Product Description

This easy-to-use writing guide shows readers how to think, research, and write like a political scientist and includes new coverage of current practices in using electronic databases and Internet sources.

Customer Reviews (3)

Good service and book in good condition.
The service, or promptness of the delivery of the book, was good.And book arrived in good condition.

Very useful, in some respects
I was assigned this book as an undergraduate and quite honestly, didn't give it much of my time. But looking it at it now, while doing my MA, I wish I had! The practical information about writing theses, footnotes/endnotes, and stylistic problems seems especially important for any student. The examples and formats weren't particularly useful to me...I think the space would have been better spent on straight-up research papers instead all the unique ones, like writing policy recommendations and book reviews. Perhaps this will be useful to some students though. All in all, I think it's a great reference to have the shelf and I use it now as a guide to answer any of the basic questions about research that I may have.

SolidWriting Guidance for Political Science Majors
I've been using this book in my freshman political science seminar for several years and it has many strengths. I especially like the first few chapters on the nature of political inquiry and what it means to think and write critically about politics. Its check list of properties of a good research paper is especially well done. The section on annotated bibliographies is very useful to get students started on papers.

Now for the weaknesses: the chapter on the format and examples of conventional research papers is limited to comparative, analytical and position papers. The formulae given for writing each type of paper doesn't seem especially useful to me. I'd prefer that students formulate a real question, write a literature review and use data to form useful conclusions. The paper formats provided do not do this. I've written my own handouts on paper formatting and structure rather than assign this one.

Despite its limitations, this is a very useful book for undergraduate political science majors. If I was starting out in the field, it is exactly what I'd want to know.

... Read more

Product Description
As a follow-up to their 1997 collection Political Science Fiction, editors Donald M. Hassler and Clyde Wilcox have brought together twenty-four noted international scholars representing diverse fields of inquiry to assess more recent influential voices and trends in New Boundaries in Political Science Fiction. The terrors and technologies that permeate our daily lives have changed radically in the past decade, highlighting the underlying speculations on our contested future at the core of this genre. Surveying the vast expanse of recent political science fiction, the editors posit that the defining dilemma for these tales rests in whether identity and meaning germinate from linear progressions or from a continuous return to the primitive realities of war, death, and competition for survival.

The collection's first section focuses on issues inherent in fiction of personal identity and the "new man." From neuroscience to blogs to the polemic on gender and race, this section investigates democratization of political elements that lead to genuine new identities. The subsequent section explores works that evoke the old power centers of empires and nation states, where larger-than-life heroic systems represent a nostalgic symbol for triumphant human advancement. The final section presents idiosyncratic essays on individual writers and concludes with a comic treatment of America's current situation in international politics as viewed through a science fiction lens.

The writers discussed range from H. G. Wells, Robert A. Heinlein, Ursula Le Guin, and Isaac Asimov to more radical voices such as Iain M. Banks, William Gibson, Joanna Russ, Philip K. Dick, and China Mieville. While emphasizing the literature, the collection also addresses political science fiction found on film and television from the original Star Trek through the newest incarnation of Battlestar Galactica.

In addition to the editors, the contributors are Marleen Barr, Peter R. Bergethon, Roberto de Sousa Causo, Doug Davis, Mark Decker, Fred Erisman, Henry Farrell, Carl Freedman, Lincoln Geraghty, M. Elizabeth Ginway, Woody Goulart, James Heilman, Patrick Thaddeus Jackson, Wesley Y. Joe, Carter Kaplan, Sándor Klapcsik, Paul Christopher Manuel, Thomas Michaud, Wanda Raiford, Sandy Rankin, Bruce Rockwood, Darko Suvin, Dennis Wilson Wise, and Lisa Yaszek. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fascinating Stuff
Required reading for serious (or at least devoted) readers, writers or critics of science fiction.Fascinating diversity of viewpoints. ... Read more

