend to rationalize it by giving "rational reasons" for the decision. The writer does a brilliant job of showing how to structure the messages to make them effective.
This is a very valuable book for any one interested in honing one's communication skills in general. Especially useful for people in the field of sales and marketing.

This book is an excellent read for those political junkies who are following this election day by day.

Drew Westen draws on both basic neuropsych research and political research. He is not always clear which of the two he is using in his conclusions. This is a well written book by a committed Democrat. His analysis of why people vote for particular candidates is interesting and believable. Yep, this is why they made Socrates drink the hemlock. A must read for all who hope to vote in an informed way or who intend to run for office.

As a psychotherapist and author, I'm amazed at how Westen makes such a complex, well researched subject so compelling and fascinating. I am rarely a nonfiction reader out of my genre of psychology, but this book is a pleasure to read. Westen explains how the parts of the brain work together and helps us easily understand the role of emotion in deciding not just the fate of the nation but everything political. I have recommended this book to all my friends.

The Republican Party, to its credit, has exploited this fundamental principle of politics for decades, while many Democratic candidates have retreated into a "safe" strategy of not offending the electorate.

This has lead to an extremely unhealthy state of one-party dominance at many levels of government.

Westen utilizes brain science and research to prove that taking a clear stance on a controversial issue, even if it is the "wrong" stance in the view of the pollsters, will garner more votes that hiding behind a staid shield of non-offensive double-talk.

Bob Woodward once again shows his ablity as a writer. His book is not partisan and clearly states the background regardin Bush' decision to take the country to war. It is easy to read and quite informaive regardless of your political ideology. I would highly recommend it to those who don't feel they get the facts from the newspapers or the Sunday morning tald shows.

Either Woodward is making this book up as he goes along or he feels the best way to communicate Bush's character is to tell as many lies as he possibly can. Beginning in the prologue (xiii), we are told that in the mid 1970's, the CIA fresh from turning most of Latin America into military dictatorships, "was at perhaps its lowest point." On page 3, we are told that although George W. Bush is not known to have shown up for duty with the Texas Air National Guard (all the records of this Congressman's son's service, if there were any, having mysteriously disappeared) he learned to fly the F-102 jet (and why not, many a movie has shown us that a child can do it first time out of the box.)

I'd relay more lies had I not stopped reading.

This is an excellent study of how bureaucratic politics can deform the foreign policy process. You don't have to agree with Woodward's conclusions to benefit from this book.

Without a doubt this book should be required reading for every American. In clear and precise detail Bob Woodward lays out how the Bush administration mislead this country into a war with Iraq. And that isn't even the only provocative detail in this astounding book. It's filled with astonishing details about the way the Bush administration operated during the run up to the war and during the war. An important book that every American NEEDS to read.

Woodward writes a scathing expose of Don Rumsfeld and the mistakes that led us to war. I found myself smiling wryly time and again, shaking my head that there could be so much incompetence in a group of supposed professionals. Again, makes one wonder about the true reasons for going to war in Iraq.

The advantage of using any Barron's book is that the problems in it are a lot harder than those you'll see on the actual exam. Review books are not meant to be textbooks, so they will give a general overview of the course. After 14 AP exams so far (7 more this year), I've never walked into an exam where College Board's questions were harder than Barron's.

The details from the publisher appropriately say "general review" because it is SO general. The details of US government that you really need for this test are absent from the review (come on, it's an AP test, they're looking for college-level understanding) and the review questions at the end of each chapter and the practice tests are completely based on almost word for word the book material and were so much weirder/harder than the actual test. I don't think this book helped me at all for the test, and unfortunately I had to buy it for class anyway or I never would've wasted my money.

I think if you want a 3 on the test- review only with this book. If you want a 4/5 use your textbook extensively (like I did) or get a much better book.

I recommend this product for preparation for the AP Govt and Politics exam. Much better than the 06-07 version.

