The Best Public Affairs & Administration Political Books 2025

1. Political Encyclopedia of U. S. States and Regions, Used [Hardcover]

An essential reference to and expert analysis of government and politics in all 50 states and the US territories This innovative and useful reference fills the need for practical information and conceptual analysis of the roles and functions of state government by providing accessible state-by-state and regional overviews of government and politics. Features include substantive essays; in-depth profiles of each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories; an encyclopedic A to Z section with entries covering the overarching concepts, structures, and processes that are important to state and local government, and politics in general; and a detailed section on data and statistics emphasizing historical and demographic trends that have helped shape regional and state government and politics.

Political Encyclopedia of U. S. States and Regions, Used [Hardcover]

2. Good Government in the Tropics, Used [Paperback]

In Good Government in the Tropics , Judith Tendler questions widely prevailing views about why governments so often perform poorly and about what causes them to improve. Drawing on a set of four cases involving public bureaucracies at work under the direction of an innovative state government in Brazil, the book offers findings of significance to the current debates about organization of the public-sector workplace, public service delivery, decentralization, and the interaction between government and civil society. The case chapters represent four different sectors, each traditionally spoken for by its distinct experts, literatures, and public agnecies--rural preventive health, small enterprise development, agricultural extension for small farmers, and employment-creating public works construction and drought relief. With findings that cut across these sectoral boundaries, the book raises questions about the policy advice proferred by the international donor community. It shifts the terms of the prevailing debate away from mistrust of government toward an understanding of the circumstances under which public servants become truly committed to their work and public service improves dramatically.

Good Government in the Tropics, Used [Paperback]

3. Pre-Owned How the Post Office Created America: A History (Paperback) 0143130064 9780143130062

"'The history of its Post Office is nothing less than the story of America, ' Ms. Gallagher's opening sentence declares, and in this lively book she makes the case well."--Wall Street Journal A masterful history of a long underappreciated institution, How the Post Office Created America examines the surprising role of the postal service in our nation's political, social, economic, and physical development. The founders established the post office before they had even signed the Declaration of Independence, and for a very long time, it was the U.S. government's largest and most important endeavor--indeed, it was the government for most citizens. This was no conventional mail network but the central nervous system of the new body politic, designed to bind thirteen quarrelsome colonies into the United States by delivering news about public affairs to every citizen--a radical idea that appalled Europe's great powers. America's uniquely democratic post powerfully shaped its lively, argumentative culture of uncensored ideas and opinions and made it the world's information and communications superpower with astonishing speed. Winifred Gallagher presents the history of the post office as America's own story, told from a fresh perspective over more than two centuries. The mandate to deliver the mail--then "the media"--imposed the federal footprint on vast, often contested parts of the continent and transformed a wilderness into a social landscape of post roads and villages centered on post offices. The post was the catalyst of the nation's transportation grid, from the stagecoach lines to the airlines, and the lifeline of the great migration from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It enabled America to shift from an agrarian to an industrial economy and to develop the publishing industry, the consumer culture, and the political party system. Still one of the country's two major civilian employers, the post was the first to hire women, African Americans, and other minorities for positions in public life. Starved by two world wars and the Great Depression, confronted with the country's increasingly anti-institutional mind-set, and struggling with its doubled mail volume, the post stumbled badly in the turbulent 1960s. Distracted by the ensuing modernization of its traditional services, however, it failed to transition from paper mail to email, which prescient observers saw as its logical next step. Now the post office is at a crossroads. Before deciding its future, Americans should understand what this grand yet overlooked institution has accomplished since 1775 and consider what it should and could contribute in the twenty-first century. Gallagher argues that now, more than ever before, the imperiled post office deserves this effort, because just as the founders anticipated, it created forward-looking, communication-oriented, idea-driven America.

Title: How the Post Office Created America: A History Book Format: Paperback ISBN10: 0143130064 EAN: 9780143130062 Author: Gallagher, Winifred CONDITION - GOOD - Pre-Owned - Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include 'From the library of' labels or previous owner inscriptions. Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included.

4. Arco American Foreign Service Officer Exam (Arco Civil Service Test Tutor) [Paperback - Used]

CONDITION - USED - Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or previous owner inscriptions. Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included. Describes the duties, salaries, and qualifications for entering officers, and tells how to prepare for the exam.

American Foreign Service Officer, Used [Paperback]

5. Marketing Management and Communications in the Public Sector (Routledge Masters in Public Management) [Paperback - Used]

CONDITION - USED - Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or previous owner inscriptions. Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included. The fields of marketing and communication have become increasingly important for modern public administrations in recent years but the focus on these subjects has been geared mainly towards the generation of outputs, leaving somewhat behind the analysis and deeper reflections on the impact they make and their limitations. This book provides a thorough overview of the major concepts in marketing and communication which is done by utilizing an exclusive and decisive public-sector approach, with an unambiguous international outlook. The possibilities and limits of the application of marketing and communication, from strategic aspects to the more concrete questions of instruments and implementation, are discussed and if the realities of the public sector are the key to any understanding of marketing and communication, the international scene is the only possible ground to do this in. Aided by a multitude of pedagogical features, Marketing Management and Communications in the Public Sector is a key read for all students, practitioners and scholars working or studying in this field.