Product Description
The Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology is a comprehensive, contemporary, cumulative, and international reference work for the field of political psychology. On the broadest level, political psychology is an application of what is known about human psychology to the study of politics. The topics covered will build up from the individual level (attitudes, values, decision making, ideology, personality) to the collective (group identity, mass mobilization, political violence), span models of the mass public and political elites, and cover both domestic issues, international relations, and foreign policy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The best starting point for those interested in political psychology
Up to now I perused through the pages and read on some hot topics that are discussed in the field of political psychology today.
My intention, as a Masters student in Social Psychology, is to see if this book serves as a good basis for a possible Ph.D later on, as the university in the Netherlands where I'm currently studying does not present a similar course. This well written book has served as a good source of inspiration on which one would want to delve further in this interesting field. If there is anyone out there with similar interests, I would strongly advise you to get hold of this book. On the surface it looks intimidating and hard to wrestle through, but is written very comprehensively and is an easy and (very) intersting read.

basic readable reference
This work is a self-conscious précis of the current professional norms of political psychology which loosely presents itself as applying what is best known in psychology to political science. In many ways political psychology puts a human face on social political processes that addresses motivesas well as clusters of behavior needing explication that soft pedals reductive theory for more empirical observation quantified from many events and cultural circumstances. The essays in Handbook of Political Psychology serve to convey the general nature and range of the subject while also being a guide to the central issues and studies in the field. It belongs in every political science library. ... Read more

Product Description

Does thesciencepart of political science cause your students to break out in a cold sweat? This companion workbook gives students the perfect opportunity to practice each of the methods presented in the text. To maximize their ability to master each technique, the workbook is organized to parallel the text chapter for chapter, breaking out each aspect of the research process into manageable parts, and comes with updated data sets and primary documents. Given invaluable feedback from adopters, this second edition workbook has been restructured so that exercises more consistently increase in complexity and degree of difficulty, and fuller, more explicit directions accompany problems.

... Read more

Product Description
Political methodology has changed dramatically over the past thirty years, and many new methods and techniques have been developed. Both the Political Methodology Society and the Qualitative/Multi-Methods Section of the American Political Science Association have engaged in ongoing research and training programs that have advanced quantitative and qualitative methodology. The Oxford Handbook of Political Methodology presents and synthesizes these developments.

The Handbook provides comprehensive overviews of diverse methodological approaches, with an emphasis on three major themes. First, specific methodological tools should be at the service of improved conceptualization, comprehension of meaning, measurement, and data collection. They should increase analysts' leverage in reasoning about causal relationships and evaluating them empirically by contributing to powerful research designs. Second, the authors explore the many different ways of addressing these tasks: through case-studies and large-n designs, with both quantitative and qualitative data, and via techniques ranging from statistical modelling to process tracing. Finally, techniques can cut across traditional methodological boundaries and can be useful for many different kinds of researchers. Many of the authors thus explore how their methods can inform, and be used by, scholars engaged in diverse branches of methodology. ... Read more

Product Description
Addressing the key dilemmas facing environmental policy and scientific debate, this work presents a framework for advancing these debates, and for moving environmental politics towards an understanding of ecological science as a political process. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A more intelligent version of the Bjorn Lomborg debate
I was really drawn to the debate last year about that Danish statistician who wrote 'The Skeptical Environmentalist' because I always felt that environmentalists overstated problems, but at the same time, I felt that Lomborg was putting it too simply. This new book, Critical Political Ecology, takes on this whole issue in a different way by looking more deeply at the questions of what is an environmental problem, and the politics of who (and when) someone experiences it, before actually rushing off to measure it. It actually shows how wrong and simple Lomborg is! But it also shows that many popular ideas about environmental problems are also simplistic because they overlook the politics of how problems are seen to be problematic (and who by). Its a good book because it does not simply say 'yes the environment is in crisis' or 'no there is no such thing as crisis' but shows us how we can both understand how environmental problems happen, and the politics of how we see them as problems. This book shows a much better way to question environmentalism in a practical way than Lomborg's sensationalistic effort... It certainly got me thinking...

