Systems Of Government Books - Page 7

Running with the Devil: The True Story of the ATF's Infiltration of the Hells Angels

Kerrie Droban

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 43 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

A Good View of the ATF's Obsession with the Hells Angels 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book details the ATF's extensive attempt to infiltrate the Hells Angels. The operation put the undercover agents through hell and produced nothing. The agents discovered that the Hells Angels displayed far more loyalty and genuine caring for them than their supervisors did. The operation was poorly run and poorly planned. Millions of dollars of taxpayer's money spent with no results. This book does provide a limited "insider's" view of the Hells Angels, but provides a better illustration of federal law enforcement's paranoia and obsession with biker clubs.

Wait for SA Dobyns' Book 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

SA Jay Dobyns, the lead ATF agent in this investigation, has written a book on it which is out in FEB 2009. That, no doubt, will provide the best insight on what went down.

This book was an opportunistic effort by the author, who had bystander access to some but not all of the information (which is why it reads like a high school senior's final paper) and spun what she had into this three-star ho-hum.

"Into the Abyss" is far better - and Dobyns' book will seal the deal.

Editorial Review:

The inside story of the ATF's infiltration of the Hell's Angels, one of the most notorious and violent outlaw motorcycle gangs in history.

American Public Policy: Promise and Performance

B. Guy Peters

List Price: $37.95 By: Chatham House Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 31 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A Good Look at American Public Policy 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Guy Peter's "American Public Policy: Promise and Performance" provides an informed and unbiased look at the public policy process as well as a number of major policy issues in America today. It's perhaps not the most exciting read (the first few chapters are especially dull) but thats more the fault of the subject than the author. However, if you are inclined to learn more about how the policy that affects our lives every day comes to be, this is worth a read.

The chapters on tax policy, health care and education were particularly good. In all, the book features a discussion of the aforementioned issues, as well as economic policy, social security and welfare, environmental policy, energy policy, defense and law enforcement, and numerous social issues such as abortion. American Public Policy also features a detailed look at how policy is formulated, enacted and kept up, as well as how one analyzes the effects of a particular policy plan. Finally, the book provides a look at the two predominate forms of policy analysis and assessment: cost-benefit analysis and ethical analysis.

Overall, I wouldnt recommend this book for fun reading. However, if you are taking a course in American public policy, are looking to research a prominent public policy area, or just want to learn more about the American policy system, Guy Peter's "American Public Policy: Promise and Performance" is definitely a great place to start.

Editorial Review:

This revised edition begins by defining American public policy and its environments, as well as identifying the governmental structures through which policy is designed and reshaped. Then it explains the procedure of policy making, from the agenda-setting stage to implementation through evaluation. The author analyzes the problems, goals, and important issues in various substantive policy areas, including economic, environmental, and defence policy. Part four is devoted to an explanation of policy analysis, in a cost-benefit and an ethical context.

America at Odds: An Introduction to American Government

Edward Sidlow, Beth Henschen

List Price: $54.95 By: Wadsworth Pub Co Amazon Marketplace: 15 new & used starting at $1.24

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Good intro text 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 7 people found this review helpful.

North Dakota State Univ uses this in its intro to American Gov't course. It is an easily readable text that covers everything that a government text should. Lots of links to the Internet are included as well, and the info is very up-to-date. Covers impeachment and everything else. I'll bet that the next edition includes the whole 2000 election fiasco. I only noticed one error, but that's probably due to the fact that I live in the state referenced.

Editorial Review:

Known for its provocative and engaging issues approach, AMERICA AT ODDS, 6e, now features a groundbreaking new magazine-style format that greatly enhances its visual appeal and readability while remaining affordable and convenient. This unique text provides a memorable and effective introduction to American government by focusing on the current and historical conflicts and controversies that define America as a nation. AMERICA AT ODDS combines compelling content, innovative design elements, and powerful teaching tools to help you discover and refine your opinions through active discussion and debate of essential topics in American government and politics.

Justice Administration: Police, Courts, and Corrections Management (5th Edition)

Kenneth J. Peak

Amazon Price: $81.91 List Price: $111.60 Usually ships in 1 to 3 weeks By: Prentice Hall Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $54.95

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Editorial Review:

Justice Administration: Police, Courts, and Corrections Management, Fifth Edition, is the only single-author book of its kind: exploring administration from a systems perspective and examining the organization, operation, personnel roles, functions, issues and practices of the police, courts, and corrections. Drawing on the author’s 35 years of experience, the text offers an authentic and unique real -world perspective. This revision incorporates more than 30 case studies, discussions of future considerations, articles from Law Enforcement News and a new chapter on terrorism and homeland defense. Updated material addresses topics such as the Prison Litigation Reform Act, probation-police partnerships, computer crime and probation, and new technologies. 

