The Book of Rule: How the World is Governed [Hardcover]

DK Publishing (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2004

Providing a clear, comprehensive and colorful guide to how the world is governed both in theory and practice, The Book of Rule examines the governments of all the world's nations -- from major powers to the newest developing countries, from democracies to dictatorships -- and shows exactly how power is exercised in each. In addition to profiling national governments, The Book of Rule also explains the general principles behind today's political systems and charts the evolution of governments from ancient times to the present.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: DK Publishing (2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789493543
• ISBN-13: 978-0789493545
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #812,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shallow, but a very good introduction, August 2, 2004

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Book of Rule: How the World is Governed (Hardcover)

This large and attractive book is a quick and exciting look at the nations of the world and their governments. There is an entry for every nation on the globe, ranging from twelve pages for the United States, and ten pages each for Japan and the United Kingdom, through to one page for such countries as Indonesia and Albania. The entry for each country has a map of the country, flag, symbol, table of statistics, economic information, a short history, and a chart of "How the Government Works."

Now, a trifling complaint I have against this book is its organization. The countries are organized first by system of rule (monarchial, theocratic, military, parliamentary democratic, multiparty democratic, presidential democratic, presidential regimes, non-party democracies, single party rule, and transitional rule) and then by population size. As you might expect, if you want to read about a specific country you will need to use the index.

My bigger complaint is that while this book is broad in its reach, it is very shallow in its grasp. I mean one page for Indonesia, the fourth most populous nation on Earth?!? Also, since so little information can be given to the reader, I would not consider this book to be anything other than an introduction to the nations of the world.

So, am I saying that this is a lousy book? Oh no, quite the contrary. This is a fascinating book, and a very good introduction to the nations of the world and their governments, one that I would highly recommend for younger readers. It has a great deal of information, which is presented in a colorful and very interesting manner.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for the politicially interested, August 28, 2004

By 

J.J. McCullough (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Rule: How the World is Governed (Hardcover)

I've always been very interested in politics, especially global politics and the study of different systems of governance. For someone like me, this book truly is a must-own. It's literally filled with information, yet unlike so many other world encyclopedias and reference guides this book is sorely about politics. As mentioned, every country on earth is profiled using a standard template along with a very clear flow chart diagram showing that country's system of government and how it works. The "important" countries, (Britain, Japan, US, Canada, Italy, China, Iran, Iraq, India, Russia and a few others) receive a more in-depth profile with several pages devoted to profiling their three branches of government in much greater detail. The information is all very contemporary. I'm writing this review in the summer of 2004, and I can say I was very impressed with how up-to-date this book is. The editors must have been adding new information right to the very last minute, because very few facts are noticeably outdated. It discusses the 2003 Iraq war and post-Saddam Iraq, as well as ongoing events in Afghanistan, Liberia, and other global hotspots. The info on some "current" heads of state is now dated, but such cases are the exception.

Another plus is the book's design. This is truly a beautiful volume. The pages are big and glossy and there are tons of nice full color photos, including several double-page photo spreads of interesting cultural scenes. The photos are interesting and informative too, and not just fluff. For example, I had never seen a photo of a German court in action before I bought this book. I had no idea their judges wore red robes and hats. This is a book that uses its medium to the full extent.

My only complaint with this book would be what some of the other reviewers have mentioned- namely, that it does not profile the smaller or less "famous" countries in a great enough depth. Though the information given for all countries is quite thorough, I found that in some cases the country profiles focused too much on the nation's history, and not enough on its current government.

Regardless, the small faults are not enough to make me give this book anything less than a perfect score.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great reference, July 8, 2006

By 

Selective Reader - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Book of Rule: How the World is Governed (Hardcover)

This like "Geography of the World" this is an excellent resource. It is indexed well and complete. Countries are categorized by government type rather than location therefore it is a very complete look at the governments of the world.

I recommend this for home reference, or for teachers and students. I use it while teaching social studies.