Elections in The Books Store

In Power Failure, Charles Brecher and Raymond Horton provide a complete guidebook to the political workings of New York City. Ranging from 1960 to the present, the authors explore in depth the political machinery behind City Hall, from electoral politics to budgetary policy to the delivery of city services. They examine the operation of the Office of the Mayor and the City Council, covering everything from the number of members and their annual salaries (Council Members receive $55,000 per year, the Council President $105,000) to the mayoral races of John V. Lindsay, Abraham Beame, and Edward I. Koch. Much of this encyclopedic work focuses on New York's ever-present financial woes, including the financial crisis of the mid-1970s, when the City had an unaudited deficit of over a billion dollars and the public credit markets closed their doors. They examine the repeated failure of collective bargaining to set wage policy before the annual operating budget is set (which undermines the integrity of the budgetary process), and they look at the main source of revenue, the property tax (homeowners pay 84 cents per hundred dollars of market value, commercial property owners pay $4.31, a politically motivated imbalance which the authors find economically harmful and grossly unfair to renters and businesses). Finally, they examine service delivery and discover, not surprisingly, that the highest local taxes in the nation are not spent efficiently. The authors offer detailed looks at the uniformed services (police, fire, sanitation, corrections), the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Health and Hospitals Corporation (which operates the country's largest municipal hospital system), revealing which departments are run well and which are not.

In the age of equality, politicians cannot prime race with impunity due to a norm of racial equality that prohibits racist speech. Yet incentives to appeal to white voters remain strong. As a result, politicians often resort to more subtle uses of race to win elections. Mendelberg documents the development of this implicit communication across time and measures its impact on society. Drawing on a wide variety of research--including simulated television news experiments, national surveys, a comprehensive content analysis of campaign coverage, and historical inquiry--she analyzes the causes, dynamics, and consequences of racially loaded political communication. She also identifies similarities and differences among communication about race, gender, and sexual orientation in the United States and between communication about race in the United States and ethnicity in Europe, thereby contributing to a more general theory of politics.

Voters today often desert a preferred candidate for a more viable second choice to avoid wasting their vote. Likewise, parties to a dispute often find themselves unable to agree on a fair division of contested goods. In Mathematics and Democracy, Steven Brams, a leading authority in the use of mathematics to design decision-making processes, shows how social-choice and game theory could make political and social institutions more democratic. Using mathematical analysis, he develops rigorous new procedures that enable voters to better express themselves and that allow disputants to divide goods more fairly.

One of the procedures that Brams proposes is "approval voting," which allows voters to vote for as many candidates as they like or consider acceptable. There is no ranking, and the candidate with the most votes wins. The voter no longer has to consider whether a vote for a preferred but less popular candidate might be wasted. In the same vein, Brams puts forward new, more equitable procedures for resolving disputes over divisible and indivisible goods.

Despite all the grassroots citizen activity through online avenues in recent years, it is still true that professional consultants are the ones running elections in the U.S. The second edition of No Place for Amateurs further explores how consultants are reshaping democracy. Professional consultants still call the shots, despite the bloggers, the Dean supporters, and those who think that campaigns can be run from the bottom up, rather than the top down. Dennis Johnson, who prior to entering academia ran his own candidate and opposition research firm and was chief of staff to a member of Congress, expertly guides students through these issues.

The second edition addresses the many changes that have taken place in political campaigns since 2000, including a new landscape of campaign funding, the media and technology’s increased importance to the way campaigns are run, as well as updating the cast of consultants and elections referenced in examples. The second edition also highlights the campaigns of 2005-06 and the activities of Rove and the Republican operatives surrounding Bush.

Project President is a hilarious romp through American electoral history.

From short, fat, bald John Adams' wig-throwing tantrums during the 1800 election to Abraham Lincoln's decision to grow a beard in 1860; from John F. Kennedy's choice to forgo the fedora at his inauguration to John Kerry's decision to get Botoxed for the 2004 race; from the Golden Age of Facial Hair (1860-1912) to the Age of the Banker (1912-1960); from Washington's false teeth to George W. Bush's workout regimen, Project President tells the story of America's love affair with presidential looks and appearance, why that often matters more than a politico's positions on the issues, and what might well be coming next.

"I'm constantly citing the power of dress. It's semiology: our clothes send a message about how we want to be perceived, and where is this more powerful and evident than in elected offices. In Project President, Ben Shapiro captures presidential semiotics with a potent narrative and deft analysis.  It's simultaneously fascinating and hilarious!"
-Tim Gunn
Project Runway, Liz Claiborne, Inc.

"Ben Shapiro takes a romp through American history and shows how personality--and even haircuts--have elected or defeated presidential candidates.  It's a tour through history that fans of both parties will enjoy-and can learn from."
-Michael Barone
Resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute
Senior Writer, U.S. News & World Report
Co-author, The Almanac of American Politics

 
"Presidential politics has always been more superficial than we'd like to admit. With a stylish and likeable touch befitting a strong candidate, Ben Shapiro takes us deep into the shallowness that has shaped American history."
-Jonathan Alter
Newsweek

 
"Shapiro deftly explains how height, hair and handsomeness can affect a candidate's campaign as much as issues. A fun, informative read."
-Glenn Beck
Nationally syndicated talk show host
Host of CNN's The Glenn Beck Show

"A hilarious and illuminating journey through America's centuries-long fascination with presidential image-making. Whether you're left, right, moderate or apathetic, this lively book will get you ready for the packaging of the '08 races."
-Jim Hightower

"This is a perceptive, witty-sometimes hilarious-look at the realities behind the faces and the facades, the slogans and the character assassinations, of each presidential campaign from George Washington to today - with much for us to ponder for tomorrow."
-Sir Martin Gilbert
Official biographer of Winston Churchill

 "An entertaining and illuminating romp through the politics of symbolism and personality in our presidential politics. If you're thinking of running for president, read this book before you spend a dime on a political consultant."
-Rich Lowry
National Review

 
COLMES: Who do you want [for the Supreme Court]?

ANN COULTER: Thank you for asking. I want Ben Shapiro.

COLMES: Ben Shapiro.

ANN COULTER: Yes. He just finished his first year at Harvard Law, 21 years old.

COLMES: You mean for a date or for the court?

ANN COULTER: No, for the court. He's my candidate. He's very bright. He's already written one best-selling book.
(CROSSTALK)

COLMES: You want to put a 21-year-old guy on the court?

ANN COULTER: Twenty-one, and he's just finished first year of Harvard Law.

COLMES: So you want someone who's going to be on the court for 50, 60 years? Is that - is that the whole idea?

ANN COULTER: No, I just happen to like Ben Shapiro.

Hannity and Colmes
Fox News Channel
July 8, 2005