Pretty comprehensive and clear. seems to have all you need. it was great, but I give it a 4 instead of a 5 because there was a handful of stuff that I don't remember seeing in here that was on the 2008 AP test.

Really helped prepare for the AP exam. The practice tests are key. They really get you a good feel for the exam. Princeton Review does a great job.

This was required for college and read several chapters before dropping the class because of an inferior professor, while there maybe several stories and versions of what happened in American History, the one thing that has changed my life from reading this book is that, people who call people by other names (not referring to nicknames) is traced back to the slave period when slave owners re-named their slaves as an act of control or hate. I no longer tolerate anyone calling me anything other than my name as I know know it's a hostile act against me.

This book though old but was a revelation for me. I have become a huge fan of Mr. Noam Chomsky and by reading this book (still reading) of Mr. Edward Herman. The best about the book is that the work is mostly based on Hard Facts and proved by relevant documents etc. This also terrifies one that how media is changing minds and achieving something which could not be possible that easily. My limited knowledge on the subject is holding me to write more. WONDERFUL WORK.

Faisal Khan

Quite simply, this book will open your eyes to alot that goes on right in front of them. Many would say this is a conspiracay theory, but we know conspiracies do happen. Chomsky highlights just how the government can assert its control on an unknowing populace. Nietzsche said that if you are raising a population of slaves, it would be madness to teach them to be the masters; I recommend that anyone who does not want to live their life as an automoton, that is, if you are someone who questions things and does not simply accept things on blind faith, read this book. (I give this book only four stars because there are other topics which capture my attention much more; but nonetheless, if you only read a handful of books in your life, this should be one of them!)

Though I have not finished this book yet (I'm taking my time to understand many of Chomsky's more subtle points -- as usual) it seems just as applicable to me today as when he wrote it. However, I would love to see a follow up book discussing how the technologies that have matured since he wrote this have affected his main point.

Chomsky, if you're reading ... please write an updated version. I'd like to see what you think of people like google, the web 2.0 movement and the way many people are now getting their information from even more questionable sources and how large media conglomerates can now plant information on the Web even more easily than they could broadcast it on the air before.

You'll never see the mass media the same again. This book shouldn't make you hate the evening news or your local paper, but it will force you to see them with a more critical eye. A healthy dose of skepticism.

Hey folks,

If you're out there considering buying this book, please know that it might prove to be one of the most important books you'll ever read.

You might realize that our government isn't always straightfoward with us. You might even have noticed the lack of objective and complete news reporting that is prevailing with the media these days. This book will show you how our government, large corporations, and the media work in concert to keep Americans in the dark about things that affect our most vital interests. It sounds like a conspiracy theory, I know--because that's the reaction we've all been conditioned to have about material like this. However, every fact in this book is verifiable. Please take the time to read it!!

I also highly recommend Blowback by Chalmers Johnson.

Read these books--learn to see past the propaganda we are inundated with daily!

I am very pleased with all the products I purchased through Amazon.com. Amazon has consistently been reliable, efficient, and reasonably priced. I recommend Amazon.com for all your shopping needs.

I highly recommend this history series for kids of a wide age range. 5-13ish. The kids just don't get this kind of exposure to the world and its history in traditional Public Schools anymore. You will really want to get the book to go with this if really get into it. (to create a time line and see maps and so on...)
We Love this!

I have the Story of the World book and workbook, and I thought having it on CD might be nice for the car. I have very much enjoyed the smooth voice of Jim Weiss in several other story cds I have by him. So it made sense to try this one.
Sadly, Jim sounds rushed in this cd. I think that kids will just space out much of what he says, because there are so many facts packed in at such a fast pace. I wish he would have taken his time, and ambled through history at a leisurely pace rather than the slightly tense and frenzied reading that he has done here. I felt compelled to take rushed notes, and stop and replay - not appropriate for this age!

Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer is incredible. It is an entertaining, informative, spectacular way, to a journey through history.
My daughters ages 8 and 6 love to listen at home or in the car. I am drawn in to listening as well. Thanks!

After reading all the reviews about SOTW I was hesitant to buy it. We are a very conservative, Christian, homeschooling family and some of the reviews made me wonder if this would be the best choice for our family. I decided to get the book form of Mystery of History and the audiobook of SOTW to use as a supplement. I haven't opened our Mystery of History yet (though I will soon...) but we finished the whole set of CD's for volume one of SOTW and will start volume 2 tomorrow. We listen to it in the car as we travel. My 7 and 8-year olds beg to hear more history every time we get in the car. My 4 and 5-year olds get a lot out of it as well.

I think listening to someone else read the book makes it more fun for all of us. It helps bring the stories to life. We have all learned so much about ancient history and I'm so grateful. Sure, we've learned a lot of ancient myths and about many of the Greek gods and all, but that is all a part of the history of the various civilizations, and we don't have any trouble explaining to our children what is true and what is make-believe or just plain false.

I would highly recommend this set to any family that wants to increase their knowledge of ancient history.

This book has a lot of information, however it is outdated due to many recent occurrences of terroism that has happened since this book dated back in 1996. Bruce Hoffman is a excellent author, please get the updated version, 2006.

Simply put, this should be the first book one gets when they approach terrorism. Every academic who has written anything about terrorism has quoted him. That should tell you something. If you want a more detailed review, read one of the many 5-star reviews. To the guy who gave this book 2-stars, where are you a student? If you had to use a dictionary then you shouldn't be studying this complex issue to begin with.

Other great books on the subject include but not limited to- Terrorism in Context- Crenshaw; Inside Al-Qaeda- Gunaratna; Ghost Wars- Coll; Origins of Terrorism- Reich. Anything by Robert Pape esp Dying to Win & Bombing to Win(this one isn't about terrorism but it's the best study of how effective aerial bombing campaigns are- very related I would say.)

I picked up Bruce Hoffman's book at the suggestion of an associate who knew of my interest in history and influences therein. Mr. Hoffman's experience and understanding have produced a treatment on the mind of the terrorist and terrorist organizations - both domestic and foreign - that is, in my opinion, unmatched. INSIDE TERRORISM will hold a permanent place in my library, and receives my highest recommendation.

Other Suggest Reading:

Ku Klux Klan America's First Terrorists Exposed (Shadow History of the United States)

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

I live in Israel. We live with terrorism daily and I have been following the events worldwide in the news for many years.

This book does an excellent job of summarizing the history of various terror groups, their changing techniques, failures and successes.

HHG

I found this book to be quite enlightening as well as fascinating to read. Refusing to engage in the political rhetoric surrounding terrorism, the author, Bruce Hoffman, (an expert in counter-terrorism at West Point as well as a professor at Georgetown)follows the evolution of terrorism as a means of calling world attention to forgotten or underpublicized plights of the disenfranchised in order enact political change. This is accomplished through what he terms the "internationalization of terrorism" where terrorists enact "major media events" by the targeting of symbols of power. He examines the refinement of terrorist tactics by the Palestinian organizations, and refutes the idea that terrorism is ineffective, pointing out how the Palestinian cause has gained worldwide recognition and (frequently) sympathy through the advertisement of their cause via use of terrorist events. He investigates the role of the media in this process, and develops the hypothesis that part of what has occurred leading to the current state of affairs is, like an addict, the terrorist organization needs increasingly horrific and intense events to gain the attention that will put it in the media spotlight. This is supported by how the news of "car bombings" in Bagdad start to sound like weather reports--because they are a daily occurance and fail to engender the level of horror and outrage that they should, and would have, just a few years ago. This is an excellent analysis of the historical developments that form the basis of present-day terrorism, and Hoffman is only able to do this by putting aside the rhetoric of "evil" which only confounds our capacity to understand and effectively address the threats of terrorist activity.