At last a book that seems to speak my language
I like this book, and recommend it to anyone who is interested in politics of environment. I am a climatologist who is trying to understand more about environmental policy, and I have often felt that the world is divided into people who understand science but not politics, and social scientists who seem to be disconnected from the real world. This book seems to fall in the middle because it criticizes many scientific assumptions about environment, but doesn't fall into the trap of those people who seem to think that any science is bad, or that everything is just social discourse. In fact this book tries to show how to get a better sense of reality about environmental change. It speaks my language because it is actually quite hopeful about getting science right and more engaged with the political process, even though it is critical about some elements of how environmental science is talked about. I enjoyed it because it showed that it is possible to remain scientific about environment plus political too. It also has a lot of discussion about 'political ecology' that I found interesting. ... Read more

Product Description
This general, comparative introduction to the major concepts and themes of political science engages students with concrete analytical examples without overwhelming them with excessive detail. In this extensively revised eleventh edition, W. Phillips Shively surpasses the high standards he set in prior editions, bringing political science conceptually alive as never before. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Power & Choice throu amazon
This book as a Political Science book that i needed for my class on my University and buying it locally was a nightmare. I would have easily invested 125$ on this book for my class if i had to buy it here. This book shipped fast, its was in very good condition and the book is indeed a good one for understanding the material. The Price Was Really Good Too!!=)

Lots of information, poor organization
Currently using this text in a Political Science class.While it provides lots of information, it is very poor in developing a cohesive body of thought.The online outlines, summaries and test questions are helpful, so there are some useful tools but..............

A good book to begin your political education
The book is well balanced and well arranged topic-vise and offers a good number of real-world examples for the matters that are discussed in it. I recommend this book to everyone interested in understanding basic things about politics of the state and common political concepts we face in our everyday lives.

Wordy Wordy Wordy
This book was used for an intro to politics class and I found it to be extremely wordy and difficult to follow. ... Read more

Product Description
W. W. Norton & Company and the American Political Science Association are pleased to announce the publication of the Centennial Edition of Political Science: State of the Discipline.
Editors Ira Katznelson and Helen V. Milner of Columbia University sought to "reflect the vibrant, often contested, diversity of political science while chronicling the past decade’s scholarship and prompting thought about future directions."

Breaking away from a traditional organization around the four major fields of political science, the editors chose to create a framework that focuses first on the state, followed by democracy, then agency, and concluding with means of inquiry.

This volume is an important resource for all scholars interested in reading across fields and includes an essential unified bibliography.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The state of political science at the turn of the century
The editors were empowered to use the 2000 American Political Science Association meeting as the occasion to develop a volume on the state of the discipline. In their preface, Ira Katznelson and Helen Milner state (Page xiii): "Our goal from the outset was to reflect the vibrant, often contested, diversity of political science while chronicling the past decade's scholarship and prompting thought about future directions." The editors begin this edited volume with an Introduction, aptly titled "American Political Science: The Discipline's State and the State of the Discipline." Candidly, they note that political science is not a clearly defined discipline.

The book itself is divided into four parts, not by subfields within the discipline--but by themes. The four: The State in an Era of Globalization; Democracy, Justice, and Their Institutions; Citizenship, Identity, and Political Participation; Studying Politics.

The first part contains seven chapters, each authored by a well know political scientist. The entries examine, for instance, the nature of the state and how it operates in a global era, including the impact of international political economy, conflict and democracy, the continuing relevance of the realist tradition, and how we study the state. Part 2 examines aspects of democracy and justice. There is included here six chapters, focusing on such areas as the nature of democratic theory today,the nature of justice, the relevance of critical theory and postmodernism for democracy, and the like.

Part 3? Citizenship, identity, and political participation. This part includes an array of approaches and perspectives on the subject. The work concludes, in Part 4, with a consideration of varying means by which we study politics. Rational choice theory, game theory, historical institutionalism, formal theory, and even experimentation are among the approaches discussed.

