Brookings Institution Press
Beyond the facade; political reform in the Arab world.
Political scholars, many associated with the Endowment, assess the degree to which purported reforms in Arab governments are actual improvements in behavior or just window dressing for the benefit of the Western powers nagging them. Their topics include Jordan's stubborn stability, the challenge of reform in the weak state of Lebanon, and politics in the participatory emirate of Kuwait. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The challenge of legislation; bipartisanship in a partisan world.
Hilley served from 1996 to 1998 as White House senior advisor and head of legislative affairs. During his tenure the Democratic executive branch and the Republican legislative branch of the US government, a government that had been shut down twice only two years before, managed to agree on a balanced budget. This near-miracle took commitment to bipartisanship, if not the grimmest of determination, by adherents of both parties, and Hilley was in the midst of it all. Here he gives an accessible and often stirring account of the arguments, agreements, debates, and reconciliation it took to agree to balance the budget. He does not offer up heroes, but he does give credit to both sides of the fence for taking responsibility and actually getting something worthwhile done. This is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students as well as current legislators and members of the White House staff. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Revisiting rental housing; policies, programs, and priorities.
While rental housing is increasingly recognized as an important option in the United States, many problems remain to be solved: affordability, distressed neighborhoods, poor selection, concentrated poverty, and health hazards. The chapters in this volume originally were presented at a 2006 housing symposium sponsored by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies and the MacArthur Foundation. The volume focuses on current rental housing markets and practices, and writers suggest new directions for housing policy drawing on past best practices and innovations for all-inclusive long-term market and policy solutions. Editors Retsinas and Belsky are director and executive director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Twenty-first century gateways; immigrant incorporation in suburban America.
Singer (Brookings Institution), Hardwick (U. of Oregon) and Brettell (Southern Methodist U.) have edited this collection of case studies that focus on modern gateways for immigrants in the 21st century, and how these new arrivals become integrated into American suburbs. Using federal immigration guidelines as a backdrop, these essays show how current policies both serve and ignore new arrivals to this country, and how reform is needed in such areas as integration, English language instruction and access to government services. This book, which should appeal to urban planners and sociologists alike, is part of the James A. Johnson series from Brookings Institution Press. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Voting technology; the not-so-simple act of casting a ballot.
The authors (of the U. of Maryland, U. of Rochester, and U. of Michigan) report on their interdisciplinary investigation into new voting technologies in the United States. They examine the usability of voting system interfaces, the impact of voting system and ballot design on voter satisfaction and voters' need for help, issues of vote accuracy between systems, the influence of voter characteristics on the election day experience, and the impact of vote security remedies such as vote verification devices. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
