Public Policy Making, Fourth Edition [Paperback]

James E. Anderson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This text has proved to be very useful both for introductory and upper-division courses. Its readability, broad coverage, and use of real-world examples make it a useful and important text. I look forward to the next edition. -- Review --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 351 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company; 4 edition (September 24, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395961041
• ISBN-13: 978-0395961049
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,547,759 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not brilliant, April 20, 2002

By 

"robert424" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Public Policy Making, Fourth Edition (Paperback)

The book is up-to-date with most of the current litterature on the subject. A good balance between theory (which is the back bone of the book) and illustrative examples. Staying clear of the awful example set by "Understanding Public Policy" by Dye, professor Anderson shows how you can analyze, although not neccessarily predict, policymaking. A very useful annotated biography is included. I also appreciated the commonsensical, reflective tone throughout the book. Anderson seems to be a rather wise and thoughtful man.

However, the book is not particularly original. Anderson says more or less the same thing as most other current analysts in the field, and if you are familiar with public policy-litterature, you have heard it all before. His debt to scholars like Baumgartner and Jones is quite large.

Oh, but you were going to use it for teaching? Well, Anderson is a good writer, so the book would be o.k. for introductory classes. But remember, it is fairly basic stuff.

And one more thing, it is all-american. Few words are wasted on comparing different political systems. That is a pity, since international comparisons would highlight the great importance of political institutions.

To wrap it up: a good introductory book for an american audience not familiar with analysis of public policymaking. For an international audience, look elsewhere.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful for Public Administrators and Wanna-bes, April 26, 2003

By 

David Traill (Stuart, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Public Policy Making, Fourth Edition (Paperback)

Used as part of my class in Public Policy and Public Administration, this book is written well enough that it's not nearly as dry as other things we were assigned in the program. It's not chock full of theoretical jargon, and offers enough useful, thoughtful cases to be more easily understood than most. Still, for a novice with an interest in how policies are made, I would strongly recommend choosing a book by someone with a great deal of experience in government writing about their experiences- without the accompanying course I took this would have been of little value. Still, its recency is helpful, and the author writes well enough to be almost enjoyable.

3.0 out of 5 stars too much highlighter, February 14, 2010

By 

MMF - See all my reviews

This review is from: Public Policymaking 5 Edition (Paperback)

The book was ok, it only had way too much highlighter in it, more than I expected and it confuses me a bit when I study, but the rest was more than fine.