Subjects:  1. 1558-1603    2. 1603-1714    3. Europe - Great Britain - General    4. Great Britain    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Political History    9. Politics and government    10. Western Europe - General    11. British & Irish history: c 1500 to c 1700    12. Constitution: government & the state    13. England    14. Gender studies    15. Great Britain--Politics and government--1603-1714    16. History / Great Britain    17. Social classes    18. United Kingdom, Great Britain    19. c 1500 to c 1600    20. c 1600 to c 1700   

Reviews (1)

Must Read for any student of American Politics
This book initiates some new thought provoking ideas and should be read by all students/faculty of the American political system. Strongly suggests actions to be taken by individuals interested in becoming involved in State and local politics. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Government - State & Provincial    2. Local government    3. Political Science    4. Politics - Current Events    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Public Affairs & Administration    8. State governments    9. U.S. - Contemporary Politics    10. U.S. State Government    11. United States    12. Constitution: government & the state    13. USA    14. c 1970 to c 1980    15. c 1980 to c 1990    16. c 1990 to c 2000   

Reviews (2)

indispensable state theory
I read this book in a class on the formation of modern state. After reading Poggi and Tilly among other texts this one was read and it was amazing. Spruyt explains state formation in Western Europe by taking into account sociology, economy and ideologies. Therefore his theory accounts for more factors than especially Tilly (who can be very persuasive at a first glance but not so much when compared to others) and for more diversity in the paths chosen by the actors. These three writers Tilly, Poggi and Spruyt must be read together to get a sound idea on this phenomenon. Of course there is much more but how deep you will go depends on your curiosity.

Why the sovereign state won the evolutionary contest.
Why do we live in sovereign states now?In the high Middle Ages, sovereign states were certainly not the only form of political organization in Western Europe.Why did sovereign states first come to dominate Europe and then spread their model around the globe?Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. History & Theory - General    3. History - General History    4. International Relations - General    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Constitution: government & the state    7. Political Science / History & Theory    8. Political Science and International Relations    9. Political science & theory   

Reviews (30)

Thomas Jefferson v. John Marshall
James Simon, Dean Emeritus of the New York Law School, has written a seminal work on the history of the early republic, comparing titans Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall--Virginians, cousins, lawyers, and political enemies. What Kind of Nation recounts the struggle between America's first political parties, Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans and Marshall's Federalists, over the future of the federal judiciary and the future of the democratic experiment called the Unitied States.
Intriguing!
This is a most relevant book. It is the story of two cousins who consistently and relentlessly clashed over just what kind of nation the United States would become.
An illuminating discussion of a crucial episode of the early republic
John Marshall isn't often mentioned in the same breath as figures such as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, or Thomas Jefferson, but Simon makes a very good case for doing so.Just as these other figures played crucial roles in determining the shape of the nation, Marshall is perhaps the key figure in establishing the practical role that the Supreme Court was to play in U.S. history, and the key figure in making the judiciary truly independent.The latter cannot be emphasized too strongly, for as Simon demonstrates, Jefferson had a vision of the judiciary that would have made if subservient to the executive and legislative branches.Jefferson wanted to be able to replace judges with relative ease--a move that would have created a permanent timidity on the part of the courts and would have made them the easy toy of party politics--and he wanted the notion of popular democracy to extend to the courts.No matter how one feels about Jefferson on other issues, and no matter how one feels about such issues as judicial activism, I would imagine that most Americans are relieved and grateful that Marshall's vision and not Jefferson's prevailed.The system of checks and balances works because each branch of government has the genuine capacity to precisely that, whereas if Jefferson had succeeded, the courts would have of little or no consequence.
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Subjects:  1. Constitutional history    2. Constitutions    3. Executive power    4. Government - U.S. Government    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History - U.S.    8. History: American    9. History: World    10. Political questions and judicial power    11. U.S. Federal Government    12. U.S. History - Constitutional Period To Civil War (1789-1860)    13. United States    14. United States - 18th Century    15. United States - General    16. American history    17. American history: c 1500 to c 1800    18. Central government    19. Constitution: government & the state    20. History / United States / General    21. USA   

