Plunkitt of Tammany Hall: A Series of Very Plain Talks on Very Practical Politics

Rating:
Summary: I saw my opportunities and I took them.
Review: Well, at least you can say that George Washington Plunkitt was a 'honest' politician (not a liar). He didn't mince words and tell the voters what they wanted to hear, and then didn't deliver. He delivered a service that the voters of his district could count on. He provided them with a sense of security which the politicians of this day don't provide. In a difficult and ever changing world, I am not sure more voters would cherish the ideal of what the machine can give them.
Plunkitt rips the civil service ideal in much of this book, while extolling the fruits of rewarded service. He takes a slash at the education system by constantly making the comparison between book learning and common sense. As some of the previous reviewers have already stated-his arguments on honest and dishonest graft are almost unbelievable. The reader will find themselves chuckling at some of his arguments. This is what machine politicians believed in during their time.
This is an OK book. Ultimately, Plunkitts ideas are out of time, and a more fair system is now in place.