Governments

This book is an absolute must not only for loyal followers of a natural rights theory as basis of the US constitution. Every scholar who wants to research the foundations of American constitutionalism in depth should have this book in the personal library. It his here that he will find pure Lockeanism and is here that Zuckert puts forward his case of Lockean natural rights and social contract theory as ideological basis for the founders in such a concise way that it is difficult to argue against his case. Of course this is what avid Zuckert readers are used to. This book, however, in referring to Jefferson as a natural rights thinker argues the natural rights theory with one of the most convincing witnesses you can find in American history: Thomas Jefferson. Zuckert depicts the Declaration of Independence and American political thought from an interesting perspective, Jefferson's viewpoint. He succeeds in disputing the main opposing theories to the natural rights theory such as the exemplary role of classical Greece and Rome, the continuity theory based on Puritan thought and Bailyn's point that Locke was only one among others influential on American political thought, to name just a few. I did note, however, a certain tendency to neglect historical facts especially as far as the influence of the English common law and Whiggish thought on the framers is concerned. Finally, that Zuckert did not examine the Constitution itself as closely as the Declaration of Independence is not only excusable. It serves a good purpose: to underline the importance of the Declaration of Independence as an outflow of quintessential American thought, thus a document America should be proud of.

Yet again, Michael Zuckert has produced a forceful, challenging, and overly fascinating work of scholarship. His previous work, "Natural Rights and the New Republicanism," in many ways a "prequel" to this volume, was a historical and not to mention philosophical landmark. This work picks up right where he left off. Part I of the work consists of an in depth analysis of the Declaration of Independence. This interpretration bristles with new insight. Unlike many past scholars, Zuckert makes an overt effort to place the Declaration in context. He does this by examining other sources of information, e.g. Thomas Jefferson's "Notes on Virginia" for instance. The end result, I must say, is brilliant. Contrary to modern conceptions, he demonstrates what the Declaration was really meant to say, and, at the same time, how philosophically sophisticated it really was. In Part II, Zuckert endeavors to prove that the United States was indeed founded as the natural rights republic, in a modern, dynamic, forward looking philosophical climate. To begin with, he picks apart the thesis that the American Revolution was merely an extension of the Glorious Revolution undertaken by the Whig ruling class in the late 1680s. This however, is nothing new, especially if one has already read his account of the Glorious Revolution and natural rights philosophy in his previous work. Nevertheless, he shows conclusively the incompatibility between the two Revolutions, primarily, but not wholly, through a comparison of the Declaration of Independence and the English "Bill of Rights." Moving on, Chapters 5 and 6 address the issue of Puritanism and its legacy in early America. Many scholars have proposed that the American Revolution was merely an extension of ideals held by the early Calvinist settlers of the 17th century. It is this thesis, however, that Zuckert completely demolishes. He conducts and in depth analysis of Puritan ideology, as well as its sources. Of particular interest is discussion of Martin Luther's concept of the "Two Kingdoms," and its influence in American thought. To make a long story short, he demonstrates how dramatically Locke's ideas clash with those of the early Puritans. This contention is driven home clearly by an examination of important political/relgious thinkers in 18th centiry New England, Elisha Williams and Jonathan Mayhew in particular. Finally, in Chapter 7 finds Zuckert further pushing his case for the natural rights republic. He takes on the so-called "classical republican" or "civic humanist" thesis expounded by such scholars as J.G.A. Pocock and Gordon Wood, deftly making mincemeat of them. Pressing on, he examines Thomas Jefferson's evolving political philosophy to reveal the truly radical, natural rightist foundations of American republicanism. Although the book is by and large solid, I do have several misgivings about it. First and foremost, Zuckert's Jefferson scholarship is highy suspect, as can be devined through use of Merill Peterson's biography, as the small, unscholarly Library of America collection of Jefferson's writings. I was very surprised that he did not cite Dumas Malone's definitive 6 volume biography "Jefferson and His Time," or Julian Boyd's definitive collection of Jefferson's papers. Also, Zuckert's refutation of the Puritan "Continuity Thesis," strikes me as a bit odd, as it does not prove anything at all concerning the colonies outside of New England, none of which have any Puritan heritage whatsoever. Despite these shortcomings, the work as a whole is brilliant. This volume, as well as his previous offering, is an absolute must for anyone interested in the relevant disciplines.

