Local Government Books - Page 4

The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics

Dan T. Carter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Masterful examination of Wallace's political career 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

This is an excellent study on the political career of George Wallace, the former Alabama Governor famed for his stand against integration in the early 1960's and his subsequent runs for the Presidency. Carter portrays Wallace as a complex individual, who seems to have been motivated from the start more by ambition than principle. The book gives an extremely well researched and readable account of Wallace's early life, his family, friendships and formative experiences. Carter attempts to show that Wallace early on became politically ambitious for the Alabama Governor's office and that he originally adopted the stance of a moderate (for the time) southern populist, going so far as to refuse to break away from the Democratic party in 1948 and supporting Truman over Strom Thurmond and the Dixiecrat party.

In the 1958 Alabama gubernatorial election Wallace was defeated by a more blatantly racist, segregationist opponent and vowed in a famed statement of racial epithet never to be the racial moderate in any future elections. True to his word he ran a 1962 campaign on the stance of continued defiance to federal government attempts to integrate Alabama schools and extend voting rights to the state's black population. Successfully elected, he made a national name for himself by his confrontations with the federal courts (including initially trying to defy or evade the court orders of man who had once been a good friend - Federal Judge Frank Johnson) and the Kennedy Justice Department. The book doesn't shy away from the resulting violence of some of Wallace's followers and the more extreme racist comments and actions of many of those who supported him in the 1960's. I think Carter makes a good case that by his disregard for federal law enforcement agencies and civil rights protesters that Wallace in some degree bore some of the responsibility for the actions of the more extreme and violent of those opposed to integration and expanded civil rights for black citizens.

Carter also provides great detail into minds of the inner circle of those men who managed Wallace's candidacy in his state and later national campaigns for President, including talented speechwriter but also violent racist Klansman Asa Carter (no relation to the author), who would later become famous as the author of the historical novel that inspired the Clint Eastwood movie "The Outlaw Josey Wales". Biographer Carter's premise is that by Wallace's strong showings in the presidential elections of 1968 and 1972 (before he was derailed by an assassination attempt) that Wallace succeeded in moving the national political debate to the right, especially in the area of social policies and politics. Carter has gone on record in other books and speeches as trying to link the Republican policies of welfare reform, re-examination of affirmative action policies and anti-crime legislation as being directly descended from Wallace's bigoted early campaigns. While I think he stretches the point I do think that some of Wallace's populist appeal did pave the way for successful Presidential campaigns of other southerners, such as Georgia's Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Arkansas' Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. Carter sees Republican Ronald Reagan as more of a direct descendant of Wallace, but this reviewer sees it as a fact that most successful Presidential races since 1968 whether Republican or Democrat have taken Wallace's anti-Washington bureaucrat populist rhetoric and support for a stronger defense and lower taxes as being more important than his racial stances.

Of course Wallace himself moderated his racial stances through the succeeding years, until he was running as a populist with appeal to both blacks and whites in the 1980's and appealing for forgiveness to many of those he had wronged. Carter dutifully reports this later conversion, although he seems to question some of the sincerity behind the public conversion.

The book doesn't represent itself as a conventional biography as much as an examination of Wallace's life and the effects of his political campaigns on national and regional politics, and for that reason I can forgive what I see as a failure of the book to give as much detail and scrutiny to Wallace's life after 1972 as Carter gave the previous years. The book does a powerful job of conveying the reality of Lurleen Wallace's life and trials as George's wife as well as her fights with the cancer that finally killed her. Her stint as a successful stand in candidate for Governor in 1966 and her short term in office before her death is given a good overview. However I would have liked to have seen as much detail and information on Wallace's later family and personal life, including his other marriages and relationships with his children. I also would have been interested in finding out more about the Alabama political scene of the 1980's and 1990's and Wallace's lasting effect on those politics, but I can't argue with the fact that Carter has written a masterful portrait on both the man and his era and the waves he caused by his political campaigns. A definite 5 stars for this award winning (justly so, I might add) political biography.

Editorial Review:

In the first unauthorized study of Wallace in two decades, a professor of history shows how Wallace's segregationist politics launched the anti-Washington populist movement that ultimately swept Republicans to power in 1994. 25,000 first printing.

