Politics Government Books

"Inside the FDA" is a thoughtful, balanced, and well-researched look inside the controversial and troubled Food and Drug Administration. Author Fran Hawthorne is an experienced business journalist and her skills are evident here.

Digging into the FDA's complex and conflicting world, the book provides an informative picture of FDA's bureaucratic, political, and scientific drivers. Ms. Hawthorne does an excellent job of laying out what the FDA is suppose to do, what is really does, and where and why it fails.

It makes for a great read.

Rarely do any of us get a glimpse so throughout into a governmental body as large as the FDA. Author Fran Hawthorne claims the FDA to have nearly 11,000 doctors, scientists, and others --all there to maintain the safety of the drugs all Americans use and do a good job of it. I think they have been lucky. They (the FDA) has lost its objectivity over the years because of a counter productive lifestyle. They have panels voting on issues or problems with drugs on the markets of which the voting members often have stock in the very company which is being checked. They allow advertising of rx products on TV, a practice only permitted by one other country in the world..and a very bad practice. Money, has replaced their objectivity because they have become big friends to the pharmaceutical companies, especially the larger ones. CDER, one part of the FDA, even though on the outside pretends to play fair, will often intimidate smaller drug (generic companies) for apparently little or no reason at all. However, the author does miss one point. If current US law permits the FDA to grant additional time for patent bending and corruption (which it does), do not blame the agency for that. The FDA seems to have gotten too large for its own good. I have asked them why phenylalanine is placed in certain Rx products, and cannot get an answer. The best thing to do with the FDA, if you read this book, is quite obvious. Get rid of the current system. But so many government agencies (like the NTSB and EPA) are operated the same way. There needs to be more public oversight and accountabilitiy, which the author does a great job in exposing. Overall, I would rate this a good book because it exposes this giant agency for exactly what it is: an excercise in extreme loss of objectivity and greed. guyairey

If you know nothing of the FDA, than this will blow your mind. By the time you are through half the book you will be considered an expert on the subject by all your friends.

Not one of the more exciting reads, but extremely informative. Not just about what you might think it is about, but much much more. This book will give a clearer view of where we all live.

For those who have ever wondered how the FDA makes decisions and how those decisions effect companies this is a great starting point. Hawthorne takes an objective stance towards the FDA and shows their faults along with the positives. She tracks several instances of FDA oversight and gives their results. I think the part that tracks the companies progress through the FDA's is the most instructive. One of my fields of study was health and pharmaceutical economics and this was a great way to start learning about the FDA.

Democrats want more Big Pharma regulation and consumer protection. Republicans want to protect Big Pharma's profits. The tobacco and diet supplement industries want to be left the hell alone. And consumers want miracle drugs for free. Somehow, some way, the FDA navigates the minefields of the food and drug industries every day and tries to base its decisions on science. While some authors take cracks at the FDA because of a political agenda, Fran Hawthorne remains neutral and thus provides the most level-headed look at the FDA that's on the shelves. While the reading is pretty dense, this is a book that every concerned citizen needs to read.

The media and the lobbyist industry has all but killed this breed of national politician. One who does things that he/she feels are in the best interest of the country, NOT a NARROW IDEAOLOGY or to pander.

This book was refreshing, an easy read. If Mr. Obama is really serious about changing the tone and the toxicity of DC this book should be a must read for him, and Mr. Hagel though a Republican should be considered for VP.

The book is well written and very enlightening. However, I feel Sen. Hagel sugar coats Bush's run-up to the war in Iraq. He attempts to lead one to believe that Bush was mislead by others in his administration concerning the decision to go to war in Iraq -- when nothing could be further from the truth.

Also, he talks to the economy and inflation; but, he never addresses a viable solution. He never mentions the FED, other than in passing, and its role in the uncontrolled printing of our 'FIAT Dollars.' The FED's failure to control the amount of money in circulation is the leading cause of inflation in this country today.

Finally, he mentions Social Security (SS) and Medicare; but, he never mentions the fact that SS funds are borrowed and spent before they ever reach their intended target -- the Social Security Trust Fund. The only thing wrong with SS is the government's ridiculous tax and spend mentality.