The subject says it all. I had to write an A-level coursework essay on Nazi Germany and this book was the most helpful thing I could possbily have had by my side. Thank you Mr Kershaw!

The fourth and latest edition of Ian Kershaw's book discussing the major themes and debates in the historical writing about the Nazi period. Kershaw's book covers the earliest descriptions of the the Nazi state from the 1930's to the present time.
An updated edition including an excellent bibliography.

The second edition of NAZI GERMANY AND WORLD WAR II offers an articulate, balanced, comprehensive, and generously illustrated treatment of the Third Reich from Hitler's birth in 1889 to the Nuremberg Trials in 1945-1946. Although there is no formal division, the organization of the subject matter and the degree of coverage given each topic separate the book into two parts. The first six chapters deal with Hitler's rise to power and how his regime's policies changed German society to the outbreak of war in 1939. The last five chapters detail the war, the Holocaust, and the collapse of the "thousand year Reich." As the title suggests, World War II, which is the logical outcome of Hitler's murderous racial ideology and the central event of Nazi history (and of world history from 1939 to 1945) is given extensive coverage. The heart of the book is a well-told narrative that emphasizes political history and war, but there is enough interpretive and analytical material, as well as coverage of cultural, economic, intellectual, and social topics, to justify the book's description as a comprehensive survey.

The second edition, which incorporates the most current research and suggestions from students, colleagues, reviewers, and other readers, contains an updated bibliography and an extensively revised chapter on the Holocaust, which highlights recent controversial interpretations. Readers will find new material on popular support for and resistance to Hitler's murderous racial policies and greatly expanded coverage of the war, highlighting the unprecedented massacres of combatants and civilians on the Russian front, the deadly bombing of Germany, the Normandy invasion and the Battle of the Bulge, and the final destruction of the Third Reich. Excerpts from primary sources placed in text boxes--authentic, sometimes plaintive, voices from the period, some from well-known figures but more from ordinary people, including children--are a completely new feature of the second edition.

I was encouraged to write a second, and, I hope, improved edition by the unwavering support of the Wadsworth editorial staff and the enthusiastic reception of the first edition by students and other readers. They have reinforced my conviction that the story of Germany's descent into hell under the Hitler regime will always need to be told.

The second edition of NAZI GERMANY AND WORLD WAR II offers an articulate, balanced, comprehensive, and generously illustrated edition of the Third Reich from Hitler's birth in 1889 to the Nuremberg Trials in 1945-1946. The first six chapters deal with Hitler's rise to power and his regime's policies to the outbreak of war in 1939; the last five chapters detail the war and the Holocaust. As the title suggests, World War II, which is the logical outcome of Hitler's racial ideology and the central event of Nazi history (and of world history from 1939 to 1945) is given extensive coverage. The heart of the book is a well-told narrative that emphasizes political history and war, but there is enough interpretative and analytical material, as well as coverage of cultural, economic, intellectual, and social topics, to justify the book's description as a comprehensive survey.

The second edition, which incorporates the most current research and suggestions from students, colleagues, reviewers, and other readers, contains an extensively revised chapter on the Holocaust, highlighting recent controversial interpretations. Readers will find new material on popular support for and resistance to the regime's murderous racial policies and expanded coverage of the war, including the unprecedented massacres of soldiers and civilians on the Russian front,the deadly bombing of Germany, the Normandy invasion, the Battle of the Bulge, and the final destruction of the Third Reich. Excerpts from primary sources placed in text boxes--authentic, sometimes plaintive voices from the period, some from well-known figures but more from ordinary people, including children--are a completely new feature of the second edition.

Students and other readers, whose suggestions and enthusiastic reception of the book, have helped encourage me to write a second, and, I hope, improved edition. They reinforced my conviction that the story of Germany's descent into hell under the Hitler regime will always need to be told.

