Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the New American Politics Author: See details BookBusterz Fulfilled by Amazon Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering | Language: English | ISBN:
0195383737 | Format: PDF
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the New American Politics Description
When the Democrats retook control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2007 after twelve years in the wilderness, Nancy Pelosi became the first woman speaker in American history.
In Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the New American Politics, Ron Peters, one of America's leading scholars of Congress, and Cindy Simon Rosenthal, one of America's leading scholars on women and political leadership, provide a comprehensive account of how Pelosi became speaker and what this tells us about Congress in the twenty-first century. They consider the key issues that Pelosi's rise presents for American politics, highlight the core themes that have shaped, and continue to shape, her remarkable caree, and discuss the challenges that women face in the male-dominated world of American politics, particularly at its highest levels. The authors also shed light on Pelosi's political background: first as the scion of a powerful Baltimore political family whose power base lay in East Coast urban ethnic politics, and later as a successful politician in what is probably the most liberal city in the country, San Francisco. Peters and Rosenthal trace how she built her base within the House Democratic Caucus and ultimately consolidated enough power to win the Speakership. They show how twelve years out of power allowed her to fashion a new image for House Democrats, and they conclude with an analysis of her institutional leadership style.
The only full-length portrait of Nancy Pelosi in print, this superb volume offers a vivid and insightful analysis of one of America's most remarkable politicians.
- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (March 1, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0195383737
- ISBN-13: 978-0195383737
- Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
This book would be great in a classroom and reminds me of my college and high school textbooks which place historic events and people into context but really don't get into the real politik or behind the scenes manuevering to reveal penetrating truths about the figures or events in question. This book, which is decidedly quite "PC," incorporates sociological and political trends and essentially -- in a very clear, straight forward, academic way -- appears to have been written for the academic community, almost as if the authors' superiors were breathing down their necks to "publish or perish" and they came up with this book to be relevant.
This book was written by college professors and published by Oxford University Press. Essentially what you are getting is a text book, sanitized treatment of Nancy Pelosi. It's certainly a solid effort -- which earns the book three stars. However, it doesn't really tell us anything new -- and rather offers the mainstream spin or conventional wisdom without delving too deeply beyond that, as one would expect of a college research paper or PhD dissertation. I hope this book is widely read in college classes which are introducing students to politics and Pelosi for the first time.
I am finding this to be a very slow, tedious read that really doesn't cover new ground. Telling us what we already know about Pelosi but placing her rise within the context of the feminist movement and other political trends, for example, is interesting, but perhaps not illuminating in the way the professors might expect for those of us already quite conversant on such issues. The insights you will find in this book are similar to those one could expect from a college research journal.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the New American Politics Preview
Link
Please Wait...