Publications
New and Recent Releases
California's Golden Years: When Government Worked and Why
William T. Bagley | $TBD
"Politics is personal," Bill Bagley likes to say, and here is a personal journey through the politics of America's most extraordinary state. California's Golden Years offers tales of cash-filled envelopes, all-night poker games, and all the free liquor a legislator could drink. But the stories and anecdotes offer more than mere fun - they illuminate a larger lesson learned during Bagley's 14 years in the California Legislature. Personal relationships are, in Bagley's view, the glue that ensures working relationships and pragmatic compromises. "Those who play together," he writes, "say together." Today, as the Golden State faces unprecedented challenges, California's Golden Years provides both a look back toward a fondly remembered era and an insider's explanation for why politics seemed to work better then than now.
Order now!California in the Balance: Why Budgets Matter
John Decker | $24.95
Why is California broke? California in the Balance offers a precise analysis of the Golden State's fiscal condition - from the process used to write the state budget to the reasons for chronic deficits to the possible paths to stability. Here are the details of California's financial woes, laid out step-by-step by one of the state's leading budgetary experts. In a book recommended by both Republicans and Democrats, John Decker makes plain his extraordinary knowledge of California's budget. With a foreword by California Treasurer Bill Lockyer.
Order now!Globalization's Muse: Universities and Higher Education Systems in a Changing World
John Aubrey Douglass, C. Judson King, Iriwn Feller, editors | $35
For more information on the book, click here
Universities have become a widely recognized route to full participation in the knowledge society. They serve as an unparalleled source of knowledge production, a foundation for modern science, an unequaled generator of talent, and a nearly required path for socioeconomic mobility. But how do we build, nurture, and sustain these crucial institutions? Globalization's Muse helps to answer those questions, informing both policymakers and educators of the profound efforts by governments and institutions, and reminding both groups that in this complex and evolving environment, the United States is no longer the clear leader.
Order now!After the Tax Revolt: California’s Proposition 13 Turns Thirty
Jack Citrin and Isaac William Martin, editors | $24.95
California's Proposition 13 changed the political landscape in 1978, when it was approved by the state's voters. A strict limit on property taxes, Prop. 13 ushered in a national era of tax revolt. But 30 years after its passage, how has Prop. 13 changed California? What has been the effect on public services? On taxpayers? On local and state government? This collection of essays attempts to assess one of California's political milestones three decades after its adoption.
Order now!
Racial and Ethnic Politics in California: Continuity and Change (Volume 3)
Bruce E. Cain and Sandra Bass, editors | $24.95
California enjoys a rich diversity unknown to almost any other society. By 2000, it had become the first large state with a majority of nonwhite residents, and in recent years that level of diversity has only grown. How does such a wide array of races and ethnicities affect California politics. This volume, the third in a series of books addressing California's racial and ethnic makeup, examines some of the most important issues springing from California's demographics. As similar diversity spreads to the rest of the nation, the lessons of these essays will play an ever greater role for all of America.
Order now!
The New Political Geography of California
Frédérick Douzet, Thad Kousser, and Kenneth P. Miller, editors | $24.95
For decades, Californians thought of their state as two distinct regions: north and south. From water policy to the dueling metropolises of Los Angeles and San Francisco to the baseball rivalry of the Dodgers and the Giants, California seemed divded clearly in two by a line of latitude. But as this groundbreaking new volume shows, the greater divide now exists between east and west, between the coastal regions and the inland valleys. That is only one of the important geographic lessons affecting California politics today, and this book uses new research and thinking to analyze the interplay of geography and politics.
Order now!
