Customer Reviews:
Great intro to Am. Gov't.......2007-05-28
I never thought I'd be interested in gov't until I read this. It tells what the founders were thinking when they instituted this gov't we have and what their intentions were when they wrote the constitution. I thought that the gov't was here for the fat cats to sit on their butts and live off us all, but when I learned that the ppl that wrote everything had the interests of the gen. pop. in mind I thought that was pretty darn cool!
Book Description
As trade flows expanded and trade agreements proliferated after World War II, governments—most notably the United States—came increasingly to use their power over imports and exports to influence the behavior of other countries. But trade is not the only way in which nations interact economically. Over the past two decades, another form of economic exchange has risen to a level of vastly greater significance and political concern: the purchase and sale of financial assets across borders. Nearly $2 trillion worth of currency now moves cross-border every day, roughly 90 percent of which is accounted for by financial flows unrelated to trade in goods and services—a stunning inversion of the figures in 1970. The time is ripe to ask fundamental questions about what Benn Steil and Robert Litan have coined as “financial statecraft,” or those aspects of economic statecraft directed at influencing international capital flows. How precisely has the American government practiced financial statecraft? How effective have these efforts been? And how can they be made more effective? The authors provide penetrating and incisive answers in this timely and stimulating book.
Customer Reviews:
TERRIBLE.......2007-01-21
Very naive - these guys need to work harder before publising. Some terrible naive comments - reads like a bad essay at university and perhaps even high school. waste of money... Terrible stuff a shame that anyone published this.
Too little on actual financial statecraft.......2006-05-07
I must respectfully disagree with the esteemed reviewers of this book listed above. I expected so much more from a book with such a fine pedigree (Brookings and the US Council on Foreign Relations).
The topic of how states use financial instruments towards their foreign policy goals is an area which certainly requires more understanding. As such, I expected this book to be an in-depth study of the various ways states have used such tools, and how the authors expect such tools to be used in the future. I thus expected analyses of topics such as how states respond to currency crises of allies and enemies and how states use counterfeiting of enemies' currencies as foreign policy (i.e. as Iran is alleged to do with the US dollar). I also expected a study of how states manipulate access to important currencies (as when the US cut Panama off from receiving dollars as part of an effort to topple Noreiga) and how they have sought to manipulate the foreign financial press (as is alleged to have happened during the classical Gold Standard era).
Some of these topics did receive mention. The issue of how the US should respond to allies' crises received good coverage, especially regarding South Korea. There was also one paragraph acknowledging that countries have counterfeited others' currencies, and a brief discussion of petro-dollar recycling. Moreover, I found the chapter on how interest groups have attempted to restrict access to US capital markets to further other goals very illuminating, and there was a nice summary of anti-terrorism finance legislation. Overall, I found the first half of the book very enlightening.
Unfortunately, the other half of the book dealt predominantly with the authors' assertions that dollarization should be the way forward for developing countries to prevent currency crises, and in particular, that the US should encourage this and absorb some of the costs. The issues of whether countries should use floating, dirty float, pegged or dollarized exchange rates is an important one. However, I did not pick up this book to read about the authors' assertions about dollarization--I picked it up to read about financial statecraft.
Financial statecraft will only grow in importance, and as the authors note, it is critical that policymakers understand how it functions and what tools are at their disposal. This book only discusses financial statecraft primarily in its first 80 pages (and scattered in some places in the latter part of the book as well). I feel eighty pages was just too little to adequately examine financial statecraft. Instead, the reader is unfortunately left with a quick gloss-over of only a few aspects of such an important and under-analyzed topic.
Capital Markets Sanctions: A Very Stupid Idea Whose Time Has Come.......2006-03-09
Steil and Litan define economic statecraft as applying economic means to influence other actors in the international system, and financial statecraft as those aspects of economic statecraft that are directed at influencing capital flows. They cover a wide range of issues, starting from the recycling of petrodollars in the 1970s to the fight against the financing of terrorism after 9/11, with special highlights on financial sanctions against non-state actors and on the foreign policy dimension on financial crises.