As a perspective on political science at the outset of the 21st century, this book serves nicely. The general public is not likely to find this book to their taste (it assumes that one has a sense of the discipline and concepts widely used in political science). But for those who wish to get a sense of the, as the authors note at one point, "cacophony" within the field, this would be useful.
... Read more

Product Description
Behind the daily headlines on presidential races and local elections is the theory of the polity 151 or what the end of our politics should be. Harvard s Harvey C. Mansfield, one of America s leading political theorists, explains why our quest for the good life must address the type of government we seek to uphold. He directs our gaze to the thinkers and philosophies and classic works that have proved most influential throughout the ages. Author: Harvey C. MansfieldPages: 58, PaperbackPublisher: Christendom PressISBN: 1-882926-43-9 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Great guide for political science students
This book is great for anyone interested in understanding the basic concepts and authors of ancient and modern political philosophy!

Just a guide
The book is a brief chronological account of Western political thought interspersed with some of the author's thoughts. I was disappointed at first when I realized how short this book I had bought was because I was hoping for some meaty reading, but I realized that the main purpose of this book is to direct the reader to the actual texts. Mansfield gives a short list at the end of the book of the best translations.

speedy with a good eye
I was very pleased with the time it took to arrive to my place since my order. The book was also in good condition and any faults it had were clearly marked and assessed with an accurate eye on the web page. thanks for a speedy mail!p.s. the price was remarkable!

Fine, if somewhat short....
This book is a very short summary of political philosophy.Perhaps it is wrong in assuming that a student would not be able to read about this subject in greater detail.After reading this, though, one will want to know more about political philosophy, why one can be both politically active and philosophical, and why politics is important to students, and not just leftist politics.Also, one wonders which political philosophy the author has, as he seems to comment wryly on both conservatism and liberalism with great acuity.A fine read, if somewhat incomplete.

Short, but not the best overview
I bought this guide expecting that it would give a brief high-level overview of the main thinkers and ideas in political philosophy. It didn't do that -- it was more of a political philosopher "sampler", rather than an overview which outlines the high points in the intellectual history of the field. The first 10 pages of the ~50 page essay made some good distinctions & definitions, and emphasized that one should read the "great books" of political philosophy (though it doesn't give a list of those books until the appendix). The rest of the essay wasn't as informative, and just touches on some of the ideas of a couple major philosophers (e.g. Machiavelli, Plato, etc.), and tended to be slightly more interpretive than I like to see in an introduction (intro's should be more objective, because a beginner has a hard time distinguishing opinion from fact).Overall, this book only gave me a "feel" for what political philosophy is,without giving a sense of the entire scope of the field, the connections and/or debate between the various schools of thought, or the relative importance of the various thinkers.Granted, it's hard to give a comprehensive overview in 50 pages, but I think the essay could have been structured better.On the plus side, it is a very short essay -- 50 pages, double spaced. ... Read more

Product Description
Human beings live together in societies which, by their very nature, give rise to institutions governing the behavior and freedom of individuals. This raises important questions about how these institutions ought to function, and the extent to which actual systems of government succeed or fail in meeting these ideals. This Oxford Reader provides 140 key writings on political thought, covering issues regarding human nature and its relation to society, the extent to which the powers of the State are justified, the tension between liberty and rights, and the way resources should be distributed. Topics such as international relations, minority rights, democracy, socialism, and conservatism are also discussed by contributors ranging from Plato and Aristotle to Foucault, Isaiah Berlin, and Martin Luther King. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

college book
The only thing i really like about this book is that its cheap. I only bought this book for my Political Theory class, I dont think I wouldve bought it if not for that.

good
book in good condition like description said.it took longer than i would've liked for the book to arrive- since i needed it for class.

A Must for Any Politico Aficionado
One night while searching Amazon for a scrumptious new political book to decorate my room with, I came across this one and it immediately caught my attention.While I tend to be drawn to the more arcane and iconoclastic regions of political philosophy, this book seemed to possess an alluring simplicity.I guess it reminded me of the kind of book I read in college -- a touch of nostalgia -- and always so much enjoyed.I imagine it is now safe to disclose that my economic and political science classes were the only ones I did not skip on a regular basis.Anything political or philosophical fascinates me -- spinning out philosophical ideas in my head and turning them over and over again is endless, bountiful pleasure.

