Ideal for today's young investigative reader, each A True Book includes lively sidebars, a glossary and index, plus a comprehensive "To Find Out More" section listing books, organizations, and Internet sites. A staple of library collections since the 1950s, the new A True Book series is the definitive nonfiction series for elementary school readers.

And so, a new chapter in the life of Richard J. Codey, an undertaker's son born and bred in the Garden State, began on the night of August 12, 2004--he knew from that point his life would never be the same . . . and it hasn't been. His memoir is a breezy, humorous, perceptive, and candid chronicle of local and state government from a man who lived among political movers and shakers for more than three decades. Codey became governor of New Jersey, succeeding James McGreevey, who resigned following a homosexual affair--a shattering scandal and set of circumstances that were bizarre, even for the home state of the Sopranos. At once a political autobiography, filled with lively, incisive anecdotes that record how Codey restored respectability and set a record for good politics and good government in a state so often tarnished, this is also the story about a man and his family.

With limited authority over state lawmaking, but ultimate responsibility for the performance of government, how effective are governors in moving their programs through the legislature? This book advances a new theory about what makes chief executives most successful and explores this theory through original data. Thad Kousser and Justin H. Phillips argue that negotiations over the budget, on the one hand, and policy bills on the other are driven by fundamentally different dynamics. They capture these dynamics in models informed by interviews with gubernatorial advisors, cabinet members, press secretaries and governors themselves. Through a series of novel empirical analyses and rich case studies, the authors demonstrate that governors can be powerful actors in the lawmaking process, but that what they're bargaining over – the budget or policy – shapes both how they play the game and how often they can win it.

The ultimate insider to Chris Christie’s 2016 presidential campaign delivers a definitive biography of the popular and controversial governor of New Jersey—including the true story behind the Bridgegate lane-closure scandal. Journalist Matt Katz has been covering Christie since 2011 and has seen firsthand how the governor appeals to the public through his tactics, rhetoric, and personality. In American Governor, Katz weaves a compelling on-the-ground political narrative that begins with the roots of his family’s journey to America and takes us through his upset victory over Governor Jon Corzine and then along the road to his announcement of his candidacy for the highest office in the country. Packed with exclusive information, interviews, and anecdotes, American Governor illustrates how Christie evolved from an unpopular perennial candidate running for local office to the most watched Republican in the country, a populist with leadership skills, charm, and luck seemingly unparalleled by any other up-and-coming politician. Christie has proven himself a dynamic force of nature by emerging wounded but not unbowed after Bridgegate—a scandal that would have destroyed another politician’s rising star. A political biography by an inside source who’s been on the Chris Christie beat longer than any reporter in New Jersey, American Governor is a thrilling and absorbing look at the modern making of a man and a politician.

Recounts the former Michigan governor's struggles to solve the problems of unemployment and budget deficits with the auto industry collapse and global financial crisis.

The controversial governor recounts his fight to reform his state and issues a call to action for the whole country In 2010, Scott Walker was elected governor of Wisconsin with a mandate to improve its economy and restore fiscal responsibility. With the state facing a $3.6 billion budget deficit, he proposed a series of reforms to limit the collective bargaining power of public employee unions, which was costing taxpayers billions in pension and health care costs. . In June 2012, he won a special recall election with a higher share of the vote than he had for his original election, becoming the first governor in the country to survive a recall election. In this book, Governor Walker shows how his commitment to limited but effective government paid off. During his tenure Wisconsin has saved more than $1 billion, property taxes have gone down for the first time in twelve years, and the deficit was turned into a surplus. He also shows what his experiences can teach defenders of liberty across the country about standing up to the special interests that favor the status quo.