Geertz, a social anthropologist at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, is a prolific scholar on Balinese and Indonesian political and state organization. "Negara" is a Sanskrit word which originally meant "town"; in Bahasa Indonesia it now signifies nation or realm--the seat of political authority. Its opposite is "desa," the village, place, region, or governed area. Between these two contrasting poles-negara and desa-the classical polity developed. In his search for the "negara," the traditional state of pre-colonial Bali, he casts a wide analytical net over the cultural streams that flowed unchecked in to the archipelago for over 3,000 years from India, China, the Middle East, and Europe. Foreign contact/intervention left a permanent stamp on the island chain in the form of a Hindu civilization on Bali, Chinatowns in Jakarta, and a multiplicity of social structures, economic forms and kinship organizations. Geertz traces the sociological and historical interplay of state formation and dissolution and power and status distribution in 14th to 19th century Bali-an island symbolically caught in a parallel tug of nature between the tranquil Java sea to the north and the treacherous Indian Ocean to the south. Heavy on political theory, this book is more suitable for academicians, history buffs, and college students than for the general reader or the package holiday tourist. Substantiated by critical reviews of the scholarly literature, 130 pages of explanatory footnotes, and a lengthy bibliography, Negara puts forth a persuasive final model of the Balinese state as a distinctive political order. To understand Bali's past, is to understand Bali's present and future.

Bali flits in and out of the Western imagination: Conradian tropic kingdoms, National Geographic star attraction, Mead-Covarrubias-Belo-Geertz himself, tourist paradise (ever-fading). What is Bali all about besides emerald rice terraces, bare breasted beauties, cheap surfing holidays, and tremendously elaborate ceremonies featuring gamelan orchestras and graceful dancers ? Bali is indeed a mystery. If you approach NEGARA with the desire to learn more about this marvelous Indonesian island, you may go away disappointed. There are no Balinese voices in the book; modern Bali is hardly discussed.

NEGARA is an important book, but for those who specialize in the study of Southeast Asian kingdoms, for those who would like to question the standard Western method of studying political power, and for those interested in 19th century Balinese history as interpreted by America's foremost anthropologist, who is rather more known for creative (I'm with him) interpretations than for intensive field work. Geertz' work is going to last a very long time---something that can hardly be said about most anthropological writing. The reason is that he constantly sees things in a different way and can express his vision very clearly. His other books on Indonesia, for example "The Religion of Java", "Islam Observed", "Pedlars and Princes" and "Agricultural Involution" have all been classics for years. His article on the Balinese cockfight is one of the most seminal anthropological pieces ever written.

The Balinese state did not specialize in tyranny, conquest or effective administration. Its emphasis was on "spectacle, toward ceremony, toward the public dramatization of the ruling obsessions of Balinese culture: social inequality and status pride. It was a theatre state..." All the elaborate productions created were "not means to political ends: they wre the ends themselves, they were what the state was for......Power served pomp, not pomp power." (p.13) Geertz spends most of the 136 page book proving this point. [There are also 120 pages of notes.] There are detailed discussions of descent groups, client relationships, three major varieties of village organization aimed at administration, irrigation, and worship, and the connection between court and village. Then follows the scrutiny of ritual, ceremony, and symbols in Geertz' inimitable style. The point must be taken: Balinese society was one of unending rivalry for prestige among very-established levels of hierarchy which were, nonetheless, extremely fluid. The endless reiteration in symbolic, ceremonial terms of a fixed set of relations made up the Balinese theater state.

NEGARA, not a new book, is by now established as a classic text in Anthropology courses, in Religious Studies, Political Science, and Southeast Asian Studies in universities around the world. It portrays a political system that did not conform to the usual Western idea of what political power is all about. Geertz writes that he wanted to write a poetics of power, not a mechanics. He was successful. Readers may wonder if the ability to command and use resources like land, water, timber, or the sea, if the ability to control labor, even if indirectly, if the ability to control power, even if sporadic, do not underlie theater productions in a more definite way. But I think they will have to admit that NEGARA is a powerful politico-historical description that, for once, does not try to twist and mold the data to fit a traditional Western description of a political system. Symbolic action is not at all limited to Indonesian islands. Somebody may yet write a description of the USA as a "Theater State" albeit a very different one from old Bali. NEGARA contains many challenges. It is a great book.

