Politics Government Books

The book was received in flawless condition, and service was prompt. I wish everything I'd invest in is this good.

This year's "State of the World" by Worldwatch Institute focuses on the global urban environment: water and sanitation, transportation, agriculture and farming, energy, natural hazard risks, pulic health, economics, and environmental justice. Each chapter lays out trends and statistics demonstrating some of the hazards the world might be facing with the current trends towards urbanization.

However, the book has a largely positive and constructive tone, with extensive use of examples and case studies of locales using innovative methods for protecting the environment and even attempting to reducing pollutants that might be global in their impacts. Case studies span the world - from Los Angeles to Timbuktu. The "city" provides a structure for problem-solving.

The book overall is comprehensive, with excellent writing and editing - some chapters are replete with data while others are written in a sweeping "big picture" context with long-term recommendations for future directions. This is a great resource for researchers, policy-makers, students, and anyone interested in understanding the risks and opportunities for the urban landscape.

Especially when the issues are surveyed in Worldwatch's annual review.

A very breif, but good introduction to the basic problems that face the world

Michael was my professor for the Honors Global Issues class at Wilmington College for Fall 2002 term, so I might be slightly biased. =) However, I found the book to be easily followed. The subjects flowed nicely and it was easy to understand. Studying from the book took little time as there is not a bunch of B.S. in it. Great job, Mr. Snarr!

Excellent collection of activism throughout history of the US. Very interesting and thourough

This was required reading for a class I was taking in College. Most books that I have to buy for classes I never touch again after the end of the semester, except this book. Not only are the documents in the book interesting, but the chronological and categorical layout is brilliant.

Great range of material set up in a book one can read for academic purposes or use as a casual "bathroom" read.

The ordinary American's personal experience of history is often organized around a pantheon of readings and tomes that view our democratic experience as a pristine and elevated philosophical exercise by icons of verity and probity. Recent treatments such as Howard Zinn's "A People's History of The United States" and the wonderful "Founding Brothers" by Joseph J. Ellis have helped us to recognize the fact that while brilliant they were, the founders of this country were both mortal and fallible, and were hardly disinterested and objective idealists. This superb work by Timothy McCarthy and John McMillan (both history professors at Harvard) offers us over 150 short but spellbinding works by a wide variety of authors that help to widen the reader's understanding of the radical American experience, and to demystify the highly emotional and politically explosive issues and concerns that have faced us in terms of home-grown radical perspectives regarding social and political issues ranging from the original Articles of Confederation to those surrounding slavery, from corporate sponsored police brutality against union organizing to the war in Vietnam, from strident environmentalism to the current protests against the war in Iraq. All of it is here, and wonderfully so.

In essence, the authors have culled a treasure-trove of radical statements and observations that breathe life into our rather checkered history. Far from the sanitized and revisionist efforts one finds in most public school treatments of American history, herein one discovers a masterfully articulated series of articles written in colorful prose by those intimately involved in the radical protest, and most usually written from the radical perspective. The reader fins himself on an incredible journey into the various issues and concerns that have animated our long and often fractious progress toward a more perfect civil union. The book is organized into eleven principal chapters, each of which offers an absorbing selection of articles pertaining to cross-cutting issues such as the American revolution; the utopian visions relating to the very idea of a constitutional republic itself; abolitionism; suffrage and feminism; labor, anarchism, and socialism; civil rights; the new left and the counterculture; radical environmentalism; gay rights; and an epilogue with articles directed to some recent transcending issues and the radical writings relating to them.