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Kings and rulers    7. Monarchy    8. Reference    9. World history   

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Ancient, Classical & Medieval    3. General    4. History - General History    5. Literary Collections    6. Literature: Classics    7. Ancient Greek & Roman philosophy    8. Classical Studies | Classical Literature-Original Language    9. Constitution: government & the state    10. Literary Collections / Ancient, Classical & Medieval    11. Other prose: classical, early & medieval    12. Prose & writers: classical, early & medieval   

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - U.S.    3. History: American    4. Political History    5. Political Ideologies - Democracy    6. United States - 19th Century    7. American history: c 1800 to c 1900    8. Constitution: government & the state    9. Economic history    10. History / United States / 19th Century    11. Industry & Industrial Studies    12. North America    13. Political economy    14. USA    15. United States--Economic conditions--1865-1918    16. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (4)

On Target, Informed LiteratureSupports This Early Understanding

Who would benefit?Not me!
Kohr is trying to sell the masses on the idea that breaking up larger countries and forming a global federal government would be a good thing for all. In Europe he advocates breaking things up on the basis of ethnicity or language and that produces small, homogeneous states. In the USA a European-american ethnostate would be too powerful so he would unite non-whites in their own ethnostates and break up European-Americans into states with conflicting economic interests so that they will be easier to dominate. Above the ethnostates would be a world federal government run by elites. I'm glad to see this back in print
I fully agree with the earlier reviewer."Breakdown" is one of the seminal pieces of economic & political theory of the 20th century.Read more

Subjects:  1. Economic development    2. History & Theory - General    3. International Relations - General    4. Political Science    5. Politics - Current Events    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. States, Size of    9. States, Small    10. Constitution: government & the state   

Reviews (1)

Best Presidential Text Around
This is an excellent text for anyone interested in political leadership.Both the beginner and anyone who wants a top notch reference text.I have owned dozens of books on the American presidency, I only buy one from the list to give as a gift to others: Edwards & Wayne's "Presidential Leadership."Buy it you will enjoy it.I am buying a new copy to replace my old copy, which is falling apart! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Political Freedom & Security - Law Enforcement    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Presidents    7. United States    8. Constitution: government & the state    9. Political Science / General   

Reviews (1)

For first time readers of The Prince
Clearly, in my opinion, this book should be purchased along with 'The Prince' for first time readers of the book. One may think 'The Prince' is rather dull and boring, yet the CliffNotes will open a reader's eyes to never before seen comments on what makes 'The Prince' one of the greatest books (letters) ever written on leadership. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1421-1737    2. 1469-1527.    3. Book Notes    4. Cliff's/ Monarch / Barron's Book Notes    5. European - General    6. Examinations    7. Florence (Italy)    8. Literary Criticism    9. Machiavelli, Niccoláo,    10. Political    11. Politics and government    12. Principe    13. Study guides    14. Constitution: government & the state    15. Italian    16. Literary Criticism & Collections / Italian    17. Literary studies: 16th to 18th centuries    18. Modern languages: literary criticism    19. Study guides, home study & revision notes   

Subjects:  1. Constitutional    2. Constitutional law    3. Constitutions    4. Justice and politics    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Political Science    7. Political questions and judicial power    8. Politics/International Relations    9. United States    10. Constitution: government & the state    11. Constitutional & administrative law    12. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT   

Reviews (4)

Social Science Study that Confirms Anecdotal Evidence
Epstein and Segal have produced an easy to read primer on the judicial appointment process.The authors show the intertwining influences of the President and Senate and their role in the ideology and politics of the justices and (to a lesser extent) judges approved to sit on U.S. federal courts.
Praise for Advice and Consent

