The Illusion of Public Opinion: Fact and Artifact in American Public Opinion Polls. By George F. Bishop. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004. 223p. $80.00 cloth, $27.95 paper.

With another campaign season behind us, it is not hard to make the case that opinion polls pervade politics. Even casual observers of politics are inundated with polling results from media and academic organizations. But just because surveys are ubiquitous does not mean they are useful. In his book, George Bishop makes the provocative argument that just about every bit of evidence that academics, journalists, and policymakers draw from opinion polls is erroneous. This argument will be controversial—indeed this book is clearly intended to provoke controversy—but the force of evidence that Bishop presents demands to be taken seriously by even the staunchest defenders of opinion polls.

Common Waters, Diverging Streams: Linking Institutions and Water Management in Arizona, California, and Colorado. By William Blomquist, Edella Schlager, and Tanya Heikkila. Washington, D.C.: Resources for the Future, 2004. 210p. $70.00 cloth, $30.95 paper.

Water supply and allocation is a problem that has plagued the West for most of its history. Water marketing, a greater emphasis on conservation, and surface water augmentation projects are all methods that have been used to address the problem. Another approach that has been around for quite some time but has been pushed to the forefront in recent years is the idea of conjunctive use management. In its broadest sense, conjunctive use management is simply linking surface and groundwater together and managing them as a common water supply pool. Rather than having one set of groundwater users and one set of surface water users, all are bound together by the need for more water. By doing so, excess surface water can be stored beneath the ground during wet times, and these same users can draw on the underground supply during times of drought. Similarly, the storage will increase the amount of water available underground so that overdraft conditions are diminished. In theory, this means that there will be an overall gain in the amount of water available for all users and that supplies can be managed on a more sustainable basis. In practice, Wiliam Blomquist, Edella Schlager, and Tanya Heikkila point out, existing institutions play a major role in determining the push for conjunctive use management and the form that it takes.

Terra Incognita: Vacant Land and Urban Strategies. By Ann O'M. Bowman and Michael A. Pagano. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2004. 232 pages. $24.95.

Public policies for vacant land are among the least understood but most important aspects of urban policy and politics. In this book, Ann O'M. Bowman and Michael Pagano highlight important issues regarding such land and offer useful frameworks for understanding the policies and politics that shape its future uses. In doing so, they provide a unique and useful perspective on land use policies and politics, which are a key—if not the key—aspect of local policy and politics.

Separation of Powers in Practice. By Tom Campbell. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004. 248p. $55.00 cloth, $21.95 paper.

In his book, Tom Campbell, a former five-term member of Congress, argues that we ought to focus on the “comparative advantage” of each branch because by doing so, we improve the operation of American government. “The thesis of this text is that each branch has inherent advantages: for each branch not to use its advantage and, worse, to allow another branch to encroach upon it dulls the mechanisms of governmental action” (p. 58). After highlighting his case studies in his introduction, in Part One Campbell discusses the advantages of each branch, the rules of the legislative process, the process of statutory construction by courts, and the judicial practice of following precedent. In Part Two he presents 10 case studies, which exemplify his thesis.

The Democratic Constitution. By Neal Devins and Louis Fisher. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 303p. $72.00 cloth, $19.95 paper.

For more than a quarter century, Louis Fisher has been arguing against court-centered approaches to constitutional studies by showing how constitutional law is “shaped both by judicial and nonjudicial forces,” including the actions of “the elected branches, the states, interest groups, and the general public” (p. vii). Neal Devins joined this effort when he and Fisher coauthored Political Dynamics of Constitutional Law (1992, 1996, 2001). With this latest iteration, their basic storyline is still the same, although they have added new case studies and a new normative argument about why constitution law “should work that way” (p. vii).

Globalizing L.A.: Trade, Infrastructure, and Regional Development. By Steven P. Erie. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004. 336p. $55.00 cloth, $21.95 paper.

Perhaps the dominant political rhetoric of our time is that which divides society into a self-correcting market and a government, one is the necessary and primary cause of our social ills. Government programs designed to mitigate or solve problems, we are told, unfailingly make the target problem worse and create additional, unforeseen problems. Better to leave well enough alone, even if later we lack the means to travel from our driveway to a workplace nearly one hour away on a good day.

Greasing the Wheels: Using Pork Barrel Projects to Build Majority Coalitions in Congress. By Diana Evans. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 280p. $60.00 cloth, $21.99 paper.

