Reviews
Politics of the Administrative Process stands out among other competing textbooks for its clarity, comprehensiveness, and coverage. It tackles the issue of government accountability in a direct way, but also has a positive, upbeat tone toward public service, which is important for today's students, many of whom question the value of public service. Other public administration textbooks are dry and uninteresting but this book works better for my students, due to the clear, straightforward writing style and illustrative case studies. Students like real-life examples, and the case studies really bring the more abstract discussions to life and are an important part of helping to meet our teaching and learning objectives. Many texts also ignore or downplay discussion of state and local governments, but Kettl's coverage is robust, and incorporates numerous state and local examples. I particularly like the last section that puts public administration into the context of the rules, processes, and politics of our democratic system-- the text's emphasis on politics is one of its most attractive aspects for me., One of the key strengths of The Politics of the Administrative Process is its organization; the book opens and closes on the theme of accountability--fitting bookends to the topics in-between. The case studies at the end of each chapter are exceptional, providing the basis for many interesting classroom discussions and thoughtful written assignments. Overall, Politics is very engaging and accessible to students., One of the key strengths of The Politics of the Administrative Process is its organization; the book opens and closes on the theme of accountability--fitting bookends to the topics in-between. The case studies at the end of each chapter are exceptional, providing the basis for many interesting classroom discussions and thoughtful written assignments. Overall, Politics is very engaging and accessible to students., Politics of the Administrative Process stands out among other competing textbooks for its clarity, comprehensiveness, and coverage. It tackles the issue of government accountability in a direct way, but also has a positive, upbeat tone toward public service, which is important for today's students, many of whom question the value of public service. Other public administration textbooks are dry and uninteresting but this book works better for my students, due to the clear, straightforward writing style and illustrative case studies. Students like real-life examples, and the case studies really bring the more abstract discussions to life and are an important part of helping to meet our teaching and learning objectives. Many texts also ignore or downplay discussion of state and local governments, but Kettl's coverage is robust, and incorporates numerous state and local examples. I particularly like the last section that puts public administration into the context of the rules, processes, and politics of our democratic system-- the text's emphasis on politics is one of its most attractive aspects for me., The approach that Donald Kettl takes in Politics of the Administrative Process really stands out as a very appealing aspect of the book, especially the perspective that the government is working for the people and is involved in our lives on a daily basis, rather than being a distant and formal monolith. The placement of accountability and ethics as the first chapter also effectively sets the stage for the rest for the book. The excellent case studies at the end of each chapter are one of the text's key strengths, covering a variety of topics that are grounded in actual events, instead of generic scenarios. Kettl also makes an effort to help students connect with the book by discussing events that they can relate to, such as the Boston Marathon bombing, and placing them into the context of the themes of the text.