Political philosophy is a large hunting ground, but the editors do a commendable job of breaking it down into its constituent elements.Since the subject matter is so broad the authors must apply a rather strict criterion of which thinkers and material to present.First, they aim to present ideas that have a certain continuity, ones that are perennial in nature and that all societies must confront.Second, they tend to select works that are rigorously logical and factual, so nothing in the way of mysticism or superstition.And finally, they seek to present ideas with a modern resonance, issues that have not been resolved over the ages.(So no commentary on slavery or how many Angels can dance on the head of a pin).

The editors think -- and I agree with them -- that it is best not to think of political philosophy as a single entity, but rather as a multi-layered synthesis comprising many building blocks that can be arranged in a variety of ways.To develop a thorough and systematic understanding of political philosophy it is important to scrutinize each building block in turn before placing them in any arrangement.The building blocks include human nature, the justification for the state, liberty and rights, economic justice, alternatives to liberalism, and progress and civilization.Introducing politico neophytes to political philosophy with a section on human nature is I think most fruitful since all the larger questions in political philosophy are at root questions about human nature.Are we greedy of altruistic?Are we cooperative or competitive?Does society shape our nature (as Owen thought) or does our nature shape and give rise to society (as Aristotle thought)?How fluid is gender?Is it rigid, a la Aristotle and Darwin or malleable, a la Alison Jaggar?Human nature is the real source of contention in political philosophy, while the other issues are derivative.While the editors do not emphasize the point to any large extent, I think it would not be uncharacteristically bold to suggest that most of the shifts in the political winds come on the heels of radically new ideas about human nature.The ideas that electrified Europe in the French Revolution and later in the Bolshevik Revolution had their origin in a radically new set of ideas about human nature that were essentially egalitarian, which is in sharp contrast to the aristocratic view of human nature of Aristotle and our Founding Fathers.Also, one point that the editors never make and one that might generate some confusion is that while most of political philosophy is normative i.e. it deals with value judgments, the subject of human nature is empirical.So while no amount of scientific tinkering and fact finding can tell you that majority rule is better than the rule of law or that Locke's labor justification for property-rights is absolute, it should be possible to frame a predictable and identifiable picture of human nature.This would go along way to resolving a great many political disputes. ... Read more

Product Description
Long recognized as one of the main branches of political science, political theory has in recent years burgeoned in many different directions. Close textual analysis of historical texts sits alongside more analytical work on the nature and normative grounds of political values. Continental and post-modern influences jostle with ones from economics, history, sociology, and the law. Feminist concerns with embodiment make us look at old problems in new ways, and challenges of new technologies open whole new vistas for political theory. This Handbook provides comprehensive and critical coverage of the lively and contested field of political theory, and will help set the agenda for the field for years to come. Forty-five chapters by distinguished political theorists look at the state of the field, where it has been in the recent past, and where it is likely to go in future. They examine political theory's edges as well as its core, the globalizing context of the field, and the challenges presented by social, economic, and technological changes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not up to it

Despite its somewhat innovative organizing of the subject matter, this book is simply not up to it. One gets the impression that the scholars writing many of the chapters are about to finish their PhD. The contributions are simply not that interesting or authoritative. More often than not, they simply appear to sum up what this and that academic said, failing to make substantial contributions.

In particular, I was disappointed about the introductory chapter on Habermas and Part VI on Justice, Equality and Freedom. I am both a philosopher and an economist, and I didn't find much food for thought here.

I have to contrast the Oxford Handbook to the Handbook of Political Theory from SAGE edited by Gerald F Gaus and Chandran Kukathas. This is a superb handbook which really pushes forward and explores the different themes brilliantly. In short, don't waste your money on Oxford, buy the SAGE handbook instead. (By the way, Dryzek makes an excellent contribution on democratic theory to the SAGE handbook.)
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Better Than A Text Book
Definately not biased.Provides a great and perfect introductory understanding of key Political Science concecpts.I would reccomend this by far over a textbook for your first year, or if you just want to learn. ... Read more