A variety of recent studies of American politics and public policy focuses on the role of entrepreneurs in the agenda-setting process. While the focus is quite often on the role of entrepreneurs as architects of policy change, or as sources of policy disequilibrium (Frank R. Baumgartner and Bryan D. Jones, Agendas and Instability in American Politics, 1993; Mark Schneider, Paul Teske and Michael Mintrom, Public Entrepreneurs: Agents for Change in American Government, 1995; Adam D. Sheingate, “Political Entrepreneurship, Institutional Change, and American Political Development,” Studies in American Political Development 17 [Fall 2003]: 185–203), entrepreneurs may also work to maintain policy equilibria through the maintenance of majority coalitions. (Although this might be the difference between entrepreneurial and leadership activity, the former is interested in assembling a coalition to challenge the policy status quo, while the latter focuses on coalition maintenance in support of the status quo.) Whether they are engaged in “creative acts of destruction” (Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, 1942) or are attempting to maintain a policy equilibrium, a major factor shaping the decision to pursue entrepreneurial activity, as well as the chances of success of such efforts, is the perceived costs associated with assembling a winning coalition. Successful entrepreneurs are those who are able to overcome the collective-action problem associated with coalition maintenance.

The Money Primary: The New Politics of the Early Presidential Nomination Process. By Michael J. Goff. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004. 228p. $70.00 cloth, $26.95 paper.

As the amount of money raised by those who win the major parties' nominations for president has soared out of sight, scholars, the media, and even the general public have become seriously concerned. Michael Goff's book examines the “money primary,” fund-raising before a single primary or caucus vote has even been cast. He sees it, along with media attention and poll rankings, as crucial in determining the viability and eventual success of candidates. The interrelatons of these factors can be seen in his three main hypotheses. Strong fund-raising predicts survival and “success in the early nomination process” (p. 11). Extensive early fund-raising organization and activity increase the possibility of success. Media coverage of these activities forecasts candidate viability and success. In other words, money is important not only for what it can buy but as an early indicator of comparative candidate strength.

Expression vs. Equality: The Politics of Campaign Finance Reform. By J. Tobin Grant and Thomas J. Rudolph. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press, 2004. 144p. $59.95 cloth, $21.95 paper.

Through a series of experiments embedded in a national survey, J. Tobin Grant and Thomas J. Rudolph systematically examine attitudes toward campaign finance reform in a very interesting and compelling manner. In a thorough analysis, they examine the commitment citizens have to the competing democratic values of political equality and political expression, finding that opinion varies depending upon perceptions of whose rights are being threatened. The central thesis of the research, which is well established with a comprehensive literature review and theoretical analysis, is that public opinion on campaign finance reform is group-centric, a function of the views individuals have toward groups that are thought to be affected by the proposed reform. If individuals feel positively about a group that is seen as being threatened by the reform, they will be negatively inclined toward the reform. Conversely, if individuals view the group with suspicion or negativity, they will favor the reforms. The research represents a systematic analysis of public opinion on campaign finance reform on a nation level, examining the factors that impact opinions and the dynamic manner in which opinions are formed and maintained.

Distorting the Law: Politics, Media, and the Litigation Crisis. By William Haltom and Michael McCann. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004. 332p. $55.00 cloth, $20.00 paper.

If you, or anyone you know, believes that America is in the midst of a litigation crisis, then you must read this book.

Who Are We? The Challenges to America's National Identity. By Samuel P. Huntington. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004. 448p. $27.00.

Samuel Huntington suggests in this book that American national identity is threatened by a tidal wave of Latino—primarily Mexican—immigrants who are refusing to assimilate to American “Anglo-Protestant” values, and who are facilitated in this resistance by the erosion of elite support for those very same values. That erosion is a consequence of the “cults of multiculturalism and diversity” (p. 144) that have collectively “denounced the idea of Americanization,” “downgraded the centrality of English,” and “advocated legal recognition of group rights and racial preferences” (p. 142), strong charges indeed.

Oral Arguments and Decision Making on the United States Supreme Court. By Timothy R. Johnson. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2004. 180p. $35.00.

This book makes a persuasive thesis that the oral arguments presented in cases before the United States Supreme Court are used by the justices to help them arrive at substantive legal and policy decisions that closely parallel their preferred outcomes. Although that would seem to be logical, the author documents that many scholars who write about the Court do not share this thesis. Those scholars, such as the so-called attitudinalists, posit that oral arguments have no effect on justices' votes. In order to reinforce his thesis, Timothy Johnson uses the strategic model of decision making, namely, that justices are goal oriented, they are strategic, and they account for institutional rules. He then goes on to explain that because the briefs presented to the Court from both the litigants and from amici curiae are understandably biased in behalf of their particular points of view, the oral arguments serve to solve this problem.

The Most Activist Supreme Court in History: The Road to Modern Judicial Conservatism. By Thomas M. Keck. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004. 370p. $65.00 cloth, $24.00 paper.

