Originally published in 1984. In 1888 the British observer James Bryce declared "the government of cities" to be "the one conspicuous failure of the United States." During the following two decades, urban reformers would repeat Bryce's words with ritualistic regularity; nearly a century later, his comment continues to set the tone for most assessments of nineteenth-century city government. Yet by the end of the century, as Jon Teaford argues in this important reappraisal, American cities boasted the most abundant water supplies, brightest street lights, grandest parks, largest public libraries, and most efficient systems of transportation in the world. Far from being a "conspicuous failure," municipal governments of the late nineteenth century had successfully met challenges of an unprecedented magnitude and complexity. The Unheralded Triumph draws together the histories of the most important cities of the Gilded Age—especially New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Baltimore—to chart the expansion of services and the improvement of urban environments between 1870 and 1900. It examines the ways in which cities were transformed, in a period of rapid population growth and increased social unrest, into places suitable for living. Teaford demonstrates how, during the last decades of the nineteenth century, municipal governments adapted to societal change with the aid of generally compliant state legislatures. These were the years that saw the professionalization of city government and the political accommodation of the diverse ethnic, economic, and social elements that compose America's heterogeneous urban society. Teaford acknowledges that the expansion of urban services dangerously strained city budgets and that graft, embezzlement, overcharging, and payroll-padding presented serious problems throughout the period. The dissatisfaction with city governments arose, however, not so much from any failure to achieve concrete results as from the conflicts between those hostile groups accommodated within the newly created system: "For persons of principle and gentlemen who prized honor, it seemed a failure yet American municipal government left as a legacy such achievements as Central Park, the new Croton Aqueduct, and the Brooklyn Bridge, monuments of public enterprise that offered new pleasures and conveniences for millions of urban citizens."

"Although the two intertwined at first, the contributions of these "settlement women" to the development of the administrative state have been largely lost as the new field of public administration evolved from the research bureaus and diverged from social work. Camilla Stivers now shows how public administration came to be dominated not just by science and business but also by masculinity, calling into question much that is taken for granted about the profession and creating an alternative vision of public service.".

Ten years after the first edition, Gender Images in Public Administration has been extensively updated to reflect recent research and new theoretical literature. Like its predecessor, this new edition applies a gender lens to the field of public administration, looking at issues of status, power, leadership, legitimacy, and change. Also included is an examination of women′s historical progress toward their current status in federal, state, and local governments. Stivers also assesses the peculiar nature of the organizational reality women experience, and their place in society at large as it is shaped by the administrative state. Praise for the First Edition: "Because so much of the way we frame our world is taken for granted, we remain blissfully oblivious to the assumptions which serve as the foundation for our relationships, rules, and policies. Stivers calls a halt to this blissful oblivion. By holding gender up to the light, she shows how it affects our interpretations of legitimacy, entitlement, and power." 3⁄4 Public Administration Review Camilla Stivers is Levin Professor of Urban Studies and Public Service at the Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University. She is Associate Editor of Public Administration Review, author of Bureau Men, Settlement Women: Constructing Public Administration in the Progressive Era, and a coauthor of Government Is Us: Public Administration in an Anti-government Era. She received her Ph.D. in public administration and policy from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She was a practicing administrator in nonprofit and public agencies for nearly two decades.

Extensively updated to reflect recent research and new theoretical literature, this much-anticipated Second Edition applies a gender lens to the field of public administration, looking at issues of status, power, leadership, legitimacy and change. The author examines the extent of women's historical progress as public employees, their current status in federal, state, and local governments, the peculiar nature of the organizational reality they experience, and women's place in society at large as it is shaped by government.

Is public administration an art or a science? This question of whether the field is driven by values or facts will never be definitively answered due to a lack of consensus among scholars. The resulting divide has produced many heated debates; however, in this pioneering volume, Norma Riccucci embraces the diversity of research methods rather than suggesting that there is one best way to conduct research in public administration. Public Administration examines the intellectual origins and identity of the discipline of public administration, its diverse research traditions, and how public administration research is conducted today. The book’s intended purpose is to engage reasonable-minded public administration scholars and professionals in a dialogue on the importance of heterogeneity in epistemic traditions, and to deepen the field’s understanding and acceptance of its epistemological scope. This important book will provide a necessary overview of the discipline for graduate students and scholars.

Street-Level Bureaucracy is an insightful study of how public service workers, in effect, function as policy decision makers, as they wield their considerable discretion in the day-to-day implementation of public programs.

Essential History for Public Administration offers public affairs faculty and students a concise introduction to crucial elements of American history, creating a foundation for stronger discussion of current conditions in governance and management. It is designed as a brief supplemental text for use in public affairs courses rather than as a replacement for core assigned readings. The premise of the book is that enhanced knowledge of the history of the public sector can help students of public affairs design and manage successful programs.