This short book provides a competent overview of the China melamine pet food scare of two years ago. As a dog owner who lived through it and searched for updates on what was safe and what wasn't, I was very interested in Nestle's investigation and findings after the fact. While I was reading it, the news broke about the same kind of poisoning in baby formula in China. Had I not seen that, I might have believed that once the perpetrator of the pet food poisoning was executed!! the poisoning would stop, but no. As Nestle expertly explains, despite the lack of safely involved with worldwide food production, the United States is woefully short of regulatory and safety inspectors for these products as they come into the country and are combined with other ingredients and then distributed to companies who make food of all kinds and specifically pet food. Maybe, pet food companies will take more care in their formulations, however, all pet owners should take the time to investigate the manufacturer of the food they use and pay extra for the better brands of pet food. Nestle lists the brands that had to be recalled for both cat and dog food in the back of her book.

I found the information in this book very interesting. It is packed full of information that kept me turning the pages - I finished this book in a little over a day and am still processing the information. There is information in here that I had never heard and I followed the recall very closely.

I think that all animal owners owe it to themselves to read this book just to see how loose the pet food industry was/is. Pretty appalling stuff.

I went to school for international business and found the material regarding the China/USA import/export very interesting and think everyone can take something away from this book.

This book is a page-turner - and not just because it shows all the twists and turns that went on behind the scenes in the pet food recall. It is an eye-opener about the lack of government oversight or pet food company responsibility for what goes into pet food or how it is made. Just as the title makes clear, this is not a book about pet food manufacture and ingredients - that is the book the author was working on when the pet food recall happened. THAT book is forthcoming. This book is exactly what the title says: it's about the politics of pet food manufacture and sales and how our chihuahuas have been the sentinels as a wake-up call that our human food industry is no better. The author is neutral and balanced and generously gives benefit-of-the-doubt to the various players in this dangerous food drama, a fiasco that still haunts many of us with dogs and cats. Nestle's lack of judgmentalism is actually great because it allows you as the reader to discover how it all worked and bring your own moral indignation to the table, as it were. This book is like following a detective looking for an explanation of the economic,business, political and social elements that conspired to bring about a horrible Perfect Storm of tainted food. I was absolutely riveted by the meticulous research that went into unraveling the mystery and uncovering the obfuscation by many of the participants. As the author of "The Dog Bible" I can attest how hard some information is to come by, especially in nutrition, so I was so impressed by this book that I invited the author, Marion Nestle, onto my live NPR radio show DOG TALK on September 27th. You can sign up for the free podcast or listen live online and decide for yourselves. I say she's done a brilliant job and given us a really significant heads-up for ourselves as well as our pets. I will wager that you'll click on "buy now" once you've heard her talk.

Marion Nestle's book "Pet Food Politics" is about the pet food recall of 2007. For those of you who don't remember, there was a massive recall of pet food last summer. The recall began with cat food manufactured by Menu Foods (but sold under many other brand names including Iams, Nutro, and Hill's), but expanded into a large number of cat and dog foods under many different brand names. It became clear after the recall that the problem occurred because an unscrupulous Chinese supplier sold a mixture of wheat flour, cyanuric acid, and melamine as wheat gluten. As a pet owner, the recall inconvenienced me (I had to change my cats' foods). As a parent, I became greatly concerned about what I was feeding my daughter and began seriously looking at where the food I bought was produced. I bought this book because I wanted to better understand what happened.

I knew the basic story here, but did not know about the total number of pets who died (likely in the thousands), the reasons why melamine was substituted for the wheat gluten (cheap melamine looks like expensive protein when tested using standard industrial tests), nor what happened to the contaminated pet food (it was fed to livestock and made it into the human food chain).

