Book Reviews : Policy and Administration. By PAUL H. APPLEBY. (University, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. 1949. Pp. 173. $2.50.)

• Date: 01 December 1950
• Author: George C.S. Benson
• DOI: 10.1177/106591295000300432
• Published date: 01 December 1950
• Subject Matter: Articles

650
Introduction to Municipal Government and Administration. By ARTHUR
W. BROMAGE. (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. 1950. Pp.
x, 693. $5.00.)
It appears unfortunate that greater interest in city government has
not been manifest both on the part of the general college student and
the teachers of political science. More people in the United States live
in urban communities than in rural areas, and no level of government
offers greater opportunity for direct citizen participation. Good textbooks
can accomplish much in the way of dispelling the attitude that such a
subject is uninteresting or unimportant.
Professor Bromage has written an unusually readable textbook which
should incite the interest and stimulate the imagination of the under-
graduate student for whom it is intended. The subject matter is well
organized and placed in fine perspective. The ease with which the tran-
sition is made from one chapter to another is likewise impressive.
In the first 300 pages the author focuses attention to the environment
in which city government exists and operates. These chapters deal with
the history, growth, functions, economics and social characteristics, and
intergovernmental relations. The electoral and political processes are also
discussed here before presentation of material on form, organization and
administration. The author has drawn skillfully from his extensive knowl-
edge of practice in numerous cities and his familiarity with literature in
a manner which gives life to the chapters on structure and administration.
The subject matter is current, the influence of World War II and the
postwar trends being fully treated as an integral part. The chapter on
city planning and zoning, an activity of increasing importance but f re-
quently glossed over, is adequate. The direct working relationship between
the planning department or commission and the Public Works Admin-
istration is referred to in the chapters on public works and public utilities,
a relationship...