Pressure and Power: Organized Interests in American Politics

Rating:
Summary: One of the best organized interests books out there.
Review: from the back "the first title in the New Diretions in Political Behavior series, provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of interest group politics in the United States. The book examines how organized interests are born, how they survive, how they operate, and how they influence public policy."

As former student of the author, I can say that Dr. Nownes knows his stuff. His classes were always fun, but I left knowing a lot more than I went in with. His book, "Pressure and Power" is an excellent source for info on organized interests. Nownes has written extensive amounts on this subject in the past, and continues to be an expert in the field.

Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: Nownes' book on organized interests in american politics is quite simply the best in the field. He covers the standard subjects (the influence of groups in Congress, the bureaucracy, origins and maintenance of groups, etc.). In addition, however, he discusses the impact of organized interests in state and local government. Surely this is an important area of american politics that is too often ignored by scholars of interest groups. His focus on organized interests instead of interest groups is also worth considering.

His writing is always clear and often witty. He has made a number of difficult subjects easy. His discussion of the "seamjob" on page 115 is a great example. Until reading this book, I thought a "seamjob" was the same as "demosclorosis." Now I know differently.

If you're looking for a clear, informative and often entertaining book about organized interests in american politics, this is it.