A much-needed honest examination of the politics of judicial appointments
Over the last five years, we have seen a consistent debate concerning judicial appointments and politics ranging from the filibusters over circuit nominees to the recent Roberts and Alito nominations. The persistent myth is that the outright influence of partisan politics on judicial nominations is a new development; that prior to the last 30 years or so, judicial nominees were only judged on the basis of qualifications and not ideology. In this book, two preeminent political scientists demonstrate that this is empirically false: while qualifications are not irrelevant, the consistently dominant factor in judicial appointments has always been politics, especially on the Supreme Court. One has only to point to the very first nomination defeated in 1795 when Washington's nominee for chief justice was defeated because he supported a politically unpopular treaty. What Epstein and Segal demonstrate is that political concerns infuse the appointments process from the very beginning and the voting of judges, at least on the Supreme Court, usually correlates to the political beliefs of the appointing president. Usefully, they also examine the lower federal courts in demonstrating how various political factors come into play in these comparatively understudied courts.
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Subjects:  1. Constitutional    2. Courts - Supreme Court    3. Government - Judicial Branch    4. Government - U.S. Government    5. Judges    6. Political Process - General    7. Political Science    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Selection and appointment    11. United States    12. Constitution: government & the state    13. Constitutional & administrative law    14. Courts & procedure    15. Political Science / Government / Judicial Branch    16. Politics | American Politics | Law & Courts    17. USA   

Subjects:  1. 1989-    2. Constitutional history    3. General    4. Poland    5. Political Process - General    6. Political Science    7. Politics - Current Events    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics and government    10. Politics/International Relations    11. Central government    12. Constitution: government & the state    13. International relations    14. Political Science / General    15. Political structures: democracy    16. c 1990 to c 2000   

Reviews (3)

You really can't judge a book by its cover.
Somewhere in this poverty-stricken, coma-inducing [with a nice cover] book there may be a point, some kernel of wisdom, truth, even. I'll never know.
Homer in the Context of the Epic Tradition
Anyone who has an interest in the Homeric epics, the Trojan War, ancient Greek mythology and culture, should read this book. It's an academic product, so the argument is detailed and sometimes complicated. But Burgess writes very clearly and presents his case in a masterfully logical process that builds on an enormous amount of textual, scholarly, critical, and artistic evidence. The notes are a treasure trove of previous scholarship. I wanted to learn more about the literary and mythological context of the Iliad and the Odyssey. I came away with a much greater understanding of the composition of the Homeric poems as well as the other (now lost) works of the ancient Greek oral tradition. Rarely have I read a book that answered so many of the questions that I brought to it, and left me so confident in the fairness of the author's scholarship.

Hostage to Milieu
Truly, here is a very exciting book. The author clearly, in three long chapters (with appendices) discusses the Trojan War in the evidence of the Epic Cycle and its relation to the Homeric poems. The author has brought together philology, history, archaeology and good sense here. He shares bright arguments and suggestions in these pages that provoke thought for those interested specifically in the poems of Homer or in epic generally. Far from stealing the sparkle of the Homeric poems, this book provides the best discussion I have read of the variant threads of the stories of the Trojan War current in the age of the oral composition of the Iliad and Odyssey. It seemed so improbable that such magnificent, encyclopedic poems would stridently bound from the dark, poetic silence of the early Greek Mediterranean. Burgess shows that they didn't and that already at the time of the composition of the Homeric poems there existed a bounty of versions of the Trojan War that bore no direct relation to the poems of Homer as we know them. I recommend this timely book (timely, for it seems there is enough research to be thoroughly convincing, to me,) to teachers of Homer, early Greek culture and epic. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Ancient and Classical    3. Literary Criticism    4. Literature - Classics / Criticism    5. Ancient (Classical) Greek    6. Poetry & poets: classical, early & medieval    7. Political Science / Constitutions   

Reviews (1)

Difficult to read, but worth the effort
Bradford approaches the subject of Constitutional interpretation from a perspective that differs from conventional wisdom. James Madison said the constitution should be interpreted in light of the spirit and intent of the state ratifying conventions, and it is in this vein that Bradford offers his analysis. By focusing on the debates in the various states, he shows that today's courts are virtually ignoring the original intentions of the founders, as well as the intent of the authors of the "Reconstruction" amendments. This book is not thick, but it is heavy. Not easy reading, but well worth the effort - keep notes! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civil Procedure    2. Constitutional history    3. General    4. History: American    5. Politics - Current Events    6. U.S. Constitutional History    7. United States    8. United States - General    9. Constitution: government & the state    10. Constitutional & administrative law    11. USA   

