Governments

I cannot possible convey how much this book has changed my entire perception of Goergia Politics. I am stupified and would love for anyone else who thinks of themselves as knowledgeable in Georgia politics to read this book. I could not stop turning the pages. I could not wait to see what was going to be on the next page. Thanks, Dr. Lamplugh. Now I truly see why they pay you the big bucks. My eyes are open for the very first time!!!!!

A real "page-turner," Politics on the Periphery served as the sole source of enjoyment in my life. And it will for you too! You see, I was on the verge of dieing forom the rare diease, Kolioscosis (the doctors gave me a month at best), but this book gave me a reason to live. Live it said! Live! LIVE! Thank you George Lamplugh. Thank you so very much.

It's a startling moment when an author promotes her book by recommending its footnotes, but Jewel Lansing did just that at a book launching in City Hall in early November. After reading through her book, Portland, People, Politics and Power, 1851-2001, I want to assure the footnote-phobic that they should buy the book anyway. This is a very comprehensive book on the people and issues that shaped our city in. It's also an engaging read.

To date my standard reference works on Portland's development have been E. Kimbark MacColl's three books on some of the same topics. They are not out of date but unfortunately they are out of print. Access to city records has greatly improved since the 1970's when MacColl wrote his books and there is now a professionally organized records management system operated by the City Auditor.

Mrs. Lansing has taken full advantage of these public resources, of Dr. MacColl's original research papers (which he generously loaned), the works of many other professional historians and original materials to construct a comprehensive history of the development of our city government. There are three main areas of focus: the personalities, the issues, and the deals.

The format is fresh. Although the book is divided into sequential chapters covering 150 years of history, the flow of text is often interrupted with sidebars and boxes of additional information, an anecdote, or even a small chart or table. These enhance the main text, but can also be used to latch onto the primary narrative, if you are a reader who avoids beginning a book on page one and plowing purposefully through to the end. You can make a meal of the appetizers as it were, or they might lure you on to the main course.

While events are organized in chronological order, contents are equally tasty, for the author has an eye for quirky, intriguing morsels. For instance she describes the matter-of-fact approach of reform Mayor Allen G. Rushlight (from the Midway area of our neighborhood), a professional plumber, who was elected in 1911 for a two-year term:
"The mayor used his plumbing background to taxpayer advantage. When the city's "balky" crematory kept acting up (he) donned his old overalls and climbed inside to repair it..."
Or a comment made by pugnacious East-side developer Ben Holladay in 1869:
"Immediately after he arrived in town...he bought a large plot of land east of the river and declared that the city of the future would be on that side, that the grass would soon be growing on Front Street, and that he would make a rat-hole out of west-side Portland."
Reading a book about the city's history over a 150-year time period makes you realize that the same issues just keep coming back - where to get water, how to improve transportation, eliminate drug dealing and prostitution, pay for education and do it all without raising taxes. And we are never satisfied with our elected officials:
"Was there ever a city government managed in such a worthless and imbecile manner as this our city of Portland? We have not a continuous street that is passable with a well loaded vehicle. Current revenue is sixteen thousand dollars. What becomes of this money?" The Oregonian,1860

The book pulls no punches when it comes to contemporary issues, since Mrs. Lansing was an elected official herself between 1975-1986 (county, then city auditor) and reports as an insider on activities at City Hall under the direction of Mayors Frank Ivancie and Bud Clark and council members Schwab, Lindberg, Strachan, Jordan and Bogle. As the first city auditor to be a certified public accountant, she also describes the improvements she successfully implemented and the resistance to those changes in City Hall.

As a quick reference source, the book is invaluable for its lists in the back of the book of city officials, including dates served and in some instances place of birth, occupations, dates of birth/death. The text of the City Charter (1851) and locations of city halls (there were 18 others before our current building) are also included. Finally, there are those (foot) notes: They don't get in the way! Along with the index they are at the back of the book and constitute almost a fourth narrative that enhances the main text. As an auditor might phrase it, this is great value for the money ($30.00).

Treat yourself to an interesting read about your city, as well as a valuable reference book. Or buy it for someone on your holiday gift list. I think you will find it full of information, stories, insights and memories. It's a good read!