Supervision of Police Personnel (7th Edition)

Nathan F. Iannone, Marvin D. Iannone, Jeff Bernstein

Amazon Price: $81.56 List Price: $107.40 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Prentice Hall Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $81.50

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Supervision of Police Personnel 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

It is a very good informational source for anyone that wants to pursue a promotion in police work. The review questions at the end of each chapter are convenient and helpful.

Drawn out and boring, hard to understand 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I found Supervision of Police Personnel (6TH) to be pretty much drawn out and boring. It is painfully evident that the same information could have been relayed in a lot less then 400 boring pages. It was difficult to follow and often repetitive. A lot of detail was focused on irrelevant material. This was a difficult book for me to swallow (as a 12 year LEO), but it certainly rated high as a sleep aid for me.

Editorial Review:

Known as the source for police supervision, this book offers complete coverage of leadership training of supervisors in law enforcement and allied fields. From proven leadership strategies to methods for maintaining high morale, this book discusses individual and group management techniques and how to carry out the various responsibilities of the supervisor. A variety of issues are explored, from hiring and training, to discipline and evaluation. This edition features the latest on leadership and decision making, more on handling critical incidents, contemporary personnel issues. For the training of managerial and supervisory personnel in police departments and law enforcement agencies.

Countries and Concepts: Politics, Geography, and Culture, Eighth Edition

Michael G. Roskin

List Price: $83.60 By: Prentice Hall Amazon Marketplace: 79 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great oversight on comparative politics. 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I am using this book for my comparative politics class at Case Western, and unlike most of my textbooks, this text is actually interesting to read.

The book gives excellent coverage on the general ideas without going to deep into detail for most people. Once you read this book you will understand British, French, German, and Japanese politics better than you did before. I came out knowing more than I thought I would.

However, there is no colour in this book at all. The pictures and illustrations are completely black and white, except for some red highlights at the beginning of the chapters. That seems to be my only problem with the book.

The book goes into the political systems of each of the individual countries stated before, but Roskin also goes into the reasons behind the political systems in place. History, geography and cultural effects are discussed in easy to follow ways, both logically and structurally.

This is an excellent reference for any history or political science student, or for anyone looking to learn more. That's why I am recommending this book.

Editorial Review:

Introduces the concepts and vocabulary of Comparative Politics through a country-by-country analysis and recent case studies. By demonstrating that political life is universal and comparable, the text also proves that no country is really alien, but rather that all countries are understandable. Identifies the key institutions , political culture and patterns of interaction in Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, China, Brazil, South Africa and Iran. For individuals interested in understanding the inner workings of 9 major, contemporary political systems.

The Diana Chronicles

Tina Brown

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 131 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A biography of both Diana and the media coverage that shaped her 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I started THE DIANA CHRONICLES by Tina Brown by reading it in the store in parts. I figured it was ANOTHER Diana book, and I could pass some pleasant hours in the bookstore sitting in a chair going over some familiar ground. But I was surprised: Brown is an insightful, clear and unflinching writer who has the ability, due to her experience in print journalism, to view the famous through a cynical but knowledgeable media lens. This book was so good, that when I got 300 pages in to the 500-plus-page book, I bought it. It was getting hard to find, and I NEEDED to finish it.

The plotline of Diana's life does not need to be repeated here. What this book is good for is the way it examines her life and her responses to the events of her life as influenced by the media and the media coverage of the her every move. It's as if it weren't Diana and the media professionals who were in a relationship, but Diana and the media coverage who influenced each other. This study is a fascinating examination of how media attention can become a character in the narrative of a famous person's life. According to Brown, Diana made decisions not just in response to the other people in her life, but in reaction to press and how her actions might be reported and perceived. She lost the goal, at some points, of how press attention can influence individuals and became focused on the press itself.

This book presents a strong narrative, a plotline of a life that is compelling and cogent. Though we know the story well, Brown's reportage is complete and portrays not only a whole Diana, but a complete Charles and other royals who had to orbit her star while she was alive.

This was a fascinating book to read as an examination of a woman of fame who could not help but respond to the expectations of women in the times in which she lived. Reading THE DIANA CHRONICLES, one cannot help but think of the price some women pay to be the feminine, compassionate women the world wants them to be. When that world is personified by papparazzi and reporters in fragile woman's day-to-day life, her response can be astonishing.

Editorial Review:

Ten years after her death, Princess Diana remains a mystery. Was she “the people’s princess,” who electrified the world with her beauty and humanitarian missions? Or was she a manipulative, media-savvy neurotic who nearly brought down the monarchy? Only Tina Brown, former editor-in-chief of Tatler, England’s glossiest gossip magazine; Vanity Fair; and The New Yorker could possibly give us the truth.