The Insider's Guide To Political Internships: What To Do Once You're In The Door

Grant Reeher, Mack Mariani

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

Not much of an insider 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Major disappointment. This book offered little in the way of "insider" insights, but read primarily an attempt by the author to present himself as a political "player."

Interns typically don't make much money, so I'd recommend you save yours for something other than this book.

Editorial Review:

This concise, highly practical volume provides an essential guide of "how-to" essays for students to succeed in political internships.

Every year, thousands of college students invade Washington, D.C., and the fifty state capitals to volunteer as political interns. Unfortunately, they are rarely able to "hit the ground running," lacking the tools to help them do so. The Insider's Guide to Political Internships provides those tools. This volume contains practical, concise essays written by acting politicians and scholars with extensive experience supervising internships, as well as advice from many former interns. The book highlights internships on Capitol Hill, at the White House, in the executive branch, at the state level, in the Congressional district office, and at non-profit groups.

Managing Local Government: Cases in Decision Making (Municipal Management Series)

International City

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Democracy in California: Politics and Government in the Golden State

Brian Janiskee, Ken Masugi

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Rare Textbook Find: California Politics With a Purpose 5 out of 5 stars.
17 of 17 people found this review helpful.

For those who teach American politics and government, there are distressingly few good textbook choices available for national or state courses. A rare exception to the dismayingly dreary or tiresomely trendy tomes that abound is "Democracy in California: Politics and Government in the Golden State." Authors Brian P. Janiskee and Ken Masugi have combined the standard features (formal and informal institutions, demographics, historical vignettes, recent developments, political terminology, etc.) with a thoughtful historical and philosophical approach that places California within the broad scope of American experience and Western political thought.
As its title suggests, this distinctive text draws both high inspiration and practical wisdom specifically from Alexis de Tocqueville's classic study, "Democracy in America" (1835). But the book is more than high-minded or useful: it is dead-on timely too. Tocqueville observed America during the Age of Jackson, early in the pre-Civil War crisis (1830-60) which both preceded and shaped California government. Thus, California was founded at a time (1849-50) when, as Tocqueville knew, republican government was under severe attack from Southern slavemasters and European autocrats. To the extent that the influence of the American founding was not attenuated by these attacks, the new State of California was both representative and free. But having weathered those challenges, California (and the nation) have had to endure the various phases and consequences of the Prussian administrative state which was the questionable contribution of the Progressive movement in the decades since the State's admission to the Union by the Compromise of 1850.
California has been shaped for good or for ill by these competing forces and is necessarily presented in this work as a sort of hodge podge in which multiple offices, frequent elections and political cronyism (the Jacksonian contribution) overlap with direct democracy, anti-partyism and professional expertise (the Progressive contribution). The battle over slavery shaped the State's original identity as a free state in the midst of a bitter sectional dispute but also long tainted its politics with racism. California defied the odds against republican government but the rise of the administrative state and its seemingly boundless taxing and spending--and bureaucratic meddling--puts the future of that regime in serious question. Not everything could be included in this relatively short (160 pages) work but no salient fact is overlooked as it bears upon the future of democracy in the Golden State.
The authors are discerning students of political philsophy, best exemplified today by Harry V. Jaffa, who single-handedly rescued Abraham Lincoln and principled anti-slavery politics from the near-oblivion of the professional historians. Janiskee and Masugi in turn seek to rescue California politics (but not many of its leading politicians)from the academic dead end to which years of pseudo-scientific approaches have relegated it. "Democracy in California" makes the study of California government and politics a much more serious and rewarding enterprise than it has been for many years and will be, if this book is widely adopted, for many more. Extensive footnotes and excellent bibliography. Highest recommendation.

Editorial Review:

In Democracy in California: Government and Politics in the Golden State, Brian P. Janiskee and Ken Masugi clearly explain the politics and character of California's governmental institutions and the dynamics affecting the lives of its citizens. The Second Edition is updated throughout and includes special discussions of the recent 2006 election, the 2005 special election, and the 2003 recall effort.