Subjects:  1. 1989-    2. Developing countries    3. History & Theory - General    4. International Relations - General    5. Legitimacy of governments    6. Political    7. Political Science    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics and government    10. Politics/International Relations    11. World politics    12. Constitution: government & the state    13. Development economics    14. Development studies    15. Political Philosophy    16. Political Science / International Relations    17. Political Science and International Relations    18. Political science & theory   

Reviews (1)

Subtle and surprisingly casual- a really entertaining book.
I originally picked up this book due to a glowing print review given to it by Freeman Dyson and I wasn't at all disapointed.I found it to be a really remarkably in-depth treatment of the subject matter considering the relatively meager length and yet it was simple, direct and unpretentious. ( I would preface this book, however, with a more inclusive work on Game theory if you're interested. It's not necessary to understand the thesis or learn from the experiments but there are many principal concepts in Game theory that he never defines completely- such as Nash Equilibrium. I suggest William Poundstone's "The Prisoner's Dilemma") Read more

Subjects:  1. Game theory    2. General    3. Philosophy    4. Social contract    5. Constitution: government & the state    6. Philosophy / General    7. Social & political philosophy   

Reviews (15)

Best ORIGINALIST argument I've read for a parliamentary government in the U.S.
People calling Lazare a socialist are the ones who obviously don't know the Constitution or its formation.
great writing, informative
Every reader of the Frozen Republic will find something to disagree with, but if you have an open mind, you will find that Lazare has many good points about America's government not being the be-all, end-all of democracy.
"Mob Rule" or "Democracy"?
It was amusing to read the reviews which describe Lazare as a "socialist."Socialism, technically, means state ownership of the means of production, and/or the absence of private property.Needless to say, you will find neither in this book.It is also interesting to note how conservatives tend to use the pjorative term "mob rule" instead of the proper word, "democracy."God forbid that the rebellious rabble who comprise most of society actually rise up to demand a fair share of the American Pie.Read more

Subjects:  1. Constitutional    2. Constitutional history    3. Constitutions    4. Government - National    5. Political Ideologies - Democracy    6. Political Science    7. Politics - Current Events    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics and government    10. Politics/International Relations    11. United States    12. Constitution: government & the state    13. Law / Civil Procedure    14. Political structures: democracy   

Reviews (1)

An Excellent Review of Judicial History
Because the political philosophy of our fathers is rooted in a combination of Lockean and Hobbesian philosophy, the initial Federal government's role was basically defense, foreign policy, and refereeing interstate commerce.It was not to provide for needs such as retirement, health, food assistance, farm support, or recreation.Yet, today the federal government is involved in all these activities, and over time, individual property rights have been highly compromised, and personal responsibility is no longer an legally binding.
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Subjects:  1. Constitutional    2. Constitutional history    3. Constitutions    4. History & Theory - General    5. History - U.S.    6. Legal History    7. Political History    8. Political Science    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Progressivism (United States politics)    11. U.S. Constitutional History    12. United States    13. United States - 20th Century    14. United States - General    15. History / General   

Reviews (2)

Prescient

Most alarming book since Orwell's 1984
Walter Wriston emvisions a world where corporations exercise totalitarian control. With control of financial markets, they are able to make or break nations who stand in the way of their eternal drive for greater and greater profits. Mr. Wriston asks us to trust that the corporations' managers are now more enlightened while he acknowledges that they have a brutal history. This book should be a wake up call to any one who is not a member of the stock-holding privileged class that our future lies in sweatshops unless we act now to stop the multi-national corporations. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business/Economics    2. Communication (General)    3. General    4. Information Technology    5. Information systems    6. Politics - Current Events    7. Technology    8. Constitution: government & the state    9. Economic theory & philosophy    10. Impact of computing & IT on society    11. Political science & theory    12. Technology: General Issues