Capital market sanctions, the idea of restricting access to the US capital markets in the service of foreign policy aims, are increasingly popular in some quarters, reflecting the growing importance of capital transactions over trade flows. The authors demonstrate that it is also an incredibly stupid idea: money is fungible, and the capital that is not raised in New York can be easily raised elsewhere at the same cost. Even if all major stock markets cooperated to bar access to targeted companies that operate in certain rogue states or participate in arms dealings, the small rise in the cost of capital that these firms would incur would be vastly offset by the gains accrued from these operations.
The authors raise the example of PetroChina, which Congress tried to ban from listing on the New York Stock Exchange because of its involvement in the Sudanese energy sector. The public campaign against the Chinese company assembled a motley crew of activists, ranging from organizations associated with the Christian Right to the AFL-CIO and human rights advocates. In the end, the IPO was scaled down and the campaigners claimed victory, as the AFL-CIO convinced some pension funds not to invest in the Chinese company.
Meanwhile, the share price of PetroChina quadrupled in four years, and Sudan now exports 85% of its oil to China. Interestingly, the main foreign investor in the company is the US mogul Warren Buffet, known for his investment acumen and who acquired 14% of the company through the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where most of its shares are listed. The idea that foreign firms can raise capital only on Wall Street and that US investors wait at home for them to come is simply wrong.
This book is a reminder that "policymakers frequently apply financial statecraft with a poor understanding of how financial markets actually work, leading to policy actions which are inadequate or which exacerbate the problems they are trying to remedy."
Book Description
In this powerful and disturbing book, Rogers Smith traces political struggles over U.S. citizenship laws from the colonial period through the Progressive era and shows that throughout this time, most adults were legally denied access to full citizenship, including political rights, solely because of their race, ethnicity, or gender.
Customer Reviews:
A REAL HISTORY.......2001-02-14
Civic Ideals is a book every american should read.Prof.Smith has demonstrated clearly how trough history the United States have had diferents meanings about the citizenship.In the case of Puerto Rico-the last colony of the world-we the Puerto Ricans have a second-class citizenship.The author sumarize very well our case with the insular cases and Balzac vs. People of Puerto Rico.Also Smith analize the legal debate in the Harvard Law Review,but do not mention the Yale Law Journal(Adams,Elmer B.,"The Causes and Results of Our War with Spain from a legal Standpoint."VII(1899),pag.119 and Parker,Le Roy,"The Constitution of Porto Rico",X (1901),pag.136.)and Columbia Law Review;Fuller,Paul,"Some Constitutional Questions Suggested by Recent Acquisitions"I(1901),pag.108).For people who want to know the real constitutional history of The United States this book is excellent.Is one of my favorites books.
A little dry.......2000-06-08
This is one of the few books that I have started and then quit part way through. I had to force myself to continue reading after about page 50 and then quit at 200. It was very dry content and read too much like a doctoral dissertation. In addition, assumptions were made about the readers knowledge of court cases related to civic rights.
A little dry.......2000-06-08
This is one of the few books that I have started and then quit part way through. I had to force myself to continue reading after about page 50 and then quit at 200. It was very dry content and read too much like a doctoral dissertation. In addition, assumptions were made about the readers knowledge of court cases related to civic rights.
Average customer rating:
- Good Reference
- The Old Guard still wants our men to ride in deathtraps!
- Meremising
- Right is Might!
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The Pentagon Wars: Reformers Challenge the Old Guard
James G. Burton
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The Pentagon Wars
ASIN: 1557500819 |
Customer Reviews:
Good Reference.......2004-06-21
A very interesting book that not only details certain aspects of the defense procurement culture, but also goes into the politics of some of the different services. While the focus is primarily on the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, there are other great bits of information (such as the creation of the F-16) and amusing stories (any involving the "Blitzfighter" aircraft).
