Reviews
Howard has written a splendid book, as entertaining as it is alarming... I cannot imagine how anyone could read it without responding enthusiastically to his call to arms., You'll laugh and wince and cry at the ridiculous situation America has gotten itself into. Howard shows us how we manufactured the rope we are now hanging ourselves with. Then he shows us how to untie the noose and put America back on the path to trust, competence, and greatness., A convincing, provocative argument... Howard's clear, levelheaded descriptions of how things are done elsewhere...proves his point: We really need to figure out a better way to operate, lest the country grind to a halt., Philip K. Howard's important new book... helps to explain why government at all levels not only is on autopilot but on a flight path that can only end in disaster... The Rule of Nobody 'envisions a shift in values--away from automatic government and toward a structure that allows humans to make choices needed to adapt to local need and global challenges.' Well, here's hoping., Amid the liberal-conservative ideological clash that paralyzes our government, it's always refreshing to encounter the views of Philip K. Howard, whose ideology is common sense spiked with a sense of urgency... [This] book drives home some large truths., Philip Howard has been on a lonely crusade for common sense, good government, and other quixotic ideas. He's done it again with The Rule of Nobody, an utterly compelling and persuasive book that, if followed, could change the way America works--or doesn't work., I enjoyed this series from two different perspectives: The first perspective is as a professor of counseling who occasionally teaches theory. Students using these books will find them readable, thorough, and applicable to the practice of therapy. New therapists will find them useful to consolidate their own use practice, and they will possibly be introduced to new material. . . . For the experienced practitioner who wants to expand into other modalities, these books introduce a new therapeutic approach. And for those who have only had a quick overview of many theories, this series offers another look, and possibly new material to add to what was already studied. . . . I recommend this series and hope that it will be expanded to include other therapeutic approaches., Psychotherapy Essentials To Go is a truly impressive series of books. Elevating pragmatics over dogma, it is grounded in the wisdom of front-line psychotherapists who adapt the core principles of empirically supported psychotherapies to flexibly address a myriad of clinical issues. No other series of psychotherapy handbooks is as skillfully concise and yet thorough. It will quickly become a standard reference for teaching and enhancing clinical competence., It's so damn hard to fix things when people can't--or won't--make new choices. This powerful book shows how Washington is sinking in legal quicksand, literally beyond the power of those supposedly 'in charge.' Perhaps the only solution, as Howard argues, is to prune out these obsolete laws and chop away on the bureaucracy so that citizens of common sense can roll up their sleeves and get to work again as America has always done. Today, leadership is practically illegal., Rather than asking what's right to do, Howard contends, government asks what the rulebook says to do. As a result, waste occurs, debt rises, schools fail, health-care costs soar, the economy falters--and even problems that seem simple and easy to solve become bureaucratic nightmares., This book is so deep, appealing, and rousing that it has the potential to actually move politics out of its current stasis., Howard's red tape case histories--Medicare and nursing home regulations, for example--boggle the mind... [He] is a caring critic, and his call for citizen groups to ally in the fight for responsible government should be heeded., Philip Howard offers a startlingly fresh slant on what is holding America back. No one is free to make choices, including, especially, government officials. Regulatory law has become a nearly impenetrable web of detailed prohibitions and specifications. Everyone is hamstrung. Dense regulation discourages individuals, communities, and companies from taking new initiatives. It also prevents government officials from making the case-by-case judgment needed for effective regulatory oversight. This is an important reason why it is so expensive to start a business, why healthcare costs have gone through the roof, and why innovation has slowed to a crawl., Philip K Howard has always struck me as an eminently reasonable, articulate advocate for common sense solutions. No wonder no one listens to him., Howard's proposed fix is witty, and intriguing: a follow-up to the Bill of Rights called the Bill of Responsibilities. These would be five new Constitutional amendments aimed at making government work better., Philip K. Howard's important new book... helps to explain why government at all levels not only is on autopilot but on a flight path that can only end in disaster... The Rule of Nobody 'envisions a shift in values--away from automatic government and toward a structure that allows humans to make choices needed to adapt to local need and global challenges.' Well, here's hoping.