The list of notable authors included ranges from Samuel Adams to Ralph Nader, from Thoreau to Frederick Douglas, from Susan B. Anthony to Huey Long, and from Barry Commoner to Malcolm X. The list of worthwhile notables just goes on and on. Without a doubt, this is the most readable, provocative, and useful collection of American critical writings by radical thinkers I have personally had the joy and benefit of reading. What I truly love about it is that it is the perfect way to read short articles and thought-pieces without spending hours plowing through individual chapters. The length of the individual articles ranges from two to seven pages, so the book is a great way to spend some break time or lunch time reading material along and to be able to finish the particular piece in a single short sitting. It is also provides an extremely eclectic and electrifying range of views and opinions for one to have the chance to experience, and adds immeasurably to the reading experience as a companion teaching device one could use admirably as an adjunct to a text such as Zinn's for use with the average undergraduate student. This is a book I would heartily recommend for anyone interested in a fascinating exploration of radical American thought and critiques of the mainstream culutre, and one that is certainly a terrific way to give a meaningful educational gift to aloved one this holiday season! Enjoy!

This book is real treasure of various ideas and the people behind them. A great resource for scholars or teachers. The curious person who enjoys US history will find something in here that they will enjoy.

In times of living in a dangerous world torn apart by hatred and mistrust and terrorism it is the responsibility of the government to protect the life of its individual citizens as well go out of the way to honor and provide benefits to those brave souls who put themselves and their families on the line for the common good of their fellow citizens. The approach to terrorism should be at least two-pronged:
1.Zero tolerance of any identified and confirmed terrorist targets and complete sealing of the borders. It is the responsibility of the government to provide ample resources to the border states for police patrolling along with technology for closely watching and preventing infiltration of illegal aliens. "Neighborhood watches", though well intended and entrenched in values of patriotism and love of the nation and the noble cause of looking out for fellow citizens, can sometimes go horribly wrong. If one believes in sanctity of every human life (grounded in both American values as well as religious values) then the risk of such an endeavor going awry is probably unacceptably high though debatable. The government must be directly (or indirectly by way of state governments) take in its own hands this enormous responsibility. A fiscally conservative government must accomplish this at all costs - no cost of protecting the lives of its citizens is too high.
2.Identify the sources of terrorism - the breeding ground for extreme religious ideologies in developing or socially narrow minded nations - which when combined with hunger and poverty and misinformation by some media and government sponsored propaganda available to them is a dangerous and potentially a volatile source of terrorism. This can be approached by providing humanitarian aid to those organizations in such areas of the world which provide a culture of trust towards the developed world and encourage growth of educational institutions in these countries as well. Also "friendly" countries in volatile areas of the world have a responsibility to allow media from the developed world to provide an alternate viewpoint on controversial issues - that is the least they can do towards bringing people of the world together. Also it is critically important to revamp the national intelligence gathering agencies that should directly communicate with a given office within homeland security and can get quick approval in cases where preemption against terrorist targets could be justified. Further the infrastructure of these intelligence agencies should be absolutely and totally under the direct control of the government agencies and not be potentially vulnerable to foreign influences. A healthy discussion on these issues is long overdue.

This book serves its purpose well. It clearly walks the reader through elements of national security, the actors, processes, and how Americans have traditionally approached it. With a unique perspective on the military element of power, the book also covers regional security issues and early twenty first century topics. As a senior level undergraduate text or as a basis to launch into discussion in graduate level seminars, American National Security conveys the fundamentals of U.S. security policy in a clear, articulate manner.

Jordan and Taylor both taught in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point in the early 1970's. Mazaar joined them for the 5th edition after directing the Millennium Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The book was designed to convey the basics of policy and process in American national security. The fifth edition is currently in use at the Army's Command & General Staff College for officers at the rank of major enrolled in strategic studies. It serves well as a foundation to discuss national security strategy and policy.

The book has two weaknesses. It is due for a revision given the dynamic nature of the post Cold War environment, especially since 9/11. It also lacks the standard amount of pictures, graphs and charts that normally accompany today's college texts. The book contains all black and white text with limited charts, maps and cartoons. Although this has not been a problem at the master's level, it could be perceived as a drawback to generating undergraduate interest in the subject matter.

Notwithstanding the above criticism, Taylor, Jordan and Mazaar have created a text that lays out the basics of national security policy, actors and institutions. Highly recommended.

This book, though flawed, is an interesting and charming survey of the religious atmosphere of eighteenth century America. I especially enjoyed the accounts of the lives of Washington, Adams, Jay and others. One of the strengths of the book is its analysis of the religious views of the wives of some of the major founders.