I consider this book one of the best expolaining the facts about the Irak War. It also deals with present moments problems facing the world.
Wonderfull.

This is an outstanding book! Chuck Hagel is the voice of reason when it comes to the problems facing America. His approach is bipartisan and down to earth. Too bad there aren't more Senators and Congressmen like him! I am very disappointed that he is leaving the Senate. As a lifelong Democrat, I would vote for him in a heart beat!

Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) is a Vietnam War veteran and successful entrepreneur who made his first business trip to China in 1984 and hit the jackpot. Since then, his investments in China made of him a millionaire. In 1996, he was elected to the Senate and in 2007 he announced his retirement as Senator effective 2008. During his two term tenure, Hagel served on several committees, including the Foreign Relations Committee. Through his service and his congressional trips to different capitals and meetings with different leaders, Hagel has certainly gained immense experience in foreign policy.
In this book, Hagel expresses his opposition to the Iraq War, even though he voted in its favor in October 2002. After an extensive description of the War in Iraq and the errors this administration committed there, Hagel's book focuses on three foreign policy areas namely the Middle East, Iran and China.
On the Middle East, Hagel writes that reaching Arab-Israeli peace is overdue. He said the fact that late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat had turned down former Israeli PM Ehud Barrack's offer, which granted Palestinians 95 percent of their demands, in Camp David in 2000, puzzled him. To learn the truth, Hagel took a trip to Damascus and met late President Hafez Assad, who told him that Arafat had no authority to sign peace on behalf of all the Arabs. So to Hagel, Arafat could never deliver. But what this experienced Senator missed is that Assad was Arafat's nemesis, and while Arafat enjoyed the support of the rest of the Arab world, Assad was mostly isolated and enjoyed good relations with non-Arab Iran only.
Hagel goes on to reiterate a message that you can find in Jim Webb's book, A Time to Fight, when he considers the Middle East too complicated to understand and dominated by never ending rivalries, feuds, civil wars, and cross border wars. True the Middle East is complicated, and it is true too that Senator Hagel, by the time he had written this book, had not yet grasped it or how its politics work.
On Iran, Hagel makes the most unconvincing case. So Iranians love America, but the Iranian regime is not as nice. Therefore, America should talk to the regime to solve the nuclear standoff. While dialogue in international politics is always a good thing, Hagel fails to define the perimeters of America's engagement with Iran. Saying dialogue should be unconditional only is not enough. Hagel should have provided more details about the terms which would make of the dialogue a good deal for America to take, and the reasons that would make such talks a-not-so-desirable package.
On China, Hagel suggests a relationship that does not vary a lot from what the US has been employing with its Asian rival since Nixon.
Hagel's book is a good read with a superbly entertaining style. For beginners on world politics, I suggest you pass on this book. For the more informed ones, read this book, but take its conclusions and recommendations with a grain of salt.

Very interesting content but very difficult to read. One better have all their wits and concentration available in order to wade through this. I can only read it in the morning when my concentration is in top form. As a result I'll probably never get through it, because I save most of my morning reading time for the Wall Street Journal.

I was dialing around cable at my parent's house one day a couple of years ago and ran across the most incredible power point presentation being given by a dude from the Naval War College on CSPAN about how the U.S. should think about security threats in the future. Basically his point was that those alienated from global capitalism are those we need to be most worried about and that places like Central Africa will soon join Afghanistan as geographical locations from which threats will arise. That presentation became this book and it is seriously worth reading. Barnett makes his living predicting bad stuff for the U.S. government (and now, I believe, also for big corporations) and he is very good at what he does. Obviously sites of threats to the U.S. are also sites for new modes of positive resistance (those these things are not interchangeable) and also sights for economic development, so this book struck really close to a lot of my interests.

Interesting ideas and an interesting book. It's a couple of years old now, but still worth picking up.

Dr Barnett is one of those true geniuses with the ability to explain a complex global environment in terms anyone can understand. He clearly describes the current role of the US in global politics and the path we must take to ensure the future for all the peoples with whom we co-inhabit this planet. This is a MUST-READ, particularly for those who question our current involvement in the Middle East. He's unabashedly critical of the Bush Administration and the Pentagon where appropriate. But he also gives credit to the President for his understanding and foresight in the face of the current global epoch.