The Al Qaeda Reader

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Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

What do our enemies believe?  What motivates their war against the West?  What is their vision of the ideal Islamic society?  Surprisingly, more than five years after 9/11, there is very little understanding of these questions. 

Despite our tendency to dismiss Islamic extremism as profoundly irrational, al-Qaeda is not without a coherent body of beliefs.  Like other totalitarian movements, the movement’s leaders have rationalized their brutality in a number of published treatises.  Now, for the first time, The Al Qaeda Reader gathers together the essential texts and documents that trace the origin, history, and evolution of the ideas of al-Qaeda founders Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden. 

This extraordinary collection of the key texts of the al-Qaeda movement—including incendiary materials never before translated into English—lays bare the minds, motives, messages, and ultimate goals of an enemy bent on total victory. Al-Qaeda’s chilling ideology calls for a relentless jihad against non-Muslim “infidels,” repudiates democracy in favor of Islamic law, stresses the importance of martyrdom, and mocks the notion of “moderate” Islam.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of these works is how grounded they are in the traditional sources of Islamic theology: the Koran and the teachings of the Prophet. The founders of al-Qaeda use these sources as powerful weapons of persuasion, reminding followers (and would-be recruits) that Muhammad and his warriors spread Islam through the power of the sword and that the Koran is not merely allegory or history but literal truth that commands all Muslims to action.

In addition to laying bare al-Qaeda’s ultimate motives, The Al Qaeda Reader includes the organization’s propagandist speeches, which are directed primarily at Americans, Europeans, and Iraqis. Here, al-Qaeda’s many "official" accusations against the West are meticulously delineated, from standard complaints such as the Palestinian issue and Iraq to wholly unexpected ones concerning the U.S.’s exploitation of women and the environment.

Taken together, the Theology and Propaganda sections of this volume reveal the most comprehensive picture of al-Qaeda to date. They also highlight the double-speak of bin Laden and Zawahiri, who often say one thing to Muslims in their religious treatises ("We must hate and fight the West because Islam commands it") and another in their propaganda directed at the West ("The West is the aggressor and we are fighting back merely in self-defense").

Westerners from across the political spectrum will be fascinated and enlightened by The Al Qaeda Reader’s insights into the nature of Islamic texts and the ways in which al-Qaeda has used these texts to manufacture hatred against our civilization and our way of life.

The origins of totalitarianism

Hannah Arendt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Unreadable 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I am sure that there are some important points made in this book, but its turgid prose is so difficult to understand, it is not worth the effort. It takes its place on my bookshelf next to Being and Nothingness. Next time you see it on someone's bookshelf, ask them to summarize it, or discuss what they thought of it. You will probably get a few uncomfortable looks.

Arendt's Opus Magnum 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Origins, an incredibly detailed analysis of Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany, shows Arendt's versatility in political thought. I have yet to see a political philosopher/thinker publish a work with this much depth to it, and I think it will be a long time before we see anything like it.

Many of the reviews here have done better justice to her legacy, so I will just say that if you are thinking twice about pursuing this work because of it's length, think three times.

Editorial Review:

Generally regarded as the definitive work on totalitarianism, this book is an essential component of any study of twentieth-century political movements. Arendt was one of the first to recognize that Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were two sides of the same coin rather than opposing philosophies of Right and Left. "With the Origins of Totalitarianism Hannah Arendt emerges as the most original and profound-therefore the most valuable-political theoretician of our times" (New Leader). Index.

Making Democracy Work

Robert D. Putnam, Robert Leonardi, Raffaella Nanetti

List Price: $59.50 By: Princeton Univ Pr Amazon Marketplace: 19 new & used starting at $14.99

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Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Why do some democratic governments succeed and others fail? In a book that has received attention from policymakers and civic activists in America and around the world, Robert Putnam and his collaborators offer empirical evidence for the importance of "civic community" in developing successful institutions. Their focus is on a unique experiment begun in 1970 when Italy created new governments for each of its regions. After spending two decades analyzing the efficacy of these governments in such fields as agriculture, housing, and health services, they reveal patterns of associationism, trust, and cooperation that facilitate good governance and economic prosperity. Why do some democratic governments succeed and others fail? In a book that has received attention from policymakers and civic activists in America and around the world, Robert Putnam and his collaborators offer empirical evidence for the importance of "civic community" in developing successful institutions. Their focus is on a unique experiment begun in 1970 when Italy created new governments for each of its regions. After spending two decades analyzing the efficacy of these governments in such fields as agriculture, housing, and health services, they reveal patterns of associationism, trust, and cooperation that facilitate good governance and economic prosperity.