This ambitious work covers more than a century and a half of the history of Portland, Oregon, from its days as a clearing in the Pacific Northwest wilderness to its present status as 28th largest city in the United States. (This review title, by the way, refers to two of the community's most prominent nicknames. "Stumptown" was an early reference to the number of trees that had to be felled to make room for the growing community; Portland lays claim to being the "city of roses" today by hosting the annual Rose Festival).

Author Jewel Lansing knows the city government from the inside; she served a term as the elected auditor. Since her retirement from elective politics, she's devoted considerable energy to researching all facets of the city's history. The story unfolds chronologically, with the 42 men and two women who have served as Portland mayor providing the thread of continuity. The text weaves together the political, business and cultural forces that have shaped today's city.

It's an often lively story. At the dawn of the twentieth century, Portland was known as a wide-open community where corruption and vice flourished. Men who ventured too close to the wrong areas of the waterfront would find themselves shanghaied for service aboard oceangoing ships. Lansing covers the wave of reform that swept the city and state shortly thereafter, and many of the great battles that dominated the ensuing decades, such as the fight over public vs. private power in the 1920s and the siting of freeways in the 1950s.

Lansing's prose is clear, straightforward and rarely given to flights of fancy or rhetorical flourishes. Exhaustively researched, well-organized and profusely illustrated, this volume is among the best ever to appear telling the Portland story.

Gleach does a wonderful job of presenting both worlds while maintaining an objective outlook. I have truely enjoyed reading this selection based on that alone. Gleach manages to keep you informed of the details yet helps you to gain new prospective on the view of both cultures. He not only tries to make sense of what happened in the contact period but does a good job of making you understand why it happened the way it did. Not your average Native American/ Colonial Conflict documentary. A wonderful job of teaching the Native side that you never learned in school. Blaming neither side for the outcome Gleach will make hard work of any other writer pulling off one as good.

Fred Gleach's piece is both acute and aggresive. Fered Gleach writes this book like only Fred Gleach can. This means a lot. Not everyone can live up to their potential. Fred Gleach lives up to his potential here. I tell you- this is Fred Gleach writing from Fred Gleach's heart. This means a lot. Some of us write, and it is not from the heart, or it is to get tenure. But Fred Gleach here writes this book like only Fred Gleach can. Some things, like the truth, is important. This Fred Gleach's message. This book is very Gleachian. This means a lot.

Buy it.

This collection of witty and dowright funny essays gets to the core of the US empire in the 21st Century. Landau not only covers the war against Iraq and US meddling in the Middle East in general, but provides the reader with context to understand the sometimes shocking headlines.

This well written volume takes one to Cuba as it struggles with US embargo and travel ban policy, to Mexico where the maquilas have begun to flee to China, leaving needy Mexicans unemployed and to Iraq itself, just before the war.

This is an amazing comedium of journalistic insight and political wisdom. A rare combination for a reader who wants to know without feeling the pain of wading through the turgid prose typical of some critics.

Landau's The Pre-Emptive Empire: A Guide to Bush's Kingdom, offers an incisive, bold, and witty portrait of the lingering parallels, contradictions and dramatic shifts in U.S. foreign policy under President George W. Bush before (Part I, "Leaving the Republic Behind") and after the 9/11 attacks (Part II, "The Empire Strikes Back"). Whether analyzing the U.S. war against terrorism and erosion of civil liberties at home, the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, terrorism and corporate globalization in Latin America, U.S.-Cuban relations or the road to the Iraq War, Landau's journal-like entries (coupled with his experiences of directing/producing over 40 documentary films throughout the U.S., Latin America and Middle East and as a radio commentator, author and journalist) provide compelling evidence for what he identifies throughout his work as the transformation of a nation founded on Republican fabric to its current, alarming manifestation: a "pre-emptive empire."

Unlike the sheepish, flag-waving media coverage of the 9/11 events and Iraq War or the current reactionary-infused works by Ann Coulter or Daniel Pipes, The Pre-Emptive Empire offers readers a refreshing platform for analyzing the domestic and international scope of the 9/11 attacks and Bush's ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in the context of the historical, political and economic dimensions that have helped shape the 21st Century U.S. Empire.

