Mastering Public Administration: From Max Weber to Dwight Waldo, 2nd Edition
"The strengths of Fry and Raadschelders' volume include its comprehensive description of the theorists' viewpoints, well-written biographies that have compelling links to their theories, and a thoughtful, reflective approach to explain to students how each theory may or may not apply to public administration. My students enjoy the book and the writing. Because chapters are presented within the context of the theorists' biographies, students relate much more to the generative and creative aspects of the ideas. And in this way, it is much easier for them to understand the activity of theory development within the community of researchers and practitioners." -- Michael Moon "...Mastering Public Administration provides a unique look at the development of public administration through the key contributors who shaped and advanced this field of study. Fry and Raadschelders provide their readers with an in-depth understanding of these important contributors and what shaped their lives, views, and ultimately their work. The authors also do an outstanding job of presenting and summarizing the key elements of these seminal works of scholarship. This text should be required reading in all undergraduate- and graduate-level public administration programs." -- Mark Morris "Mastering Public Administration is well written, comprehensive, and introduces students to the classics in public administration in an approachable manner. The discussion of the life and times of each theorist adds context to the history and development of public administration as a discipline. I also like that the last chapter carries the discussion forward to contemporary public administration. This book should be required reading for every serious public administration student." -- Robert England "A clear strength of the volume is its depth of focus on key individuals and their scholarship. I like how the authors...in a number of instances...state how subject scholars relate to each other in their work; this helps provide important context. The book is appropriate for master's level students, as well as for doctoral students in need of a refresher or who are coming to public administration from a different field. Perhaps best of all, the book is easy to integrate with a variety of other books and/or articles that build on the themes that are introduced." -- Thomas Bryer