Product Description
2 illustrations, 1 mapThe history of the American West is a history of struggles over land, and none has inspired so much passion and misunderstanding as the conflict between ranchers and the federal government over public grazing lands. Drawing upon neglected sources from organized ranchers, this is the first book to provide a historically based explanation for why the relationship between ranchers and the federal government became so embattled long before modern environmentalists became involved in the issue. Reconstructing the increasingly contested interpretations of the meaning of public land administration, Public Lands and Political Meaning traces the history of the political dynamics between ranchers and federal land agencies, giving us a new look at the relations of power that made the modern West.Although a majority of organized ranchers supported government control of the range at the turn of the century, by midcentury these same organizations often used a virulently antifederal discourse that fueled many a political fight in Washington and that still runs deep in American politics today. In analyzing this shift, Merrill shows how profoundly people's ideas about property wove their way into the political language of the debates surrounding public range policy. As she unravels the meaning of this language, Merrill demonstrates that different ideas about property played a crucial role in perpetuating antagonism on both sides of the fence.In addition to illuminating the origins of the "sagebrush rebellions" in the American West, this book also persuasively argues that political historians must pay more attention to public land management issues as a way of understanding tensions in American state-building. ... Read more

Product Description
Shows the range and power of experimental methods in political science.
... Read more

Product Description
To look inside this book please enter the full title in Google Books (http://books.google.com/).

Table of Contents

1) Summary of System and Method for Capturing and Sequestering Carbon.
2) Rapid Site Selection and Performance Monitoring for Marine Reserves
3) Economic Growth and Environmental Protection
4) Energy Based System for Appraising the Non-Use Ecosystem Values
5) Structural Adjustment, Deforestation, and Population Growth
6) Theories of Intergenerational Equity
7) Environmental Ethics From Theory to Praxis
8) The United States and Biological Diversity
9) Public-Private Conservation: An Urban Case Study
10) Regime Shift and Diminished Biodiversity in Tree Species Composition in a New York City Forest: A 68 Year Study
11) Towards a New Environmental Tort Damages Regime
12) Intergeneration Equity and Family Structure: Exploring the Social Impact of Intestate Inheritance Laws in Louisiana and Puerto Rico
13) Assorted Blogs
FDA and Food Labeling: 10/09/09
Human Bio-Response to Acidification: 10/06/09
Environmental Law Issues Facing NY City: 9/16/09
Facing Tough Energy Decisions in NY State: 7/28/09
List of Most Charismatic Endangered Species: 7/26/09
What Should The New US Health Care System Look Like?: 7/24/09
Copenhagen Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD): 7/24/09
Copenhagen: Most Favored Technology Transfer Nation Status: 7/24/09
Traversing the International Climate Change Negotiations Impasse: 7/9/09
Whither the Smart National Grid?: 6/29/09
Sustainable Psychoactive Substances: 6/21/09
Waxman-Markey (ACESA) a Fake, says Dr. James Hansen: 6/12/09
Carbon Price Market Failure and the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES)Draft: 4/30/09
Chicken Little Re-Plucked: 4/27/09
Waxman-Markey and REDD Blog Discussion: 4/27/09
Lomborg: Don’t Waste Time Cutting Emissions: 4/25/09
American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, Discuss: 4/18/09
How Much Carbon Dioxide Per Person, Per Nation?: 4/6/09
How to Adjust for National Population Changes in an International Carbon Cap System?: 4/6/09
Whither Kyoto and CDM?: 3/28/09
Of Defecits and Prosperity: 3/22/09
F.D.A. Approves Drug From Gene-Altered Goats: 3/20/09
Carbon Dioxide Statistics: How Many Cars Off the Roads?: 3/1/09
What is a fair way of distributing the right to emit carbon among nations?: 2/28/09
Should We Be Focusing on the Fossil Fuel Producers?: 2/28/09
Are Environmentalists Trying to Keep the Developing World Poor?: 2/25/09
“When Population Growth and Resource Availability Collide”: 2/13/09
Lithium Recycling and Sea Water Extraction: 2/3/09
Baseline Electricity Generation for NY City: 1/26/09
Environmental Economic Stimulus: 1/24/09
Chrichton, Lomborg, and the Environmental Skeptics: 11/14/08
Reparations for the Invasion of Eurasian Germs: 11/2/08
How Should We Fight Charco Terrorism?: 7/6/08 ... Read more

