Politics and sex. Nothing captures the attention of the media -- and satisfies the public's thirst for schadenfreude -- quite like our elected officials getting caught with their pants down. In The Little Quiz Book of Big Political Sex Scandals, renowned satirist and New York Times bestselling author Paul Slansky provides a guided tour of this torrid realm of public life. Through a comprehensive compendium of quizzes, incorporating his trademark Q&A format, Slansky chronicles the political sex-scapades of the past half century -- Bill's cigar and Monica's stained dress, Gary Hart's cruise on the good ship Monkey Business, Larry Craig's restroom romancing, and scores of other career-ending shenanigans. Devastatingly funny yet also meticulously researched and historically relevant, this irreplaceable guide to the headline-grabbing events, the reluctant apologies, and the inevitable consequences -- and, of course, the anguished spouses standing by their men -- offers an endlessly entertaining peek under the covers of our political establishment.

In recent years, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Eliot Spitzer, John Edwards, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, and countless other politicians have made headlines for their sexual scandals. But such stories are not new. Indeed, there is a long history of misbehavior in politics, including in the nation’s highest office. Bill Clinton, it can safely be said, was not the first president to misbehave, nor was he the worst. In fact, there is a long history of presidential peccadilloes. Many presidents have been influenced and had their careers affected by the hand of a woman, sometimes that of a wife or mother, but at other times that of a mistress. But these stories are rarely told. Instead, history has tended to glorify our leaders. Such a scrubbed version of the lives of presidents, however, omits their marital woes, love lives, and sexual peccadilloes. As Robert P. Watson reveals, it is precisely these intimate and all-too-human moments that provide some of the most valuable insights into our leaders. Affairs of State is not just about sex and scandal—the “who did it” of history—although such incidents are described in detail. It is a book about love, marriage, and affairs in the White House, offering an intimate character study of the First Couples who made history. To see the author discuss his book on Inside South Florida, please click here. To see him discuss the book on C-SPAN, please click here.

The City and Sex examines American political sex scandals at the national level. Studying these events over time with an emphasis on the evolving responses of both statesmen and citizens reveals the republic’s deteriorating moral health and illuminates the country’s dangerous tendency toward servitude. Using scandals as a window through which to glimpse our deterioration, the book identifies a trajectory of decline beginning in the twentieth century, by which Americans became less tutored in virtue, less spirited in citizenship, less agreed on questions of moral significance, and ultimately less dexterous in exercising the skills of self-government. It seeks to show that the freedom from virtue won through the collapse of moral standards has produced an American citizenry increasingly prone to the kind of dependence and enslavement Alexis de Tocqueville cautioned against in the 1830s.

Americans rail against so-called special interests but at the same time many members of society are themselves represented in one form or another by organized groups trying to affect the policymaking progress. This concise but thorough text demonstrates that interest groups are involved in the political system at all levels of government e" federal, state, and local e" and in all aspects of political activity, from election campaigns to agenda setting to lawmaking to policy implementation. Rather than an anomaly or distortion of the political system, it is a normal and healthy function of a pluralist society and democratic governance. Nonetheless, Nownes warns of the dangers of unwatched interest group activity, especially in the realms of the electoral process and issue advocacy. Interest Groups in American Politics, Second Edition, is grounded by the role of information in interest group activity, a theme that runs through the entire book. This much anticipated revision of Nownese(tm)s text retains a student friendly tone and thoroughly updates the references to interest group research, as well as adds a new chapter on the connections between interest groups and political parties. Numerous figures and tables throughout the book help students visualize important trends and information.

Even though the Irish child sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church have appeared steadily in the media, many children remain in peril. In The Child Sex Scandal and Modern Irish Literature, Joseph Valente and Margot Gayle Backus examine modern cultural responses to child sex abuse in Ireland. Using descriptions of these scandals found in newspapers, historiographical analysis, and 20th- and 21st-century literature, Valente and Backus expose a public sphere ardently committed to Irish children's souls and piously oblivious to their physical welfare. They offer historically contextualized and psychoanalytically informed readings of scandal narratives by nine notable modern Irish authors who actively, pointedly, and persistently question Ireland's responsibilities regarding its children. Through close, critical readings, a more nuanced and troubling account emerges of how Ireland's postcolonial heritage has served to enable such abuse. The Child Sex Scandal and Modern Irish Literature refines the debates on why so many Irish children were lost by offering insight into the lived experience of both the children and those who failed them.

No renowned centre, institute, school, college or university exists that teaches or has a course on ‘Being a Politician’. This is even though politicians of today are the rulers of the present world and have the responsibility to develop and grow society over the next generations. Education, poverty, health, employment, transport, environment, pollution, water and sanitation, space, peace and brotherhood, law and order, lawmaking, and various other subjects are looked after by politicians. Are they fit for all these responsibilities? Are they qualified to do the job? Or do they have proper training to perform this divine work? The answer is ‘no’. Thus, the need to bring out the book, where the A to Z of how to become a politician is dealt with. The author has tried to cover all aspects of politicians by giving past and present examples. A lot of research and the vast experience of the author has enabled this book to come out. It is like a holy book for politicians if read attentively and implemented in the truest sense. This book begins from the grooming of politicians and includes topics specially designed for politicians like politicians’ time and money management, politicians’ relationship management, politicians’ speech and debate management, press and interview management, strategic planning for politicians, social media, social work and the digital world of politicians, election strategies for politicians, soft skills for politicians, ethics and morals of politicians, dos and don’ts, famous speeches, and slogans.