This is no political manifesto, rather it is a blueprint by which a truly global economy can flourish.

I give this book 5 stars for educating me about how the Pentagon thinks, organizes and deals with Internation issues such as military conflicts.

The "New MAP" refers to the POST COLD WAR ERA. Measuring up possible future world powers vs. multiple smaller conflicts, and how "GLOBALIZATION" is steering countries like China towards becoming more Democractic over time.

Mr. Barnett describes his role at the Pentagon, and politics that steer decisions in war time or peace time (Defense Budget inter fighting).

I'm still reading this book, and I know the data is a bit outdated, but for someone newer to this subject, it's still informative and facinating to read, if this subject interests you.

This book is pure salesmanship for a person and a point of view. It is not fun to read, but it is probably important that it be read because it provides insight into the incredibly mundane world of selling military solutions to congress and the administration. What are touted as great ideas turn out to be simplistic interpretations of the world situation based upon a lack of understanding of culutral diversity and concern for human rights. Because it is important for the public to understand how the U.S. gets into stupid, counterproductive militeary adventrures it is imporant that this book be widely read, however it is tedious and tiresome to be continually barraged with the authors misguided and unsophisticated views.

With characteristic precision, Mr. Buchanan details the confluence of Marxist ideologies, Hell bent (literally) on permanently destroying any vestige of Judeo-Christian influence in Western European and American culture.

Promoted through the cooperative support of the Mass Media, and featuring such pet causes as the Civil Rights movement, Afro-centrism, the birth control pill, the push for legalized abortion, free love, Women's Liberation, gay rights, and provided with a lap dog, tongue hanging, captive audience of bored, disaffected, post war affluent youth, this subversive coterie virtually created the world we now call "politically correct."

Never mind that their agenda boasted and promoted sins and social maladies long considered anathema by previous generations.

The result we see all around us--the stench of the deconstuctionist, high tech, sexually libertine, post Christian West. No it's not a pretty picture.

Yes, the cultural well has been poisoned, but Mr. Buchanan has at least hung out a warning sign--"Don't Drink From This Well!"

Highly recommended.

This is an excellent, interesting, thought provoking book. I enjoyed it so much I have read it twice and have discussed the issues raised in the book with many people. I recommend it as essential reading for any westerner.

This is a very eloquently written book that breaks down the immigration problem in a way that is flawlessly logical and interesting. This is a book that will never be dated and should be read by all Americans and beyond. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it highly.

If birth rates are the best indication of a how much a people values itself, it's customs and it's traditions, then certainly Europeans and White Americans are in the pangs of self-loathing and self hatred. Nations and cultures usually die from internal causes and certainly the European way of life is rotten at the core. Europe and the American culture inherited from Europe is literally suicidal. Bucahanan does an outstanding job of laying out all of the grim statistics. The most important statistic is this: birth rates are exploding in the third world and developing nations while birth rates are exceedingly miniscule in the most developed nations of Europe, North america and Japan. What this means for the future no one can be certain but it is certainly an important phenomenon (maybe the most important trend in all of sociology) and one that for politically correct reasons does not receieve its due consideration in the mainstream media.

"Death of the West" is a prophetic look at immigration and the state of our nation. One does not have to look very hard to see that this issue is of paramount importance in today's day and age. Buchannon sounds the horn, but will anyone listen to the discussion.