Product Description
The 4th edition of Classics of Moral and Political Theory widens the breadth, depth, and appeal of this collection by featuring Paul WoodruffÂ’s translation of SophoclesÂ’ Antigone, Rodney LivingstoneÂ’s translation of WeberÂ’s "Politics as a Vocation," and selections from MillÂ’s The Subjection of Women; in addition C.D.C. ReeveÂ’s new translations of PlatoÂ’s Republic (rendered into direct dialogue), Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and the death scene from the Phaedo replace the translations of these works currently in use. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

The contents Of Classics of Moral and Political Theory
This book was what I was looking for, for my Philosophy: morality in society class. It has the following in it's the contents:

SOPHOCLES
"Antigone"Translated by Paul Woodruf
PLATO
"Euthyphro", "Apology", "Crito", "Phaedo Death Scene (115B1-118A17)", "Republic"Translated and edited by C.D.C Reeve
ARISTOTLE
"Nicomachean Ethics" Translated by Terence Irwin
"Politics (Bk. I; BK. II, 1-5, 9; Bk. III; Bk. IV, 1-15, 16 [abridged]; Bk. VII, 1-3, 13)" Translated C.D.C Reeve
EPICURUS
"Letter to Menoeceus","Principal Doctrines" Translated and edited by Brad Inwood and L.P. Gerson
EPICTETUS
"Encheiridoin"Translated, with introduction and annotation, by Nicholas White
AUGUSTINE
"City of God (Bk. XIX [abridged])" translated by Douglas Kries and Michael Tkacz, edited by Ernest Fortin and Douglas Kries
AQUINAS
"On Kingship (I,1), Summa Theologica (I-II, Q.90. 1-4, Q.91. 1-4, Q.94. 1-6; II-II, Q.40. 1, Q.42. 2, Q.66. 1-2 )" translated by Richard J. Regan, Edited by William P. Baumgarth and Richard J. Regan

MACHIAVELLI
"Letter to Francesco Veettori", "The Prince", "Discourses" (Bk. I, 1-2; Bk. II, 1-2, 20, 29; Bk. III, 1, 9)" Translated by David Wootton

HOBBES
"Leviathan (Dedicatory, Introduction, Pt. 1 [Of man]; Pt 2 [Of Commonwealth], Review and conclusion)"
LOCKE
"Second Treatise of Government"
HUME
"Treatise of Human Nature (Bk. II, pt. III, sec. III; Bk. III, pt. I, sec. I-II; Pt. II, Sec. I-II)
ROUSSEAU
"Discourse on the Origen of Inequality", "On the Social Contract" Translated by Donald A. Cress
KANT
"Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals" Translated by James W. Ellington
MILL
"On Libery", "Utilitarianism", "The Subjection of Woman"
MARX
"Alienated Labor", "On the Jewish Question", "Communist Manifesto", "Critique of the Gotha Program" Translated by Loyd D. Easton and Kurt H. Guddat

NIETZSCHE
"On the Genealogy of Morality" Translated by Maudemarie Clark and Alan J. Swensen
WEBER
"Politics as a Vocation" Translated by Rodney Livingstone and edited by David Owen and Tracy B. Strong

review
i was really glad to find this book at a much lower price at Amazon. it is required reading - but I haven't had to do any reading just yet, as classes have only begun recently. My copy was used and a little beat up but better than i expected. Thanks.

quick delivery, good price
I ordered this book online for a class since it saved me about $20 than waiting to pay for it at the bookstore. It came within a week, was packaged well, great condition, fast and easy. Would do business again.

very useful textbook
This is a most valuable text book. It contains major texts of leading philosophers. I use it as a core text for my introductory course From Plato to Marx. In one volume you will have the leading texts. Highly recommended.