The Sagebrush State, 3Rd Edition: Nevada'S History, Government, And Politics (Wilbur S. Shepperson Series in History and Humanities)

Michael W. Bowers

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Editorial Review:

"This is a volume that would be a worthwhile addition to the bookshelf of anyone looking for a reliable reference work on Nevada government and politics. It will appeal to anyone seeking to understand those subjects in the context of a turbulent past which, in many ways, is strikingly unique among states of the West and the nation." —Western Historical Quarterly

"In Nevada, as elsewhere, historical and environmental forces have influenced government and politics. Michael W. Bowers’ books succeeds in capturing the dynamics of this process. This concise work explains how Nevada government actually works and how the area’s history has shaped its political culture." —Journal of the West

Since its publication in 1996, The Sagebrush State has served as the text for the required course on Nevada’s history and constitution given at the state’s colleges and universities. The third edition of this work is updated through 2005 to include information on the elections of 2002 and 2004 and two very controversial sessions of the legislature.

The full text of the state constitution is provided for reference in an appendix and includes extensive annotations that note and explain amendments and other changes made to the original 1864 document.

Government and Politics in Florida

J. EDWIN BENTON

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Editorial Review:

For more than fifteen years, Government and Politics in Florida has been the only book to offer authoritative information on the operations of government and nuances of politics in the Sunshine State. Published in two editions (1991 and 1998) under the editorship of Robert Huckshorn, the book has consistently featured contributions by Florida's most well-known and respected political scientists.

Now edited by Edwin Benton, the third edition retains all of the chapters from the previous edition--though all have been revised and many rewritten by new authors. There are also entirely new chapters on the critical policy areas of education, public welfare, and health care, and one on intergovernmental relations. A chapter in the second edition on public opinion and interest groups has been divided into two chapters, one focusing on political culture and political attitudes, the other focusing on interest groups. A final, concluding chapter ties together the volume and speculates about the future of government and politics in Florida.

From executive branch to legislature, from the court system to political parties, there is no other book that serves as a better introductory text for courses on Florida government.

Collaborative Public Management: New Strategies for Local Governments (American Governance and Public Policy)

Robert Agranoff, Michael McGuire

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Editorial Review:

Based on an extensive study of 237 cities within five states, this text provides an in-depth look at how city officials work with other governments and organizations to develop their city economies and what makes these collaborations work.

Family Law: Problems and Documents (Problems and Answers)

J. Eric Eric Smithburn

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Materials in Trial Advocacy: Problems and Cases (Coursebook Series)

Warren D. Wolfson, Thomas A. Mauet

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

LAW CLERK 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 12 people found this review helpful.

IT IS AN EXCCELENT BOOK FOR THE TRIAL ADVOCACY COURSE. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK NOT ONLY FOR THE LAW STUDENTS BUT ALSO FOR THE PARCTICIONERS, WHO MAY FIND IT VERY HELPFUL FOR A TRIAL PREPORATION.

Excellent service 5 out of 5 stars.
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He responded back to my questions on-time, and got the item to me in a prompt manner. The book was exactly as described. Great service all around.

Rogues, Rebels, and Rubberstamps: The Story of Chicago City Council from the Civil War to the Third Millennium

Dick Simpson

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Editorial Review:

In Rogues, Rebels, and Rubber Stamps, Dick Simpson challenges and recasts current theories of Regime Politics as he chronicles the dramatic story of the civic wars in the Chicago City Council since the civil war. At the same time, the author provides a window into the broader struggle for democracy and justice.Simpson points out that through analyzing city council floor fights, battles at the ballot box, and street demonstrations, one can begin to see certain patterns of conflict emerge. These patterns demonstrate that before the Great Depression, fragmented city councils were dominant. The author also discusses how since the Democrats seized control of Chicago government after the Great Depression, Rubber Stamp City Councils have been predominant, although they have been punctuated by brief eras of council wars and chaos. This book is important for anyone wanting to understand the nature of these battles as a guideline for America's future, and is well suited for courses in urban politics, affairs and history.Rogues, Rebels, and Rubber Stamps received an Honorable Mention for the 2001 Society of Midland Authors Book Award for Adult Non-Fiction.