The peace process in El Salvador was very difficult to understand for outsiders, even Salvadorans like me. This book succeeds in claryfing not only the actual events, but also the underlying motives and incentives for each of the parties involved.

The book begins with a good historical analysis, which puts into perspective all the decisions taken during the actual peace negotiations. Once the historical motivation is clear, the actual strategies for the negotiation begin to make perfect sense.

All in all, this book really shines at explaining the underlying interests of the parties and the tactics they resorted to in achieving a truly remarkable agreement.

This book is an excellent study of the behind-the-scenes policy making during the Salvadoran peace process. The author obviously had access to many of the persons involved in the process. It is also lacks the left-wing bias found in much of the U.S. literature on El Salvador. I recommend this book for anyone interested in the Salvadoran Civil War as well as for those who study the topic of negotiated settlements to civil conflicts.

From how digital commerce and democracy affects taxation, privacy and free speech to legal platforms for protecting and regulating property rights and documents online, Netpolicy.com provides a social examination of how the internet's capabilities are creating new public agendas for change. An important title for any social issues class.

This book is both scholarly and entertaining, for it describes the history, influence, and possible future of today's most fascinating tool, the Net, and does so through the lens of a person whose career was focused first on telecommunications and later on computers. Just as these have come together in the Internet and elsewhere, so does this story, which for Simon began in 1966. The Net itself is now over a quarter-century old, but for its first two decades was largely ignored by the public. Since 1995, however, an exponential growth in popular and commercial interest has created a similar, and continuing, explosion of the Net. It is difficult to think of any earlier technological development whose adoption occurred so rapidly or with such ease. And unlike most high-tech inventions, the Net developed organically, independent of any master plan or architecure, absent of security considerations or privacy concerns, hardly shaped at all by economic factors. Sharing was, and remains, its goal. Today, however, the Net impacts our everyday life and has become an enabler for business to expand its markets. It is hence now entrusted with private information of individuals and secret proprietary data of business, whose security may be essential to commercial survival. Ubiquitous as it is, the Net cries out for public, and private, policies that address such troublesome issues as equitable access,taxation, intellectual property rights, content regulation, privacy, security, first-amendment rights, and many others.

NetPolicy.Com defines the Net and its impacts and discusses "the bearable lightness of the digital world," the convergence not only within electronics, but the mega-convergence of businesses, e.g., financial services, commerce, and industry. It identifies difficult policy issues and their legal framework and suggests appropriate roles for the public and private sectors. Despite the importance of the Net to business and government, its essential issues have most to do with its potential effects on humankind.

We are reminded of the 1998 celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, largely drawn from the French Declaration of Human Rights and our Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, quoting from the former document the freedom to "seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." Would that today's policy makers have the prescience of the author of those words!

NetPolicy.Com is recommended for readers with intellectual curiosity, anyone interested in modern technology, observers of contemporary customs, any person who surfs the Net or sends e-mail, indeed for all responsible citizens who wish to learn more about this new world in which we live, interdependent on each other and literally interconnected to everyone else.

Finally, NetPolicy.Com's technical title disguises a book that is an easy and important read.

Friends kept telling me they'd read this book long ago and loved it. So, I ordered it immediately when a hardback copy was listed on Amazon for 49 cents. It was worth ten times that price...

Reading aloud to your children opens their eyes to new worlds. Even, in this case, to unknown worlds right next door. How does life look through the eyes of a bright young African-American woman, raised in a junkyard of broken hopes and frustrated dremas? How did the lessons in integrity learned in that environment carry her to a position of high visibility in the White House? How do you deal with the unintentional slights thoughtlessly handed out by the dominant culture, while yet retaining your own sweetness of spirit?

Henry Hazlitt, author of the classic 'Economics in One Lesson,' here makes the argument for replacing America's presidential system of government with a parliamentary one resembling Great Britain's. His argument is strong and well-reasoned. Even people unwilling to consider wholesale changes to the constitutional system that has lasted this long will find much to ponder in this brief book.