In a sense, this book is so good it doesn't need a review. Almost everyone knows that the Donnelly book is the standard and most readable text on human rights theory. It is a good starter book for the beginner. You'll learn something new on every page. My copy is full of irresistable, self-made underlines, markings, and comments in the margins. It's also a good reference book, one that you'll return to time and time again. Donnelly's method of abbreviation, for example, is standard for the main UN proclamation and two binding covenants (treaties): (U for UDHR; E for CESCR; and C for CCPR). The book differentiates between regimes that exist for declaratory or promotional purposes and those which are involved in implementation of policy or monitoring and enforcement, and Donnelly pulls no punches when pointing out that some state reports in response to Protocol complaints are nothing more than farces. It is found, for example, that there is little reason why the Arab League and various Third Way movements should even be considered human rights organizations. Here are some of the international human rights discussed in this book: Nondiscrimination, Life, Liberty, security of person, Protection against slavery,Protection against torture, Legal personality, Equal protection of the law, Legal remedy, Protection against arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile, Access to independent and impartial tribunal, Presumption of innocence, Protection against ex post facto law, Privacy, Freedom of Movement, Nationality, Marry and found a family, Protection and assistance of families, Marriage only with free consent, Equal rights in marriage, Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, Freedom of opinion and expression, Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Participation in government, Social security, Work, Just and favorable conditions of work, Trade unions, Rest and leisure, Adequate standard of living, Education, Participation in cultural life, Self-determination, Protection of and assistance to children, Freedom from hunger, Health, Asylum, Property, Compulsory primary education, Humane treatment when deprived of liberty, Protection against imprisonment for debt, Expulsion of aliens only by law, Prohibition of war propaganda, Minority culture.

It's rare to come upon literature with a pulse and a heartbeat on every page. This is one of those precious gems that I will read once a year for the rest of my days.

God's blessing in print. Hope again. Hope anew. Hope for you. Buy it. Read it. Live it.

Thank you Archbishop TUTU

Bill Dahl
Author, Creator, Editor
The Porpoise Diving Life

What an eloquent writer! Bishop Tutu writes so beautifully, especially when he describes the Love of God. The concept of transfiguration is explained in a passage about the cross which truly brought me closer to my Lord. Dear Christian brothers and sisters: read this book and be prepared to have your prejudices and fears about other people shattered by the Love of God.

I am leading a group study at St. John's Cathedral in Jacksonville, Florida using this beautiful book of meditations by Bishop Tutu. There are discussion question after each chapter.

The book came in in a short amount of time, and was in great condition.

Desmond Tutu is a man of morals and conscience with the courage of his convictions. This book should be required reading for every school student. Better yet, invite him to talk -- he is outstanding!

Mayhew comes to the earth-shaking conclusion that politicians want to be re-elected. Do you really need to read a book to tell you that -- give me a break! This was known by my grandfather who never attended school beyond the third-grade. Save your time and save your money.

Although the review of the book by the gentleman below certainly delves into some of the major issues that Mayhew offers in this classic poltical science text, he ignores one of the major points of the book: Mayhew's point that legislators are constantly seeking reelection, that it drives them, is mitigated by his belief that the *reason* they are seeking reelection is so that they can pursue particular goals -- policy or otherwise. Reelection does drive them, but is only a MEANS, not an end. Impact on national, state or local policy -- or other political goals -- is the reason they continue to work diligently to be reelected. After all, they can't enact legislation if they aren't members of the body in the first place.

Despite the fact that Mayhew's "Congress: The Electoral Connection" was published in 1986, the congressional goals discussed by Mayhew are still very relevant. Mayhew discusses three possible Congressional goals: 1)reelection, 2)gaining influence, and 3)producing good public policy. He also discusses the factors that effect the actions of Congressmen, such as: political parties, constituencies, committees, political action commitees, house and senate leadership, etc...

The goals of individual congressmen have a significant impact on the quality and power of Congress as an institution. The exact role of Congress is a much debated issue but it can be safely stated that at a minimum, Congress is to make quality public policy, which in aggregate, benefits the nation as a whole. The extent to which this is achieved is in large part dependent on the willingness and ability of Congress as a collection of individual goals and desires to strive toward this end.

David Mayhew assessed that the main goal of congressmen was to gain re-election. In this never ending quest for popular support, the legislative and oversight duties of congressmen takes a back seat to advertising, credit claiming and position taking. In other words, Congress' vast resources are expended in allocating benefits to small constituencies and not toward responsible, cohesive and nationally oriented public policy. Staff and office material are used for keeping in touch with constituents and casework. Committees are platforms for position taking and pork barrel politics. And parties and party leaders focus on doling out favors, setting agendas and protecting the habits and routine of the organization. This results in delay, narrow policies directed at small segments of the population, a tendency to favor the legislative preferences of organized constituencies, especially those with a proven power to deliver money, manpower and votes, and finally symbolism. The end product is poor public policy with little cohesion and direction.