The DOD politics that the author experiences are fascinating, and remain relevant today. One example is the discussion of the A-10, its amazing record in the 1991 Gulf War, and how the Air Force really hates it and the close air support role it plays (today the Air Force is moving towards replacing the A-10 with higher flying, faster planes for the close air support missions).
Overall this book is an important read for anyone interested not only in defense procurement, but DOD politics and modern warfare as well. A good book to have as a reference.
The Old Guard still wants our men to ride in deathtraps!.......2002-10-28
The "Old Guard" of out-of-touch and can't-handle-the-truth milicrats still run the Pentagon--even after the 9/11 attacks clearly showed a "house-cleaning" is in order to meet the challenges of 21st Century asymmetric warfare by cunning enemies. Colonel Burton's book outlines how 1980s reformers sought to get reliable, safe and affordable weapons into U.S. military service and how these common sense efforts are opposed by the egotists with other agendas. The point is that the U.S. military culture BREEDS self-seeking, egotistical, vain milicrats not common sense warriors with values of honor and troop welfare and mission accomplishment.
The sad thing is that the 1980s military reformers are now gone and not on duty to stop the current round of Pentagon losers like the lav3stryker, V-22, AAAV and F-22 all stricken with the disease of Tofflerian gadgets while ignoring sound physical robustness, reliability and combat effectiveness at their own level. The current generals runnng DoD have simply transplanted their bureaucratic pass-the-buck mentality to the foot Soldier and pilot by hoping a computer "mouse-click" will deliver some magic firepower to solve the battlefield problem instead of empowering lower ranks to fight and win at their own level.
What makes this book so haunting is that its a true story that is repeating itself before our very eyes with the Army's thin-skinned, air-filled rubber-tired LAV-3 Stryker armored car boondoggle that will get our men killed in combat. The book shows the exact same PR tactics and lying "spin" the Army and DoD use to put people second and their programs/promotions first. The depiction of how the Army will cheat on tests to masquerade that "all is well" with a program is common as seen by the recent efforts to deceive the public by flying overweight lav3strykers a short distance by C-130 aircraft with less fuel inside to compensate--exactly how in the Bradley's fuel tanks were filled just with the minimum fuel to drive in front of the audience grandstands and to the aim point for the test anti-tank weapon to hit it.
The tragedy is that after 2 decades, the Army today is rushing the lav3stryker deathtrap into production without ANY live-fire testing against fully fueled and ammo loaded vehicles fired at by RPGs or 14.5mm heavy machine guns thanks to a loophole in DoD procurement. Too bad Colonel Burton wasn't on duty now in the Pentagon. When they make the movie sequel to this book, "Pentagon Wars II: the lav3stryker" it looks like the ending will not be a happy one with a better vehicle (upgraded M113A3 Gavins) going into service. The horror of hundreds of dead American Soldiers Colonel Burton wanted to prevent will be our "wake-up call".
If we ignored the film and Col Burton's book its based on, what makes us think the Pentagon Old Guard will change after needless deaths?
Meremising.......1999-04-23
This beast that we creat, "the Military-Industrial Complex," influence in shown in every instiution in this country. This tells the story from inside the Pentagon, and shows how insane it has got. CUT MILITARY SPENDING BY HALF. NO MORE 300 billion a YEAR! Oh Lord, help me. I am clear, for the future now lies in our hands.
Right is Might!.......1998-03-30
I read this book after seeing the HBO black comedy film The Pentagon Wars. It is all true!! I was part of the U. S. Army Chemical Research Development Engineering Center at Edgewood Arsonal back in the late 1980's. I assisted with the testing of the xm-22, xm-21, cadnet, nbc recon. vehicle (a m-113 that got its butt kicked by the then west german fuchs vehicle) and other systems. There were times that you just had to shake your head at the way the officers and civilians conducted some of the tests. The Col is right on the money.
Book Description
Acclaimed for the scholarship of its prominent authors and the clarity of its narrative, American Government sets the standard for public policy coverage while maintaining focus on three fundamental topics: the institutions of American government; the historical development of governmental procedures, actors, and policies; and who governs in the US and to what end.