In particular, the chapter on "Latin America: The Imperial Economic Model, Obedience and Terrorism" relates the past and present U.S. double standards on terrorists in Chile and Cuba, respectively, in the midst of Bush's pursuit of "fighting" worldwide terror to his simultaneous promotion of the IMF-backed economic model, as Landau observes: "It is not just the culture of McDonald's, but the long-standing pattern of U.S. domination, indeed intervention, of Latin America that continues to prevail on the political as well as the economic front" (Part IV, pg .57).

Interspersed throughout Landau's chapters, such as on the long-running Middle East debacle (Part III, "Between Iraq and a Hard Place: The Oily Empire Stomps Through the Middle East") and the latest Iraq War (Part VI, "The Road to War"), are entertaining and humorous anecdotal transitions--demonstrating the book's greatest strength in helping readers cope with such dismal realities by laughing out loud while also reminding them of their humanity at stake.

Fans of progressive writers/activists Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky will find The Pre-Emptive Empire just as intellectually stimulating and thought provoking, but with a glaring difference: Landau's work is an inspiring call for citizens--from college students, blue collar workers, activists and the politically disillusioned alike--to reclaim their Republic and participate in shaping their history.

With the possible exception of David M. Potter's classic "The Impending Crisis," William Freehling's "Prelude to Civil War: The Nullification Controversy in South Carolina, 1816-1836" is perhaps the best book written on antebellum America in the past 50 years. Originally published in 1965 and a recipient of the prestigious Bancroft Prize, Freehling's work is a beautifully written and persuasively argued case that the conventional wisdom about the nullification crisis of 1832 is grossly oversimplified and, in the end, fundamentally incorrect.

Two points are central to Freehling's thesis: 1) growing anxiety over slavery and the nascent abolitionist movement - especially acute in the low country - was as important a factor in driving the aggressive states rights posture taken during the nullification crisis as was reaction to the tariff; and 2) South Carolinians themselves were as much to blame for their economic woes during the 1820s and 1830s as the "Tariff of Abominations."

Freehling notes that you can often tell a lot about a society by disproportionate reactions to perceived threats. In this case, the South Carolinian response to the first faint rumblings of abolitionist agitation was far in excess to the actual threat posed in the 1820s and early 30s, according to the author. However, the extremely dense slave population in the South Carolina low country (in some areas slaves out numbered whites 5 to 1), the experience of the Denmark Vesey conspiracy in 1822, the mysterious arsonist fires in Charleston, the constant presence of Yankee peddlers and free black British seamen mixing with the slave population, and the slow but ultimately successful abolition campaign of William Wilberforce in England all conspired to create an environment of fear and doom among the South Carolina gentry.

The traditional interpretation of the tariff's adverse impact in South Carolina was that the local planters were forced to trade their raw goods (in this case cotton) on the international open market but buy their end goods in a protected domestic market. Freehling concedes that there is some basis of truth to this claim, but only for a certain segment of the population. Some of the most ardent nullifiers were low country rice planters whose economic condition was relatively unaffected by the tariff and whose prices remained stable. The issue that welded the low country elite to an issue whose consequences were really absorbed by the up country was (in addition to inter marriage, school days at South Carolina College, etc.) the latter's growing fear of the abolitionists. Moreover, Freehling argues, gross absentee mismanagement of plantations, combined with a poor state financial infrastructure and a penchant to dramatically overspend for luxury items (the much needed specie often flowing outside of the state) were nearly as important in explaining the economic depression that gripped the region for over a decade as the tariff.

Freehling makes his case eloquently and convincingly. For those with a serious interest in early 19th century American history - especially those interested in economic development, states rights doctrine, or the impact of abolitionism - this book cannot be more highly recommended.

If you become interested in the American Civil War you will find yourself going back further and further into our history seeking the roots of this conflict. If you don't choose to return to the Constitutional debates and compromises Freehling's book is one of the best places to begin your attempts to understand just what happened.

This book is an engrossing history of the revolt of South Carolina against the tariffs and trade rules imposed by the general government in Washington D.C. It has a fabulous cast of characters beginning with John C. Calhoun and running down through the South Carolina planters and politicians who ultimately did so much to break up the Union. Andrew Jackson, as president, puts an end to what almost became an armed revolt and could have caused gunfire to errupt in Charleston Bay decades before the showdown came at Fort Sumter.