I ordered this book because it was touted to be a moderate statement on the Christian vs. Enlightenment debate about the nation's founding. But what I discovered is that Holmes generally gives more credence to the idea that "Deism influenced, in one way or another, most of the political leaders who designed the new American government." Although Holmes does recognize that there were some orthodox Christians among the founders, he places emphasis upon Deism and Unitarianism as the guiding faiths of the new system. In this regard his views are clearly in opposition to those of John Eidsmoe, (Christianity and the Constitution: The Faith of our Founding Fathers), who claimed that most of the founders were orthodox in their beliefs. Eidsmoe states that deism was the religion of only about 5 and one half percent of the founders. He argues that confessed deists were not permitted to hold public office around the time of the Constitutional Convention as evidenced by the laws of the period.

Holmes seems to accept the idea that Christianity and reason were considered to be in opposition. But this spin has led to a number of rather misleading historical characterizations. For example, Holmes claims that the work of Bacon, Newton, and Locke, provided the foundation of the Enlightenment in England despite the fact that all three men were orthodox Christians. Again, Homes argues that Locke regarded human reason to be the test of truth "rather than religious dogma and mystery." Yet John Locke, the philosopher, wrote a book entitled the The Reasonableness of Christianity, believed in miracles, the authority of the Bible, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

On page 47, Holmes writes about indirect references to the Deity with such phrases as "Nature's God," "Creator," and "divine Providence" calling them the postulations of Deists. Apparently, Holmes is ignorant of the fact that these phrases are nothing less than the intellectual property of the Christian Church and were used for centuries prior to the Enlightenment. The formula "Law of Nature and of Nature's God" used in the Declaration of Independence is actually a reference to the theological correlation between general and special revelation. The term, "law of nature," has been cited by Locke, Calvin, Hooker, Coke, Blackstone, Rutherford, the Westminster Confession of Faith, and St. Thomas Aquinas. The origins of this ancient phrase have nothing to do with deism or with any sort of nature religion. For these reasons, I find the book to be a bit too slanted toward the Carl Becker deistic America thesis.

This book was very well written. The author made the case that some of the founding fathers were not necessarily Christian, but Deists. His conclusions stem from letters written to, and from, various people that had contact with them (friends, family, clergymen, etc.) - which makes sense; however, some of the author's assumptions (i.e. the language the "fathers" used in writing and speeches) about how they referred to God (the Almighty, Nature's God, etc.) is not necessarily the best way to prove that the founding fathers were not Christian.

It certainly shed some light, although not definitive, on the faiths of our founding fathers and their families.

A concise primer on the faiths of our nation's founders. Fair assessments, avoiding any kind of dogmatic revisionism (be it evangelical or secular). Holmes deals with each figure individually, avoiding sweeping claims, and appreciating nuances. Avoid Meacham's _American Gospel_; it is simply an amalgam of anecdotes with no thesis other than "America has a public religion" driven over and over again. Stick with Dr. Holmes!

Shortly after Washington's death, certain writers began trying to depict him as a devout orthodox Christian. Mason Weem's book of 1800 was representative of this group and was reprinted regularly with newly added tales about Washington the pious man of prayer. The memorable story about the cherry tree came in the fifth edition in 1806 but the disreputable Weems was easily discredited. Jefferson, Madison, and many others disputed all these efforts. "Sir, he was a Deist," one of Washington's pastors declared upon discussion of the question.

Franklin and the first five presidents were All Deists, a minimalist religious belief system without an organized hierarchy that sprouted from the Enlightenment. For the straight story about their beliefs and the varied Christian denominations of the colonies, this book can't be beat.

The excellent reviews already on this site say it all. I'll just add that "Faiths of the Founding Fathers" is well organized, authoritatively researched, extensively documented, and unusually readable. History buffs and the general public will like this book.