The Essentials version maintains the structure of the main text but replaces the policy chapters with one brief chapter on the policymaking process.
- New! This thoroughly updated edition reflects both foreign and domestic events that currently affect US politics—including a discussion of the effects of 9/11 on American foreign policy and national security—combined with the latest scholarship in the field.
- New! Coverage of the most recent domestic issues includes the 2004 term Congressional elections, the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act, and the George W. Bush presidency.
- New! Enhanced coverage of the process of government, such as the workings of Congress and the implementation of law.
- New! To augment the chapter summary and help students synthesize and think critically about what they learn, Revisiting the Enduring Questions appear at the end of each chapter as mini-essays and expand on the classic questions about democracy posed at the beginning of the chapter.
- New! Suggested web links help students research US politics.
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American Government: Institutions and Policies (Advanced Placement Edition)
James Q. Wilson , and
John J. DiIulio
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Holt Physics
ASIN: 0618562443 |
Product Description
All pages complete, however they are able to be taken out for use in instruction and teaching as they are perforated pages
Book Description
From curriculum standards and testing to school choice and civic learning, issues in American education are some of the most debated in the United States. The Public Schools, a collection of essays by the nation's leading education scholars and professionals, is designed to inform the debate and stimulate change. In association with the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands and the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, The Public Schools is the first in a series of books commissioned to enhance public understanding of the nature and function of democratic institutions. A national advisory board--including, among others, Nancy Kassebaum Baker, David Boren, John Brademas, Ellen Condliffe Lagemann, David Gergen, and Lee Hamilton--will guide the vision of the project, which includes future volumes on the press and the three branches of government. Each essay in The Public Schools addresses essential questions for policymakers, educators, and anyone committed to public education. What role should public education play in a democracy? How has that role changed through American history? Have the schools lost sight of their responsibility to teach civics and citizenship? How are current debates about education shaping the future of this democratic institution? Among the contributors are William Galston, Director of the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at the University of Maryland;Clarence Stone, Professor in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland - College Park and editor of Changing Urban Education and Regime Politics: Governing Atlanta, 1946-1988 (University Press of Kansas, 1998).; Susan Moore Johnson, Pforzheimer Professor of Education in Learning and Teaching, Harvard University; Michael Johanek, Executive Director of K-12 Professional Development, College Board; Kathy Simon, co-executive director of the Coalition for Essential Schools and author of Moral Questions in the Classroom (Yale University Press, 2001); and Jennifer Hochschild, Professor of Government and Professor of Afro-American Studies at Harvard University and author of Facing Up to the American Dream: Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation (Princeton University Press, 1995).
Customer Reviews:
The Fact that I'm the first and only reviewer of this book is a testament to the sad outlook for American Public schools!.......2007-03-21
You must read this book if you have children in public schools! Or if you just value public education.
I cannot believe that such an important book for anyone with the slightest vestige of interest in education or democracy hasn't already reviewed this book!
John Merrow's chapter on media roles in education is a brilliant tie in to the other book in the series, The Institutions of American Democracy: The Press.
This book points out clearly the challenges posed by continued mismanagement of our public school system and the failures at every level of bureaucracy without pointing partisan fingers. Most striking are realizations that the authors make regarding the development of civics education and the difficulties faced by teachers who are expected to teach deliberative principles while avoiding controversial topics.
One of the finest talking points the book makes is the failure by schools to utilize modern media to further educational goals.
I was especially inspired by Amy Gutman's "Afterword" that conveys the urgency of public education reform if we are to succeed and evolve as a democracy.
Simply a brilliant book!
Book Description
This extraordinary book is both a richly textured portrait of New Haven, Connecticut, and the story of the rise and fall of American cities. Douglas Rae depicts the reasons for urban decline, explains why government spending has failed to restore urban vitality, and offers suggestions to enhance city life in the future.