I loved this book, as I did Mr. Freehling's "Road to Disunion", and only regret that the second volume of that work never did appear as promised.

I believe this book should be used in a didactic sense with students in the social service field. It is thought provoking and written in a format that can be used during course teachings et.al. I know that a lot of research and skills were utilized via the writers. It begins with the California Crucible and opens like a flower to reveal deeper insight in what appears to be happening "not so silently" in our political environment. Much appreciation to the writers for their approach in addressing this sensitive and powerful subject of cultural suppression and attempts at keeping the circles of power contained.

Once I started reading, I could not put this jewel down. Bankhead and Gibbs treat many sensitive areas faced by our changing society with dignity without losing the candid nature areas deserve. Obviously these two women are gifted writers. I want to know more about what they have written and how they have addressed other socio-political stages. Tough subjects are wonderfully presented. I would recommend this book due its insight and flow. Hats off to the researchers/writers-Bankhead and Gibbs!!!

Good read and very informative. For someone taking a course in the U.S. presidency, this book helped me greatly. I would recommend it for anyone how wants to learn more about presidential doctrines, specifically national security.

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about national security policies. I was surprised by the content of the book.

Gregg provides a thought provoking and well-researched exploration into the institutionalization of presidocentric governance. By tracing the concept of representation from Publius to the modern public presidency, he uses the guiding principles of the Framers to outline new requirements for evaluating the highest office. This provocative analysis based on deliberative democracy and representative government in the age of the modern presidency will likely be an important contribution to the study of the American Presidency

Dr. Gary L. Gregg, II has elevated the most fundamental question surrounding American democracy today: the eroding of deliberative democracy. The restoration of deliberative democracy is of primary concern for Dr. Gregg. He systematically shows the historical path that has lead our Republic to the state of political dogmatism it faces today. In essence, anyone concerned with the unprudential actions of our current government, and is highly curious as to a means of restoring the flood of democratism, this book is an essential read. No study of the modern presidency would be sufficiant without proper study of this work on the Presidential Republic

Great insight from the most prolific writer in the most prolific Dunn (no e) family. Compelling, humorous, exuberent , stupendous, supercalafragilistic, expee, aladoucous....what else can I say. I feel as though I know the author. My only negative comment is that I wish there were more pictures...of Kathryn.

I truly loved this book. it is a bargain at twice the price. Can't afford not to get this anthology on the public and private lives on presidents. Especially in an election year, you can not pass the opportunity to get behind the scenes and experience this first hand. After reading this, I felt like I almost grew up with the author. Excellente'!

The argument over media bias has generated a lot more heat than light. This book is an exception! Kuypers has come up with a very interesting way of approaching the bias question: compare the content of political speeches with the content of the reporting about those speeches. Substantial differences in content point toward distortions introduced by the news process.

This is an innovation in media studies--a sensible innovation.

I wanted to share with you how this book charts the effects the printed press--and by extension, broadcast media--have upon the messages of political and social leaders when they discuss controversial issues. Through examination of almost 700 press reports on race and homosexuality that were published in 116 different newspapers, this book meticulously documents a liberal political bias in mainstream news. This bias hurts the democratic process in general by ignoring non-mainstream left positions and vilifying many moderate and the vast majority of right-leaning positions. Thus, only a narrow brand of liberal thought is supported by the press; all other positions are denigrated or ignored. By comparatively analyzing press reports and the events that occassioned the coverage, this book paints a detailed picture of the politics of the American press; advances four distinct reportorial practices through which the press injects bias into its reporting; and argues forcefully that the mainstream press in America is an anti-democratic institution. The mainstream press in America operate within a narrow range of liberal beliefs. Those with more conservative views will certainly feel the brunt of the press's bias. However, those who embrace moderate political beliefs will be hurt when they step to the right of the press position. The press will actively help certain politicians and social leaders on the left who espouse the same view of the country that the press has adopted. However, those who step beyond this narrow brand of liberal reporting, moving even further to the left, will be ignored or denigrated. In this manner, then, the American press acts to shut out the full range of political voices in the country.