Hazlitt argues that the tremendous expansion of government size and power has made our original constitutional design unworkable. The more government tries to do, he says, the less it is able to do well. Additionally, as he writes in the preface to the second edition, 'No man today can possess the knowledge, the wisdom, the judgment, the humility, the restraint to know how to exercise such powers and to make such a multitude of crucial decisions. In brief, so long as a President has such awesome responsibilities and powers, no man, no human being, is fit to be President.'

Hazlitt also argues that the Nixon impeachment crisis proves that the constitutional system is too unwieldy: a parliamentary system could have removed Nixon without provoking a 'constitutional crisis.' The same argument can be made again, of course, citing the Clinton example.

In all, this book by a respected economist and political writer deserves much wider attention than it has ever received. For people who believe government is ultimately reformable, Hazlitt's suggestions are an important contribution to a long-overdue debate.

A New Constitution Now is a brilliant critique of American government. Hazlitt draws on the opinions of many scholars, as well as his own great insight, to explain why the presidential system of government is fundamentally flawed. He advocates adopting a parliamentary government much like that of Great Britain--minus the impotent monarch. Hazlitt scorns the traditional American fetishistic adoration of our Constitution and exposes the numerous problems (including the Civil War) that have arisen as a direct or indirect result of our "midguided" systems of separation of powers and checks and balances. Hazlitt offers both criticism and solutions, and the book is both compelling and convicing.

Great read. Easy to follow and use. Terrific reference. Not wordy or obtuse like most books on the subject

Not wordy, vague, or obtuse like most books on the subject. A quick read and great reference.

As the title suggests, the scope of this book is vast. Drucker touches on the mega-trends affecting us ~ as individuals, consumers, students, workers, and voters. Interesting to read, especially since many of his projections of the future (remember this was written in 1989) are surprisingly correct:

1) Politicians in developed countries are increasingly becoming centrist, and function-oriented. Most political debate is focused on the means, not the goal. Chrisma is not needed.

2) The concept of government as the savior of society is dead. Instead, it will offer specific remedies for specific ills. The government cannot run the economy, but just help create the right climate for business, trade, and activity.

3) Society is segmenting into knowledge workers and non-knowledge workers (laborers). This concept runs through all his books.

4) Russia will segment and collapse. This will create imbalance as the majority of Russians are actually Asian and Muslim.

5) The military will continue to be a drag on the economy. Weapons will become increasingly counterproductive as the enemy unknown and elusive. Terrorism will rise, and the military will suffer an identity crisis.

6) The third sector (after the knowledge workers and manual laborers) will be non-profit. This serves a large function in society and provides many of the services once expected from the government. Volunteer hours totalling $150 billion (in imaginary wages).

7) Interest groups will continue to gain political influence. Drucker calls it the "tyranny of the small majority". These single cause minorities will be very vocal and usually against (rather than for) something.

8) In the transnational economy, cheap direct labor will no longer the way to competitiveness (since the portion of direct labor for goods is declining)

9) George Stigler, University of Chicago economist and Nobel prize winner, showed that NOT ONE of the regulations through which the US government tried to control, direct, or regulate the economy has worked. (pg 166)

10) Information based organizations should most resemble an orchestra. Each participant is a specialist and an individual contributor. They have separate responsibility and are expected to handle that work without direct supervision. Things get done, but only if the common objectives (the score) is clear and simple.

In the current world, almost everyone is a specialist. With a minor ailment, a patient may have to visit with several medical professionals before receiving an accurate diagnosis and treatment. Peter Drucker is the exception to that rule when it comes to social, governmental, organizational, and personal trends. He notices what is going on in each area, points out where the current direction is a dead end, and asks clear questions that point us toward creating our own solutions. Although this book was first published in 1989, it is more current now than before. The main reason is that so many of the social, political, organizational, and personal debates and experiments of the last ten years were first framed in this remarkable, ground-breaking work. I recently reread this book, and was struck that I understand what to do with it now much more than I did ten years ago when I first read it. Whether your interest is the Internet, entrepreneurship, lean manufacturing, charitable organizations, having less government, or more personal responsibility, this book is an essential guide. You will enjoy reading his prediction of the end of the Soviet empire only months before it ceased to exist. His crystal ball has been very clear so far. We need this clarity especially now as many of the first initiatives that he proposes have been successfully completed. The design is in this book for deciding what to do now.