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CHOICE Review

An extensive and well-developed set of papers on the status of American public administration. As a commemoration of the evolution of public service, the book is a valued reference as to where the field has been, where it seems to be going, and what it needs. At the center of this rather normative collection is a call for new criteria by which to measure the success of public administration efforts. Chandler argues effectively that standards of performance based on ethics and professionalism are more relevant than goals of economy and efficiency, especially in bridging the misunderstanding that so often separates citizens from government. The collection represents all major facets of public administration: history, paradigmatic assumptions over time, politics and administration, major problems, organization theory, and comparative practices. An essay near the end on public administration in fiction provides the book a creative way of linking public service and society's views. The authors are a stellar collection of public administration specialists. By leaving few concerns untouched, they have written a book that graduate public administration programs should recommend as standard reading for their incoming students and as a valuable update for their alumni.-W.P. Browne, Central Michigan University