“A terrific read, moving seductively from the minutiae of neighborhood history to grand global forces.”—Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone
“An extraordinarily detailed study of New Haven, tracing the city’s rise in the early part of the 20th century and its fall in the second half—an almost archetypal tale of the American city.”—Edward Rothstein, New York Times
“For anyone with the slightest interest in cities, this book is that rare combination: a must-read volume that you can’t put down.”—Planning Magazine
“[Rae] has provided the blueprint for the next generation of thinkers and city dwellers who debate the future of urban America. . . . A tour de force of research.”—Paul Bass, New Haven Advocate
Customer Reviews:
a case study of a city's rise and fall.......2005-08-10
Many books have been written about the decline of American cities- but I have found none quite like this one.
Rae's book is not an abstract set of generalizations, but a case study of one city: New Haven, Connecticut.
The first half of the book begins by talking about the rise of New Haven. At the start of the 19th century, New Haven was just one of many small towns in south central Connecticut. But by 1910 it was an industrial powerhouse with 80% of the region's population. What went right?
Once railroads were invented in the early 19th century, intercity (between cities) transportation became much easier - but at the same time, intracity transportation was still cumbersome. So industry was centralized in a few downtowns, and most people lived within a mile of their work. And cheap energy (through coal and steam) benefited port cities which, like New Haven, lacked the power of falling water and thus did not have a large mill industry. Moreover, coal (unlike modern electricity) was also easier to transport between downtowns than within cities. So labor and capital were centralized in New Haven, which by 1910 was a crime-free, bustling, very urban place.
New Haven stopped growing as early as the 1920s, and started to shrink in the 1950s. What went wrong?
Rae lists a variety of factors- some that were beyond the control of any politician, and some that could have been controlled through more enlightened public policy.
In the first category, Rae mentions the rise of the automobile (which decentralized regions by making transportation within a region easier) and the rise of the electric power grid (which allowed cheap energy to go beyond regional cores). Television decimated the city's volunteer civic organizations, and national centralization of industry meant that local groceries were supplanted by regional supermarkets and New Haven's industries were bought by corporations headquartered in other cities and often moved around the country or around the globe.
In the second category, Rae criticizes highways that encouraged movement to suburbia, public housing projects that anchored low-skill people in urban cores that were losing low-skill manufacturing jobs, zoning that discouraged retail outside of a few commercial streets, New Deal housing agencies that discouraged investment in urban working-class neighborhoods, and urban renewal projects that bulldozed those neighborhoods in the 1950s and 1960s to build more highways and housing projects.
Was sprawl inevitable? Given the wide range of factors cited by Rae, some sprawl was inevitable- but the disastrous decline of New Haven probably wasn't.
Exceptional and Entertaining.......2004-01-08
I found this to be an absorbing, detailed, and provocative political and social history of New Haven, with lessons and delightful insights for those interested in the future of our cities, suburbs, and communities. Only a well-respected Yale political scientist like Doug Rae, with the sophistication of someone who has experienced firsthand how policy and implementation collide, could have written as entertaining and perceptive a history. The book is an immense public service, and required reading for those interested in urban planning, redevelopment, and public policy. I enjoyed it thoroughly!
Tour de force shatters urban legends.......2003-10-31
Rae spins a story like a novelist, but this book is really a tour de force, assembling an impressive amount of data to explain how well-intentioned urban planning policies failed, and how America lost its sense of what creates livable cities. It's a terrific read for anyone interested in the tale of American urban evolution in the twentieth century, and a must-read for those involved in urban planning, public policy and politics.
Simply the best book on cities........2003-10-16
This book chronicles the rich urban life of New Haven, CT, and the forces that brought about its decline in the postwar period. It dissects the misplaced theories underpinning the urban renewal movement and details the disastrous effects that these policies had on New Haven. While the book focuses on New Haven, the discussion is pertinent to urban renewal projects in dozens of US cities, and is of interest to anyone interested in the decline, and possible rebirth of urban life. One unique characteristic of this book is the quality of the writing: witty, insightful. Despite being a scholarly book, it reads like a novel. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in cities.
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