DB

David Holmes seems to be on a mission to disqualify our Founding Fathers as Christians. He picks a few names, Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Monroe and Madison as if these were the only ones who had any influence in our early government. Further, he wants to make each of them a Deist when, in fact, most of their writings lead to a very strong Christian base. Like any person in public office, some speeches and writings can be taken out of context and you can easily make the writer or speaker appear to be something they are not. An in depth study of any of these six men will prove they lean far more to a Christian base than Deism. In addition, Holmes leaves out more than 30 other Founding Fathers who were very strong Christians. Somehow, many authors today have a goal of trying to convince us that our country was not founded upon Christian principles. A good source to confirm our country's foundational basis is David Barton's book, "Original Intent". I think Holmes book is slanted and short on factual information.

delivery was fast and very efficient. i would buy from this seller again. thanks!!

William L. Riordon's Plunkitt of Tammany Hall is the published political philosophy of George Washington Plunkitt, a well known "ward boss" of the Tammany Hall political machine for twenty-five years. From 1880 Plunkitt rode high in New York City politics until his defeat in the state Senatorial race in 1905, the same year of Riordon's publication. During his time in office Plunkitt grew in wealth and power by introducing bills, some good and some awful, but all beneficial to his bank account. Plunkitt came to represent for political reformers everything that was corrupt about the governmental structure; including the spoils system which they felt gave too much power to the parties. Likewise, Plunkitt lashed out at these reformers and often called Civil Service reform laws his worst enemy.

The Bedford Series in History and Culture edition of this work, however, adds many more voices to the discussion other than Plunkitt. The Introduction, by Terrence J. McDonald, establishes the historical context in which to read Riordon's book. McDonald explains the power of the Tammany machine and gives us insight into Plunkitt's beliefs, as how he came to political fruition during the infamous William "Boss" Tweed scandals in which party power was abused and grafting was widespread. This environment seems to have influenced the business ethic and personal gratification that would dominate Plunkitt's political outlook. The end of the book gives us further insight with primary document excerpts that include critics of the ward bosses, newspaper articles about Plunkitt after the book's publication, and biographies written by Tammany itself.

McDonald also points us to another voice prevalent though not easily apparent in Plunkitt of Tammany Hall, that of the author, William L. Riordon. Though the book claims to be a record of speeches and diary excerpts given by Plunkitt during a six-year period, McDonald asserts the belief that Riordon probably added many things himself, including the famous speech on honest and dishonest graft and even the diary entry at the end. Indeed, Plunkitt often references previous speeches as though they were made in a single night, rather than years before. Additionally, before the book was completed Plunkitt had suffered major political defeat, which Riordon curiously omits. Riordon, who was close to Tammany Hall and its leaders (though never a member), appears to have sympathized with Plunkitt. He credits Tammany's intimate knowledge of its voting base (likes and dislikes, etc.) and its use to benefit both voters and themselves as the overriding fuel of their longevity. The book opens with a preface listing Plunkitt's positive accomplishments, followed by a tribute to him by Charles F. Murphy, boss of the Tammany Democracy. Next is Plunkitt's first speech (its position chosen by Riordon, of course) in which Plunkitt admits he is a grafter, yes, but an honest one. It is arguments such as this that make Plunkitt, a man who sees the Irish as a master race fit to rule, such a colorful, often ridiculous character.

Not surprisingly, George Washington Plunkitt is a politician who thinks that one who serves the community is one who should benefit greatly in wealth. In fact, this seems to be the only reason he finds to go into politics. He so cannot separate money from public service that he regularly confuses greed with patriotism. For him, the only reason one would vote is to be rewarded materially by elected officials or to gain seats themselves through the spoils system. He feels that Civil Service reform, which fought to take the power to appoint jobs from parties, would so destroy the patriotism of the nation and that it would lead to treachery and rebellion, as though there were no other reason for citizens to vote. He tells of one story in which a young man was "chokful of patriotism" who was turned down for a government job when he failed the Civil Service examination and in turn "went to Cuba, enlisted in the Spanish army at the breakin' out of the war, and died fighting his country" on San Juan Hill (Riordon 57).