This book is a fast read and is clear, well written, and very interesting. Unfortunately, it is too brief. I wish that Ms. Nestle had taken this opportunity to explain more about the pet food industry: its history, the major players, the processes used to make pet food. The story is fascinating, but it feels more like a New Yorker article than a book.

I would recommend this book to someone who was interested in the pet food recalls, though I think that most readers should start with other books about food production. Specifically, I would recommend Michael Pollan's excellent The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals or Marion Nestle's own What to Eat before reading this book, to get a feel for how food is produced and to understand some of the politics involved.

One might assume a book with this title would be ironic. But I forget--Republicans aren't funny. Ah.
Read the other reviews to see what kinda folks gravitate toward this book. That's the best review. I respect Nugent's music and hoped he'd talk more about that--but poor guy, he just don't cut the mustard in that regard. But if you want an earfull of his adolescent phallic fixation with firearms and the notion that we need more of 'em--then belly up to the bar. This is the book for you.

In cahoots, apparently, with his editor, The Mighty Nuge immediately disqualifies himself from knowing standard English expression with his treatise on Nuge-speak. OK, fair enough. If you love The Nuge like I love the Nuge--you expect this.

Read it. But don't expect him to say anything intelligent about guns or how to reduce gun violence--about which this book conveniently contains a dearth of acknowledgment. Ted tends to see things as if everybody in his grand, free republic is situated like himself. His prescriptions hardly fit most Americans. This is why his fans tend to resemble him. The Nuge seems not to have a basic grasp of the diversity or complexity of our society, and he's too old now to get started on that.

It's best to let Ted blast away. For a man his age with nearly no hearing in one ear--and absolutely no hearing in the other, who maintains a healthy physique, keeps on a'rockin' as he does--just let the guy be. Although he hates them damn liberals when they say it, Ted's right about our disconnectedness with nature, our need to get elbows-deep into a gutpile in the middle of a forest somewhere. On that point--Ted's words resonate here.

For him and his little coterie, God, Guns, & Rock'N'Roll is a suitable answer if--if you limit yourself to dumb questions.

I enjoy hunting.

I've voted Republican almost exclusively.

Ted Nugent is no hero. If you knew the revolting lengths he went to in order to avoid military service, you'd agree.

Ted Nugent is no moral role model. If you knew about his exploits with underage girls, you'd agree.

What we have here is an aging minor rock n' roll personality whose career was coming to an end by the early 90's. He merely reinvented himself to take advantage of the rising right-wing tide that also sees other military service avoiders like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and Michael Weiner-Savage as pillars of virtue and wise political sages.

Please, people...

Get a clue.

Those of us who actually did serve in the military see these men for the jokers they truly are. If the radical right wing can find no better spokesmen than these, then it must be a strong comment on the defects in their message.

Anyone who buys into Nugent's "patriot" hype is somehow totally misinformed. He was a well-known draft dodger back in the Vietnam era. All of his flag-waving is nothing but a publicity stunt. As for his big talk about values, he has the morals of an alleycat.

Why is it that the radical right-wing these days has to promote chickenhawks and hypocrites as their spokesmen?

Why do so many otherwise fully functioning, well-meaning Americans buy into their bull?

If you want to promote this clown's masquerade as an uberpatriot, then buy this book. If you're truly concerned about the future of our country, then speak out against these merchants of intolerance. America works best when we work together. These guys who try to turn us against one another are doing a lot more harm than good. They appeal to your base emotions, without providing any solutions. Don't be sucked in.

this is a great book furthermore i strongly back uncle ted's beliefs as for all you tree hugging anti gunners this is where you rate books not voice your ignorant communist beliefs. GET A LIFE!!

Read the book, rate the book...it's really simple.

While it's really a 4 star book (some of the hunting stories do drag on a bit), I gave it five to help balance the oddly hateful reviews.

It's a book on Ted's take on politics, life and hunting told in Ted's usual style. If you like that sorta thing, you will like this book. If you don't like Ted, why not do something productive and read (and review) something you do like?