Book Reviews : Principles and Problems of American National Government. By JOHN M. SWARTHOUT and ERNEST R. BARTLEY. (New York: Oxford University Press. 1951. Pp. xi, 700. $4.25.)

• DOI: 10.1177/106591295100400335
• Date: 01 September 1951
• Author: Tully E. Warren
• Published date: 01 September 1951
• Subject Matter: Articles

525

He

does

more

than

tell

the

story

of

a

single

law,

and

it is

here

that

his

little

book

will

prove

itself

especially

valuable.

Though

he

has

focused

his

intellectual

camera

on

the

making

of

one

particular

law,

he

has

at

the

same

time

given

us

a

trustworthy

picture

of

the

entire

legislative

process.

Admittedly,

we

will

need

many

more

case

studies

of

specific

laws

before

we

can

really

understand

Congress

and

the

mysterious

ways

it

performs

its

wonders,

but

even

one

study

of

this

type

is

worth

far

more

than

all

the

chapters

on

Congress

in

the

standard

introductory

texts-at

least

for

a

comprehension

of

dynamics

as

opposed

to structure.

Bailey’s

Congress

Makes

a

Law

and

Riggs’

Pressures

on

Congress

are

two

books

that

graduate

students

concentrating

in

American

government

and

institutions

should

examine

with

care.

Here,

it

seems

to

this

review-

er,

is

a

rich

field

of

investigation

that

dozens

of

them

could

explore

in

their

dissertations.

We

need

fifty

to

a

hundred

such

studies,

for

no

two

processes

of

legislative

enactment

are

exactly

alike.

The

end

result,

as

al-

ready

indicated,

will

be

a

far

better

comprehension

of

the

way

our

govern-

mPnt

rpnllv

wnrks.

~

_

CLINTON

ROSSITER.

Cornell

University.

Principles

and

Problems

of

American

National

Government.

By

JOHN

M.

SWARTHOUT

and

ERNEST

R.

BARTLEY.

(New

York:

Oxford

University

Press.

1951.

Pp.

xi,

700.

$4.25.)

The

Oxford

University

Press

has

entered

the

introductory

course

field

with

a

highly

satisfactory

volume,

measuring

up

to

the

publication

notice

of

being

&dquo;lively,

lucid,

and

straightforward

in

style.&dquo;

It

manages

to

be

gen-

eral

without

being

inaccurate,

and

precise

without

being

narrow.

The

authors

have

a

nice

sense

of

balance.

They

state:

&dquo;It

is

certainly

important

that

the

citizen

should

be

acquainted

with

the

great

principles

that

under-

gird

his

political

system....&dquo;

This

function

of

the

volume

is

carried

out

very

well.

But

they

also

state

that

there

is

in

the

book

&dquo;...

a

good

deal

of

analysis

not

only

of

the

American

political

system

but

also

of

the

sys-

tems

of

other

major

nations

to

which

it

may

be

compared

or

contrasted.&dquo;

This,

alas,

is

not

quite

correct.

In

outline,

the

text

includes

an

introductory

chapter

on

governments

and

the

citizen,

followed

by

a

superb

treatment

of

the

British

impact

upon

American

political

institutions.

Next

is

a

section

on

the

Constitution

and

the

American

political

system,

and

another

dealing

with

suffrage,

political

parties

and

the

electoral

process,

and

public

opinion

and

pressure

groups.

Then

comes

a

section

on

the

organization,

powers,

and

procedures

of

the

national

government,

marked

by

an

excellent

treatment

of

problems

of

the

presidency.

Granting

that

the

problem

of

changes

in

the

presidential