The title of this work presents its thesis at the macrolevel, but it is with limited support that the author claims that the current Supreme Court is the “most activist.” The core argument of the book is actually presented in the last chapter in clear fashion. There, the author explicitly refers to the Court as the O'Connor Court since he determines that it is largely the blend of political conservatism and judicial moderation, long displayed by Sandra Day O'Connor, that encapsulates the modern Court. So the thesis is no more than stated as something of a straw man at the outset. Thomas Keck “reveals” that the political ideology (liberal/conservative) dimension of justices is not identical to the judicial activism/restraint dimension of their judicial perspectives. These are and always have been two separate dimensions, even if they may not be orthogonal. It is not clear why this is the first major point of the discussion.

Negative Campaigning: An Analysis of U.S. Senate Elections. By Richard R. Lau and Gerald M. Pomper. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004. 177p. $26.95.

If you think that negative campaigning has come to dominate the American electoral landscape, depresses voter turnout, is particularly effective in winning votes, and/or is detrimental to democracy, this book is a must read. Richard Lau and Gerald Pomper investigate a series of questions intended to illuminate these concerns. They utilize an extensive data set based on U.S. Senate elections from 1992 through 2002. Their findings are often quite startling. Negative campaigning does not appear to have the deleterious effects conventional wisdom would suggest.

Congressional Communication: Content and Consequences. By Daniel Lipinski. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004. 160p. $29.95.

For a decade, scholars have debated the impact of rising partisanship on the internal workings of the Congress. With the publication of Daniel Lipinski's analysis of House members' communications to their constituents, it appears that they also need to consider the effects of party conflict on representation at home. Using newsletters and targeted mailings from 1991 to 1995, as well as surveys and interviews with House members and their staffs, Lipinski assesses the communication strategies of a sample of 100 lawmakers and arrives at conclusions that challenge some long-standing views about the interaction of House members and their constituents.

For the Many or the Few: The Initiative, Public Policy, and American Democracy. By John G. Matsusaka. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2004. 206p. $29.00.

In the most recent wave of initiative use in the American states, citizens have passed an eclectic range of ballot measures. Voters have banned gay marriage, punished negligent doctors, prohibited the confinement of pregnant pigs, limited the taxation and spending powers of state governments, funded stem cell research, and ended affirmative action. Critics of the process claim that this plebiscitary system is out of control, with special interests dominating the process and threatening democratic governance. Defenders, in contrast, claim that ballot measure outcomes reflect the will of the people and are certainly more representative of public opinion than legislative bodies.

Politics in Time: History, Institutions, and Social Analysis. By Paul Pierson. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004. 108p. $49.50 cloth, $19.95 paper.

Paul Pierson opens his book with a fictional metaphor in which he imagines “the trendiest new restaurant in town, charmingly named ‘The Modern Social Scientist.’” He invites you to tour the restaurant as “the chef explains that the kitchen is divided into two parts.” On one side, the chef proudly points out the ingredients, called “variables.” On the other side are lovingly arrayed an “extraordinary profusion of measuring devices.” In order to prepare your favorite culinary delight, all the chef need do is combine the correct ingredients, properly measured and calibrated. In this kitchen, the length of time in which the variables are cooked, the order in which the ingredients are combined, and the relative skill of the chef are unimportant to the preparation of the meal. (Later on, the book makes it clear that the specialty of this particular establishment is something called the “multiple regression.”) Pierson concludes this metaphor with the observation that “[f]ew would want to patronize a restaurant with such a philosophy of cooking, but most social scientists are working in that kind of kitchen” (p. 1).

The Congressional Experience: Third Edition. By David E. Price. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2004. 336p. $25.00 paper.

Rarely do we have an opportunity to see the intimate workings of one of our major political institutions through the eyes of not just a participant but a participant who is a political scientist as well. And that is probably both the strength and weakness of the third edition of this excellent memoir by David Price. His account of running for and serving in Congress is often, at the same time, too in depth and too superficial to find the right audience.

Managing the President's Program: Presidential Leadership and Legislative Policy Formulation. By Andrew Rudalevige. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002. 292p. $65.00.

This book responds effectively to a theoretical challenge with an empirical analysis. The author addresses the proposition that successive presidents have increasingly centralized policy development in the White House to the detriment of the departments. The linear trend is said to be in response to the political demands on presidents to control their own programs. Andrew Rudalevige qualifies the theory out of existence by so broadening it that it disappears. He supplies a rich, empirical model in which presidents employ centralized, balanced, and decentralized approaches for developing policy as deliberate strategies as they perceive the different kinds of political capital and expertise involved in given cases. He finds no linear trend at all. All presidents since Harry Truman have used the White House to develop policies, but not to an increasing degree. Centralization is contingent.

Divided Union: The Politics of War in the Early American Republic. By Scott A. Silverstone. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. 278p. $42.50.

Is it possible, by constitutional arrangements, to reduce the likelihood that a nation will go to war? This is the question to which Scott Silverstone addresses this informative and carefully argued book.