Agencies

Just as the title 'Agency and Organizations. Towards an organizational theory of society'reveals, this book offers a theory of society based on organizations. The book starts of with a discussion of Giddens, Habermas and Alexander (among others), which shows that Ahrne master the fields of sociology and organization theory well-while at the same time being able to walk outside their domains. Ahrne manages to present an intriguing view of the often troublesome connection between the societal level and individual action, without ending up in a rigid grand theory. The fascinating way to look at society with new eyes, combined with lots of examples from everyday life, makes this book fun reading, something neither sociology nor organization theory is spoiled with. The idea of a theory of society where organizations play a crucial role has been further elaborated by Ahrne in 'Social Organizations. interaction inside, outside and between organizations, which appeared in 1994 (Sage). I strongly recomend you to read both books, no matter if your interest is in organization theory, sociology or 'just' every day life.

This book is extremely well written, with a keen sense of understanding. Well argued, with thorough knowledge of relevant literature. Unlike so much philosophy a good read and easily comprehended. A major advance in the field.

Dobres and Robb's Agency in Archaeology is the first critical look at how archaeologists use and define the concept of agency. This edited volume brings into focus some of the benefits as well as some of the pitfalls of using an agency framework. The editors do not offer any clear definition of agency, instead, they present a background on the theoretical works influencing the concept of agency and a series of contributions by various authors on the use and idea of agency.

What I enjoyed most about the volume is the diversity of the contributions. The editors did a great job in choosing authors with varied interests. We see how archaeologists working in both the old and new worlds have used agency as a way of describing the past. Contributions are also varied in the time periods and types of societies examined. Some of the studies examine hunter-gatherers while others focus on the founding of prehistoric states such as those found in Mexico.

Overall this book is important to both archaeologists who use an agency framework and those who find it problematic. Not only does this book give the first clear look at agency as a concept, but it also examines where agency fits in regard to other theoretical concepts such as: feminism, processual, and post-processual thought. In conclusion, I would recommend this book to all serious students of archaeology, especially those interested in archaeological theory and what constitutes archaeological knowledge.

This book sparked a small controversy when it was released in 1979 because it was the first to take a serious look at America's "secret" war in Laos and Cambodia.
Robbins did a find job by interviewing pilots and showing what it was like to fly, fight and survive what many thought was a backwater to the Vietnam war. I thought he was very fair to the men who fought there.
Catch his other book, if you like this one, "The Ravens." Released almost a decade later, in 1987, "The Ravens" tells the story of secret Forward Air Controllers, or FACs, who controlled air strikes during the Vietnam War. Robbins got even better stories for "The Ravens." Both books are kind of hard to find though. You have to buy them used.

In 1950, Joe McCarthy started telling USAmericans that there was a Great Communist Conspiracy that had infiltrated the U.S. govt., the Press, the churches, you name it. One of his prime exhibits was the AMERASIA case, where what started as an espionage conspiracy suddenly, mysteriously collapsed. "It's true," said the Right and the Republicans. "Nonsense you're all paranoids," said Democrats, liberals, and the Left. Now, thanks to Klehr and Radosh, we have the truth, and it is stranger than anything either side ever suspected. There were multiple, independent, overlapping conspiracies, at AMERASIA magazine (to spy for Stalin),in the State Dept. (to undermine FDR's China Policy), in the Communist movement (to shape U.S. policy) in the Justice Dept. (to cover up political embarrassments) and in Congress (to cover up the other conspiracies). Had the truth been told then, we might have been spared some of the worst political messes of modern times. Highly Recommended.

Morse's credentials alone and the topic of breach of government security alone should be enough to get every American to peruse this book. But his writing style and pace will make every reader not want to put it down until they've read it cover to cover. The idea of having "spy-master" Walker write a beginning portion of the book was wonderful and very eye-opening.

It's scary to think of all the loopholes the government can stoop to. And the American people put their trust and faith in the government (usually). Of course, everyone working in government from the president on down puts their pants on one leg at a time and uses the bathroom just like the rest of us, but there's a certain sense of awe in Americans that people in these high positions, also CIA, Secret Service, etc., will be upstanding people. Simply checking if someone has ever been convicted of a felony before letting them in certain jobs isn't enough to tell that they won't be bought out once they take that job.

Morse shows readers that our fears are very justified about our government today and that we should take notice of what he has uncovered -- which is our history, now -- and how this applies to what we can do and expect in our future.

A very telling book, told by an author who, I hope, will keep on busting corruption.

Those of you who subscribe online to Ancestry Daily News will recognize Juliana as one of their columnists. She is a top notch genealogist, and this is illustrated by this well organized book. This one belongs in everyone's home genealogy collection. It is subtitled "A comprehensive list of local, state, and federal agencies and institutions and ethnic and genealogical organizations". The entries are divided into "General Resources" and "State Addresses". She gives mailing addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and web sites when they are available. While many of us use Google or other online search engines to look for addresses, sometimes a book is the best and quickest way to find what we need. This is a great one to have.

As one of the members of the Arsenal Ship Government team, I was pleased to see the comprehensive and frank insights to the program provided by the book. Rand Corp was hired by the program office at the beginning to document what was a ground-breaking experiment in Navy ship acquisition and they did an outstanding job of capturing the complete story. They pull no punches in describing the program's development, with views from both industry and Government, and the reasons for its ultimate demise. Everyone interested in Naval history will find this a fascinating read.

Just when it seems that the government is once more wallowing in huge budget deficits and that a balanced budget is a thing of the past, this book by noted organization and fiscal administration expert Irene Rubin only gains more significance for the insights it offers about current condition. While the book recounts the struggle to balance the budget, it also gives a glimpse of the real problems agencies have experienced and will continue to suffer from because of hollow government and the mismatch between agency mission and workforce reduction. Rubin's book speaks to those who care about government and its public and how the market -- of contractors and clientele groups of government programs -- have caught agencies in games of survival. The book carries one of the emerging paradoxes of public administration today: that while agencies are beaten by mismatched personnel cuts and growing missions, they become less able to resist Congressional mandates. They learn to obscure quality reductions because lower performance might invite more cuts; yet hiding the pain only seems to prove the existence of slack and that reduction was deserved in the first place. It's amazing for Rubin to have captured this picture of government bureaucracy at this moment in time.

Because I know both Dr. Ingersoll, and Dr. MacCluskie personally will readily admit that I am just a tad biased when it comes to their work. However these two professors are first-rate intellectuals who know how to guide the would-be practioner deeper.

This book gives the counselor-to-be a window into the world of agency counseling. To their credit, the authors also stress the need, or dare I say, necessity, of "looking inward" as well.

This practical book offers valuable information, suggestions, and guidelines designed to help readers learn how to work effectively in an agency setting. The unifying theme and framework is the value and importance of looking at personal and professional aspects of agency counseling. This text helps the reader look inside themselves as well as outside of themselves at their agency.
This practical book offers valuable information, suggestions, and guidelines designed to help readers learn how to work effectively in an agency setting. The unifying theme and framework is the value and importance of looking at personal and professional aspects of agency counseling. This text helps the reader look inside themselves as well as outside of themselves at their agency.
This very practical book offers valuable insight to help readers learn how to work effectively in an agency setting. Both authors have had extensive experience in this field, so they know very well what they speak.

The main theme of this book is the importance of looking at personal and professional aspects of agency counseling. Although a little on the expensive side, this book is a necessary read for those who are entering the field, who want to rise above mediocrity.