This is not the only instance in which Plunkitt uses sensationalism and fear to drive his point, not to mention a little rewriting of history. He does the latter several times, such as when he states "Of course you won't deny that the government was built up by great parties... that's history" (Riordon 56) although McDonald asserts "parties are not called for in the Constitution and did not even exist in anything like their contemporary form for the first thirty years or so after the Constitution was ratified in 1789. Parties were irrelevant to the Founding Fathers" (Riordon 4). Nevertheless, Plunkitt imagines Thomas Jefferson looking down from a cloud cheering him on as he beats the life out of the reform movement that is trying to weaken Tammany Democracy's power (Riordon 97). Hopefully, the writer of the Declaration of Independence would have been against the consolidation of power and privilege into as few hands as possible and be rather for the greater distribution of a democratic system.

Such revisionism is understandable from someone like Plunkitt as he is a promoter of what most can recognize today. Anti-Intellectualism is prevalent in his outlook. Tammany leaders, he says, are not bookworms (Riordon 73). He outright rejects the role of colleges and academically trained men in politics, that men "can cram their heads with all sorts of college rot. They couldn't make a bigger mistake" for their "chances are 100 to 1 against" them (Riordon 52). He doesn't give a clear explanation for this belief other than one must study human nature and not books to succeed. Perhaps the real reason is that the college graduates may carry with them idealism or more thorough knowledge of what the Founding Fathers intended, or even a more worldly outlook and understanding not just of international affairs but of how those outside the city operate. Plunkitt demonstrates none of these traits and seemed to care little and even have contempt for anything outside the city limits. It could be that such knowledge would have impeded a young man in his ability to operate in the hustling and power-hungry politics in which Plunkitt and Tammany operated. These are the only politics Plunkett knew, and though undemocratic, he accepted it, and felt that it was the only way it should be.

For the more liberal minded of today's American citizens, Plunkitt of Tammany Hall offers insight into the recent state of national politics. Indeed, the more critical among us can find many parallels to Plunkett's philosophy and that presented by President George W. Bush (which I will not detail here, as this is covered in my book, Looking Deeper, from Yggdrasil Press). The lessons from Tammany and Plunkitt have yet to be fully appreciated, it seems. Of course, unlike Plunkitt, no one could accuse George W. Bush of temperance.

I read this for my Political Parties Class. I found the book very interesting, however there were more typos in this book, than in any book I have ever read. I would buy a different edition of this book. This is a reprint from a company that only does reprints of rare books. Find another one to go with, you have to decipher this one. For example, some "I" are replaced with "!", and so on. Very annoying.

This hundred-year-old book is not a traditional non-fiction book. It is actually a series of elocutions on the politics of the day as practiced by a big city "machine," Tammany Hall. This was in the time when parties had direct control over who was allowed to run for office and how spoils would be distributed. This system has been dead in America for nearly fifty years, or at least since national reforms were carried out tin the early 1970s that devolved power down and created lots of mini-campaign, instead of one campaign that was directed from the party.

Plunkitt gives a frank description of what he sees as Tammany's benefits to society and how undoing this situation would be disastrous. To Plunkitt, Tammany is more akin to a social organization than what people today think of political parties. Plunkitt helps out when his constituents are in trouble, go to jail, have money problems or problems at work. He also uses the spoils system of awarding political allies by handing out plum job assignments. His sometimes odd rants against civil service reform, designed to break the back of political machines and the spoils systems, sometimes verge on the comical.

This is a short, entertaining look at how politics was conducted a hundred years ago. It was a joy to read.

Well, at least you can say that George Washington Plunkitt was a 'honest' politician (not a liar). He didn't mince words and tell the voters what they wanted to hear, and then didn't deliver. He delivered a service that the voters of his district could count on. He provided them with a sense of security which the politicians of this day don't provide. In a difficult and ever changing world, I am not sure more voters would cherish the ideal of what the machine can give them.
Plunkitt rips the civil service ideal in much of this book, while extolling the fruits of rewarded service. He takes a slash at the education system by constantly making the comparison between book learning and common sense. As some of the previous reviewers have already stated-his arguments on honest and dishonest graft are almost unbelievable. The reader will find themselves chuckling at some of his arguments. This is what machine politicians believed in during their time.
This is an OK book. Ultimately, Plunkitts ideas are out of time, and a more fair system is now in place.