The missing book
I never received this book.I ordered it 5/30 and as of 6/30 it has not arrived.My emails to the seller have never been returned.I am trying to get my money refunded thru Amazon.This whole transaction has been one big pain. ... Read more

Product Description
Formal political theory seeks to develop formal, mathematical models of political and economic processes. This book attempts to integrate the last twenty years of development in this field. Professor Ordeshook uses the modern developments in the theory of games (decision making with multiple, interactive decision makers) as the basis for the synthesis. Topics covered include models of elections and of committee processes, the demand and supply of public goods, and surveys of game theory and social-choice theory. Game Theory and Political Theory is designed as a textbook for graduate courses in formal political theory and political economy. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

I am a Man of the Right
Bobbio spelled out in detail what it means to be a leftist or a rightist.
Ever since I was fifteen I realized that there is difference between higher human beings and the oi polloi("the many"), the "great unwashed," il popolo bue, the "others." The difference is this: these mahatmas, or great souls, lead lifestyles that are pure, intense, and centered on ultimate concerns. I was privileged enough to encounter a few people like that, and as a result I resolved that even though I am an "illustrious nobody," I WANT my life to approximate theirs, even if it is only to a tiny degree. I also developed an intense dislike of "people," because of their focus on what I unapologetically regard as penultimate and even irrelevant concerns. Therefore, I consider myself a man of the Right according to Norberto Bobbio's insight developed in his book. Bobbio argues that the Right is an attitude, a mindset, a "profound intention" stemming from the conviction that human beings are naturally dissimilar and un-equal, and that their duties and rights should reflect such inequality. The opposite stance about equality is reflected in the works of Rousseau and Nietzsche. It goes without saying that I reflexively side with Nietzsche's views.

Two sides explained
Norberto Bobbio wrote this book during the first half of the 90's, while Italy was going through an unprecedented election whose winner was Berlusconi.
Back then, and I would say that ten years later it's still the same, the difference between left and right was not very clear for most of the people.
With this in mind, Bobbio starts his analysis by studying the political spectrum implications in society. He points out that the main distinction between left and right are related mainly to the notions of equality and inequality. He also explains why the extreme versions of both are more likely to come together as it happened during World War 2.
I think the book is very useful to understand the ideologies behind the political parties. However, it might not be 100% applicable to explain US politics.

Two axis: equality and inequality, liberty and authority...
Norberto Bobbio (1909 - 2004) was a very well-known political philosopher that delved into a lot of subjects, and led a very interesting life. "Left and Right : The Significance of a Political Distinction" is one of the many books Bobbio wrote. Truth to be told, I have many of those books, and this isn't my favourite: that honor belongs to "Teoría de las Formas de Gobierno en la historia".

Despite that, I like this book a lot. The reason is simple: it throws light on a very important issue, the difference between left and right. Basically, Bobbio points out that that distinction is still valid, and that it is possible to understand it through an analysis of politics, made taking into account two fundamental axis, equality and inequality, liberty and authority.

Thanks to those two axis we can divide the different political groups into five categories (extreme left, moderate left, center, moderate right, and extreme right), and understand how the concepts of left and right change. Bobbio says that those concepts vary depending on time and place, but that there is something that is more or less permanent: attitudes regarding equality and inequality. Those in the left think that inequality can (and should) be avoided, whereas those in the right consider inequality normal.

On the whole, I think that this book will be useful to you, due to the fact that it explains the basic differences between left and right quite well, and gives valuable examples. That is the reason why I highly recommend it to you...

Belen Alcat

A grood introduction to an old division
Bobbio's book is an instrumental introduction to what divides the left and the right, in a time when there are suggestions that their division is overcome. Analyzing each claim, he concludes they are groundless. Twoopposite outlooks stand in the division: the one that considers men equaland the other that considers them unequal. For as long as these outlooksexist, and it appears they will continue to exist, there will be a left,and consequently, a right, and vice versa. There are also other insights orinterpretations of both contemporary thinking and of the patterns ofthought that make the book interesting. The analysis of why the dyad existsin form, compared to all attacks on it as a scheme, for example, is wellargued and put. Bobbio is a refined thinker, so, the fame he has in Italyas probably that country's foremost modern political philosopher, stands instrong arguments. ... Read more