Marketing Management and Communications in the Public Sector, Used [Paperback]

6. Work Hard, Study...and Keep Out of Politics! Adventures and Lessons from an Unexpected Public Life, Used [Hardcover]

A revelatory memoir from one of the great political minds of our time. The real inside story of why Gerald Ford did not ask Ronald Reagan to be his running mate in 1976-and why Reagan did not pick Ford in 1980; the battle over Florida 2000; the aborted White House job switch that inadvertently opened the door to the Iran-Contra scandal; the Bush campaign's wish that Dan Quayle would offer to resign from the ticket in 1992; the White House turmoil in the dark days following the Reagan assassination attempt; and a great deal more . . . White House Chief of Staff (twice), Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, and campaign chairman for three different candidates in five successive presidential campaigns-few people have lived and breathed politics as deeply as James Baker. Now, with candor and Texas-style storytelling, and not a few surprises, he takes us into his thirty-five years behind the scenes. None of it was planned. His grandfather, the Captain, drilled this advice into him: Work hard, study . . . and keep out of politics Then a personal tragedy changed the life of a forty-year-old Texas Democratic lawyer and he never looked back. From campaign horsetrading, which sometimes got rough (Politics ain't beanbag, says Baker), to the inner councils of the Reagan and Bush administrations to the controversies of today, Baker offers frank talk and spellbinding narratives, along with personal appraisals of six presidents and a constellation of others. It was a long, unexpected journey from Houston, Texas, to Washington, D.C.-and you'll want to travel it with him.

Work Hard, Study... and Keep Out of Politics! : Adventures and Lessons from an Unexpected Public Life, Used [Hardcover]

7. Mapping the Nation : Government and Technology Making a Difference, Used [Paperback]

Mapping the Nation: Government and Technology Making a Difference is a collection of GIS maps illustrating the many ways that federal government agencies rely on GIS analysis to help make the world a better place. Pulled from a broad range of agencies, maps included in the book demonstrate how the technology can be used to evaluate and respond to social, economic, and environmental concerns at local, regional, national, and global levels. These examples--on topics such as green government, economic recovery and sustainability, climate protection, and more--show how government agencies use GIS to facilitate initiatives, improve transparency, and deliver strong business models.

Mapping the Nation : Government and Technology Making a Difference, Used [Paperback]

8. Leadership in American Politics, Used [Hardcover]

In the polarized governing environment of American politics today, the problem of leadership becomes ever more pressing and ever more vexed. What defines leadership, what determines its importance and effectiveness, and how does it differ from one sphere of influence to another: these are the questions Leadership in American Politics addresses in an effort to clarify the causes and consequences of the actions that public leaders take. The authors--prominent scholars from the major subfields of American politics--discuss the form and content of leadership in their areas of expertise across the spectrum of American government: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches; political parties; interest groups; bureaucracies; the states; and foreign policymaking. Combining historical, theoretical, and empirical approaches, their essays evaluate the constraints, opportunities, and influence of leadership in each area, as well as the challenges of bridging different realms. At a time when understanding the nature and limits of leadership is more important than ever, this volume lays the groundwork for the systematic study of leadership within and across American political institutions.

Leadership in American Politics, Used [Hardcover]

9. Pre-Owned Politics of the Administrative Process (Paperback) 1608716880 9781608716883

Efficient public administration requires a delicate balance--the bureaucracy must be powerful enough to be effective, but also accountable to elected officials and citizens. Kettl understands that the push and pull of political forces in a democracy make the functions of bureaucracy contentious, but no less crucial. With a unique focus on policymaking and politics, this new fifth edition continues its strong emphasis on accountability and--thanks to user feedback--expands its coverage on performance and ethics. Thoroughly updated with new scholarship, data, and events, this text remains reader-friendly with its engaging opening vignettes, rich examples, bolded key terms, and easy-to-read tables and figures. Now with three case studies in every chapter -- for a total of 28 more than the last edition -- students apply ideas and analysis as they read. One case in each chapter is entirely devoted to state and local concerns with topics ranging from gun laws in Nashville, to StateStat in Maryland, to the use of Twitter by Newark's mayor to improve service delivery. Useful critical thinking questions at the end of each case help shape student responses and in-class conversation.

Title: Politics of the Administrative Process ISBN10: 1608716880 EAN: 9781608716883 Genre: POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Affairs & Administration Author: Kettl, Donald F. CONDITION - GOOD - Pre-Owned - Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include 'From the library of' labels or previous owner inscriptions. Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included.

10. Take the Rich off Welfare, Used [Paperback]

Just in time to add fuel to the 2004 elections comes an all-new edition of this widely popular expose of those who feed on the public trough. In the eight years since Take the Rich Off Welfare was first published, the total amount of taxpayers' money going to subsidize corporations and rich individuals has grown from about USD448 billion to over USD800 billion - and the tax payments coming from those flush companies and individuals continues to shrink. In this greatly expanded and updated version, Mark Zepezauer explains how programs once intended to profit the public now benefit only the corporate bottom line. A prolific writer of humorous but cutting analyses of government policy, Zepezauer provides us with tools to expose the political chicanery of current and past administrations.

Take the Rich off Welfare, Used [Paperback]