I teach middle school Civics. When I heard Cathy Travis' interview on NPR, I ordered the book for my classes that were studying the Constitution. The students loved the book's explanations.

This excellent and easy to comprehend book is a MUST if you're learning or teaching the constitution. The pages are split down the middle. On the left are the words of the constitution, on the right is a reworded translation for children to easily understand the verbage without changing it's meaning. It is very clear, consise, and NON-INTIMIDATING! After struggling to create an interest in learning the constitution with my 3 homeschooled children ages 9-13, this has been what causes them to proclain History to be their favorite subject. I recommend this book.

Thank goodness there are now authors who appreciate the younger audiences. If kids are exposed to our founding documents early in their academic grades, they will appreciate history more fully as they progress. I wish this book would have been available when I was younger. Buy this and another of my recommendations for students: "The Elementary Common Sense of Thomas Paine; An Interactive Adaptation for All Ages" here on Amazon. I have given copies of both these titles to my brother and extended family, and even donated copies to the local elementary and middle school.

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (8/06)

Have you ever wondered why or what certain amendments mean? The title "Constitution Translated for Kids", says it all. This wonderfully written book takes what the constitution says and makes it easier to understand. Cathy Travis has done a superb job.

"The Constitution endures, through each President and each Congress. Elected officials are with us for a term but the Constitution is the foundation of all the laws in our country. No document supersedes the Constitution. Few people truly understand that fact. The language of the time this precious document was written makes it difficult to understand."

"This document created the most successful system of government known to people in the last two centuries, despite the human frailties of office holders and citizens...despite their emotions, doubts, fears, greed, anger, indecision or bad decisions from time to time. The enduring magic of the Constitution is in the ideas this nation represents. Our independence was forged in the belief that our common pursuit of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness would successfully govern a nation for the ages. The Constitution enshrines this philosophy."

Ms Travis has included a glossary of terms in the back of this book. On one side of the page are the actual words of the constitution on the other side is the Constitution in words that are easier to understand. A timeline is included in the front of the book. Through out the book there are Fast Facts, interesting facts about the Constitution.

This book was written for children however; it would be appropriate for adults also. Too many times we hear people attempting to quote or interpret the Constitution without knowing what it truly says or means.

From the moment I opened this book I was hooked. This is a must for school libraries and classrooms. Thank you Ms Travis for educating us to what the U.S. Constitution means.

Author Cathy Travis prefaces her large-format hardcover with a message to parents and teachers about her reasons for writing this book--to demonstrate how the Constitution affects modern political events. The preface to kids encourages young readers to help show adults what the Constitution actually says.

As a twenty-something with a dual degree in engineering and economics, I consider myself fairly well-versed in politics and history, but I learned a lot in just the first few pages of this book. From the introductory timeline, I read that 1776 was just the start of a "bloody, devastating war for independence [which lasted] for seven years." Had I been asked, I would have been unable to fill in most of this timeline. I don't remember "bloody" and "devastating" being covered in my 5th grade American history education, nor would I have put the war at nearly a decade! My memory of history class was that we Americans were moral and right and had no choice but to do the right thing. Plus, now I can impress my friends with the fact that, "The U.S. Constitution is the shortest, and oldest Constitution, of any government in the world."

The bulk of the book is a two-column presentation of the Constitution with the original text on the left and a modern, 5th grade reading-level translation on the right. Forget the schoolkids for a moment--every adult needs to take a few moments to read this book and get familiar with both the original document and the last two centuries of amendments to what was always intended to be a living document.

The book concludes with coverage of the branches of the U.S. government and a comprehensive glossary. While the text is non-partisan overall, Travis does a service to readers both young and old with a final chapter that provides the historical context for each of the amendments. Another concluding chapter is a detailed examination of some of the proposed amendments, complete with arguments for and against each one.

Don't leave this book for just the grade school students to enjoy!!