Mayhew's assessment of what drives individual members of Congress could be debated. But his conclusion that the policy making is fragmented and disjointed is difficult to argue with.

Forget everything you learned in High School civics. David Mayhew utterly demolishes the idea that legislators are engaged in some high-minded pursuit of the "public interest," partisan ideological struggle, or that policies are adopted based on facts or reason. The Ur message of this thoroughly convincing but highly readable tome is that politicians, like the rest of us, pursue their own self interest. That interest is entirely dictated by the determination to get reelected at all costs. Positions are taken, votes are cast, and gestures are made with that first and foremost in mind.

What does that mean? It means that well organized groups of voters (the much maligned but rarely understood "special interest groups") dictate policy. Our founding fathers called these groups "factions" and believed that they were the biggest threat to self government. They were right. Organized groups of politically active voters call the shots, and their agendas rarely comport with the public interest.

Mayhew simply calls it as he sees it. He draws no conclusions, but they should be self evident to the reader. To understand democratic government, one must understand politics. And to understand politics, one simply must read Mayhew.

The book is also relevant beyond the realm of theory. Mayhew casts serious doubt upon the conventional belief that campaign finance reform, term limits, or a host of other proposed reforms will control the power of these factions.

I've working in the public policy world in Washington for over a decade, and everything Mayhew argues comports well with my experience in dealing with elected officials and their staff members. The bitter truth is that neither facts, data, nor reasoned analysis has anything to do with public policy in America.

Even if you disagree with Mayhew, you can't have an informed opinion about politics without grappling with the arguments in this book.

"Congress: The Electoral Connection" is considered by political scientists to be one of the most important books published within their discipline in the past 30 years. They're right; it is an absolute classic and a must read!

Although history is replete with Crusades, Jihads, Holy Wars, etc. it still stymies me how, otherwise intelligent people can slaughter each other and bring chaos to thousands, over religion. Even if any of it were true, it would seem sane to avoid it simply because it is so divisive, violent and irrational.

Excellent book covering all the major religions and their terrorists. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a scholarly survey or someone looking to make more sense of the world.

Many of the cases explored are chilling in their cold bloodedness, but the author makes all of them eminently understandable.

The thesis of this book is that religion and violence are always linked and that all religions are the same in having a violent strain and that all religions have violence in them naturally because religion is violent.

This is blatently and historically untrue. In attempting, like so many works, to not single out Islam as violent this book wants the reader to beleive that Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and all religions are equally violent and a study of each reveals a strain of hate. Timothy Mcveigh is the Christian, the Sikh Kalistan fighters are the Sikhs, The Tamils are the Hindus, Osama is the Muslims, The strange terror cell in Japan is the Buddhist. This is easy. Rather tahn doing a comprehensive study this book found one murderer from each religion that led a sect and said "see this religion has a strain of violence". However Timothy Mcveigh was one man as were the Buddhist extremists in Japan. The Tamils are not religious, there ware is based on ethnicity. Where are the Jewish terrorists, well there must be Baruch Goldstien and recall those Jewish Zealots 2000 years ago.

This is sheer lunacy. Different religions did indeed engage is certain levels of violence throughout history. THat is true. THere are also different forms of religions and religions change. Religions that were once violent or state controlled like Christianity and Buddhism, have become peaceful. Religions like Sikhism are naturally warrior based religions, but not neccesarily violent. Hinduism has never manifested itself violently, and Judaism hasnt been violent since the time of the revolt and that was a national revolt. This is just a gigantic scam. Islam has violent passages in the Koran. But this doesnt mean Bin Laden is timothy Mcveigh.

It is also not true that religion is 'more' violent than secular societies. Hitler and Stalin killed more people in 5 years than any religion has ever done. If anything religion may work as a hand holding violence back but helping unify it when it takes place.

Seth J. Frantzman

As a comparative cultural study of religious terrorism, Mark Juergensmeyer attempts to explain how and why religion and violence are linked. Juergensmeyer analyzes recent incidents of global religious terrorism in order to illumine overarching patterns that heighten the risk of religious violence. Splitting his book into two parts, Juergensmeyer, first, highlights examples of religious terrorism within the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and Buddhist traditions. The author interviews religious leaders and activists within cultures of violence present in each of these traditions. In the second part of the book, Juergensmeyer identifies those characteristics that enhance the likelihood of religion becoming violent.

Juergensmeyer believes the first common denominator in religious extremism is the act of violence itself: terrorism is a theatrical display of violence. According to the author, these acts are performance events, inasmuch that they make symbolic, not strategic, statements. They are performative acts, insofar as they attempt to create change. The location and the time of the violent act, also, have symbolic purpose. Terrorism needs an audience, somebody to terrify, in order to be effective, and with the technological advancements of the twentieth century, the audience of this theatre is virtually global.

If religious terrorism is violent theatre, the image of a cosmic war provides the script. Violent activists view their terrorist acts as part of a larger spiritual confrontation, a battle between good and evil, between God and God's enemies. With the notion of warfare, compromise is not possible and violence, naturally, is morally justified. Religious symbols also undergird religious terrorism: all religions have symbols to overcome the images of death, disorder, and disarray. Religion asserts the primacy of meaning and order in the face of chaos, in this case, a world gone awry. Juergensmeyer identifies when these symbols can become deadly and when confrontation is likely to be characterized as a cosmic war.

The processes of satanization and empowerment are a result of viewing the world as engulfed in a cosmic war. Juergensmeyer believes that terrorists believe that they are victims, and this justifies their violent actions. If they die in their cause they are martyrs - again, religious symbolism overcoming disorder - sacrificed for their community and religion. With every war, enemies must be created, and as such the process of demonizing the enemy is important. Terrorists must deny the personhood of the enemy and create stereotypes so that the enemy can be seen as individuals. Juergensmeyer explains the process of satanization, the creation of a cosmic foe, and the process of empowerment, to create the hope that history can be changed, are integral parts of the mentalities caused by the image of cosmic warfare.

Religious violence provides a sense of empowerment to religious activists and their communities. According to the author, all terrorists fear social marginalization. In general terrorism is a male occupation, and women have minor ancillary roles, if at all. This gender specificity implies that sexuality is a factor in militant movements: sexual control needs to be established in a world gone awry, seen in active subjugation of women and homosexuality. Juergensmeyer finds commonality in terrorist groups: they are "anti-institutional, religio-nationalist, racist, sexist, male-bonding, bomb-throwing young guys," (210). Their marginality is experienced through sexual despair, which leads to violent acts of empowerment. Religious terrorists recognize they are in a struggle that cannot be won, but by dismantling the state's monopoly on power, the group demonstrates their power on behalf of the powerless.

In his concluding chapter, Juergensmeyer believes that terrorists would do anything if they believed it sanctioned by God. Because of the increasing secularism and liberalism prevalent in the world, religious terrorists seek to vault their religious views, perceived as both marginalized and traditional, into the mainstream. Secular governments are by nature enemies of these terrorist organizations, and violence is an attempt to reclaim this public sphere. Juergensmeyer, extrapolating from current trends, concludes with five ways in which religious terrorism can be resolved: terrorist organizations can be literally destroyed; terrorists can be frightened into submission by the threat of violent reprisals or imprisonment; the goals of the terrorists can be accommodated; the religious aspects are separated from politics; or religion and politics can be reconciled. Juergensmeyer believes the last solution to be the most successful.

This book is being used in a Terrorism seminar class that I am taking and for good reason. Juergensmeyer does not rely wholly on second hand information but has actually visited and spoken with those accused and some even convicted of terror and gives a perspective that only a first hand knowledge would provide. This is an excellent insight into the minds of true idealists with a bent on death and destruction.

It is often that governement is displayed as flawed (as it is here) but rare that the dramatic and negative repercussions of unions that have grown selfish over time are shown. The Rendell (brilliant but with emotional loose ends) /Cohen (brilliant but a control junkie) combo slowed Philadelphia's death. But problems of this magnitude cannot be resolved in four years. What they were able to accomplish is both encouraging and inspirational, while at the same time ultimately futile. Their very human sides are presented as well which makes the book read like a novel. The only drawback is the someitmes overly lengthy passages related to population declines and other urban historical data. I have never been to Philly. Reading this book makes me want to go there, if only to see what it looks like now.

This book provides great insight into how a city or anything should be run - with pride and dedication for the better of everyone, not selfishness. Rendell and Cohen prove to be a terrific pair, leaving you with wanting to know more and more.

Ed Rendell allowed a writer, Buzz Bissinger, to shadow him during his first term as Mayor of Philadelphia. This book is the result of what Buzz saw during those four years. It provides an extremely candid insight into what Ed Rendell is like as a person while dramatically presenting the difficulties facing a large city Mayor.

"A Prayer for the City" also follows the lives of four Philadelphians during this same period. This makes for interesting contrasts that shows how the story of Philadelphia during this era affected people differently. Although, I wonder why, after several years of following a Mayor around, the book did not concentrate more on the Mayor.

The book shows Ed Rendell, the person, flaws and strengths. Ed Rendell is presented as a strongly driven man who works hard, knows his goals, and does his best to reach those goals. This is seen in contract negotiations where he know what he wanted entering, he knew contingencies, and he knew how to reach his goals, which included allowing others to gain credit and his opposition to come to agreement by being able to walk away from the negotiating table with the ability to claim victory, or else the agreements would never have been reached. Agree or disagree with the result, this ability to engage in complex and strategic thinking and reacting allows readers to conclude that Ed Rendell is a very skilled and driven leader.

Ed Rendell is seen as a hard worker, but as one who doesn't react well to overexertion. He is conflicted by the expectations that the Mayor must go to the hospital of any wounded police officer, knowing that a private family time can be seen as being inappropriately disturbed by a politician and the media. Yet, as Ed Rendell lost his father when he was 14, he related well to the children of slain and wounded officers. When the pressure and lack of rest got to be too much, Ed Rendell can scream, throw things, and even do bodily harm, such as digging his heel into another or grabbing a photographer enough to bruise her arm.

Ed Rendell also knows the key to victory is to build coalitions with necessary partners. In order to get legislation through City Council, he did his best to stroke the ego and give credit, even when it was not due to him, to City Council John Street. Of course, we wonder what John Street thinks when he reads some of the negative sentiments expressed by Rendell in the book that were kept from him at this time.

The successes of Rendell's first term are presented. A structural deficit that threatened to bankrupt the city was eliminated. Job losses reversed and small job gains began. The man Al Gore dubbed "American's Mayor" went on and has become our Governor. Readers will see that dealing with the complexities of being a Mayor should serve well as a prelude to being Governor. One point clear from this book is that Ed Rendell means to be a good leader, for as he said himself, "if I walk out of here voted out, I walk with my head held high because I've done the right thing."

Not just a book about a mayor but a book about how people interact with their city and view their mayor as the father of their city and the solver of all problems. So many people try and compare running a political organization like a mayor's office and city government to be ing a company CEO, but this book shows that the comparison is shallow becuase city residents - especially in our urban centers - want much more from a city than customers want from a company. there is an emotional attachment to one's city.

The book is very well written and moves along at a nice pace, while still taking time to show the details of people's lives that make us care for them and make their charachters come alive.

Well, let's face it... The author of this book is obvoiusly a huge fan of Ed Rendell... and is a brilliant writer... the end result... Ed Rendell can pass gas, and in the hands of Bissinger it'll seem like an act of unsurpassed poignancy and heroism... With all that said... The book is unbelievably engaging, captures the realities of life in Philly, its trapped and fleeing residents, and Rendell's nobel efforts to get the city back in shape... As for Rendell the man... well, again its clear that Bizzinger sees the guy as a HERO... and uses his entire literary vision to portray him to that extent (presenting his weaknesses only to make him more affably human - - which obviously he was...) I think most Philly residents (except the city workers) are more likely to like the guy and feel that he was a good mayor, but chuckle a bit of Bissinger's "literary glorification" of the man... Still, whether you're from the "Fast Eddie - - don't trust the guy !" school or the "wow, the guy really accomplish some miraculous things," there's one thing that's for sure... The book is an engaging... if not at times heart rendering read... and well worth getting...