Angry, Bored, and Confused—three words that aptly describe the typical American’s view toward the world of politics. But it doesn’t have to stay this way, argues Michael J. Kryzanek in Angry, Bored, Confused: A Citizen Handbook of American Politics. Kryzanek discusses issues central to American politics—citizenship, power, leadership, problem solving, initiating change—through a series of straightforward questions, with sometimes surprising answers. Angry, Bored, Confused examines American politics from the perspective of an anxious consumer seeking to understand the political world and change it for the better.

This book examines a wide range of country experiences, offers examples of good practice, highlights innovative approaches and identifies promising tools (including new information technologies)for engaging citizens in policy making. It proposes a set of ten guiding principles.

“Engaging and original, rich in anecdote and analysis, this is a terrific work of history.”—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Lion The acclaimed author of Troublesome Young Men reveals the behind-the-scenes story of how the United States forged its wartime alliance with Britain, told from the perspective of three key American players in London: Edward R. Murrow, the handsome, chain-smoking head of CBS News in Europe; Averell Harriman, the hard-driving millionaire who ran FDR’s Lend-Lease program in London; and John Gilbert Winant, the shy, idealistic U.S. ambassador to Britain. Each man formed close ties with Winston Churchill—so much so that all became romantically involved with members of the prime minister’s family. Drawing from a variety of primary sources, Lynne Olson skillfully depicts the dramatic personal journeys of these men who, determined to save Britain from Hitler, helped convince a cautious Franklin Roosevelt and reluctant American public to back the British at a critical time. Deeply human, brilliantly researched, and beautifully written, Citizens of London is a new triumph from an author swiftly becoming one of the finest in her field. Praise for Citizens of London “Brilliantly bursting with beautiful prose, Olson flutters our hearts by capturing the essence of the public and private lives of those who faced death, touched the precipice, hung on by their eyelids, and saved the free world from destruction by the forces of evil.”—Bill Gardner, New Hampshire Secretary of State “If you don't think there's any more to learn about the power struggles, rivalries and dramas—both personal and political—about the US-British aliance in the World War II years, this book will change your mind—and keep you turning the pages as well.”—Jeff Greenfield, Senior Political Correspondent, CBS News “Three fascinating Americans living in London helped cement the World War II alliance between Roosevelt and Churchill. Lynne Olson brings us the wonderful saga of Harriman, Murrow, and Winant. A triumph of research and storytelling, Citizens of London is history on an intimate level.”—Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein

Some portion of the American public will react negatively to almost any new corporate initiative, as Disney discovered when it announced its plans to build an historical theme park in Virginia. Similarly, government efforts to change policy or shift budget priorities are invariably met with stiff resistance. In this enormously practical book, Lawrence Susskind and Patrick Field analyze scores of both private and public-sector cases, as well as crisis scenarios such as the Alaskan oil spill, the silicone breast implant controversy, and nuclear plant malfunction at Three Mile Island. They show how resistance to both public and private initiatives can be overcome by a mutual gains approach involving face-to-face negotiation, a strategy applied successfully by over fifteen hundred executives and officials who have attended Professor Susskind's MIT-Harvard "Angry Public" seminars.Susskind and Field outline the six key elements of this approach in order to help business and government leaders negotiate, rather than fight, with their critics. In the process, they show how to identify who the public is, whose concerns to address first, which people and organizations must be convinced of the legitimacy of action taken, and how to assess and respond to different types of anger effectively. Acknowledging the crucial role played by the media in shaping public perception and understanding, Susskind and Field suggest a way to develop media interaction which is consistent with the six mutual gains principles, and also discuss the type of leadership that corporate and government managers must provide in order to combine these ideas into a useful whole.We all need to be concerned about a society in which the public's concerns, fears and anger are not adequately addressed. When corporate and government agencies must spend crucial time and resources on rehashing and defending each decision they make, a frustrated and angry public contributes to the erosion of confidence in our basic institutions and undermines our competitiveness in the international marketplace. In this valuable book, Susskind and Field have produced a strong, clear framework which will help reduce these hidden costs for hundreds of executives, managers, elected and appointed officials, entrepreneurs, and the public relations, legal and other professionals who advise them.

1 Communication, Consumers, and Citizens: Revisiting the Politics of Consumption Dhavan V. Shah, Lewis A. Friedland, Chris Wells, Young Mie Kim, and Hernando Rojas 2 The Personalization of Politics: Political Identity, Social Media, and Changing Patterns of Participation W. Lance Bennett 3 The Politics of Consumer Debt: U.S. State Policy and the Rise of Investment in Consumer Credit, 1920-2008 Louis Hyman 4 Working-Class Cast: Images of the Working Class in Advertising, 1950-2010 Erika L. Paulson and Thomas C. O'Guinn 5 What Does It Mean to Be a Good Citizen? Citizenship Vocabularies as Resources for Action Kjerstin Thorson 6 Sustainable Citizenship and the New Politics of Consumption Michele Micheletti and Dietlind Stolle 7 Political Consumerism and New Forms of Political Participation: The Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale in Italy Paolo R. Graziano and Francesca Forno 8 Gender and Generation in the Social Positioning of Taste Nam-Jin Lee, Christine L. Garlough, Lewis A. Friedland, and Dhavan V. Shah 9 The Shifting Sands of Citizenship: Toward a Model of the Citizenry in Life Politics Young Mie Kim 10 Does Changing a Light Bulb Lead to Changing the World? Political Action and the Conscious Consumer Margaret M. Willis and Juliet B. Schor 11 Buying In to Social Change: How Private Consumption Choices Engender Concern for the Collective Lucy Atkinson 12 From Concerned Shopper to Dutiful Citizen: Implications of Individual and Collective Orientations toward Political Consumerism Melissa R. Gotlieb and Chris Wells 13 Examining Overconsumption, Competitive Consumption, and Conscious Consumption from 1994 to 2004: Disentangling Cohort and Period Effects D. Jasun Carr, Melissa R. Gotlieb, Nam-Jin Lee, and Dhavan V. Shah 14 Constructing Sustainable Consumption: From Ethical Values to the Cultural Transformation of Unsustainable Markets Douglas B. Holt 15 The Civic Consequences of "Going Negative" Attack Ads and Adolescents' Knowledge, Consumption, and Participation Ming Wang, Itay Gabay, and Dhavan V. Shah 16 Between Complacency and Paternalism: Ethical Controversies over Influencing Political and Consumer Choice Thomas Hove 17 Consuming Ourselves to Dearth: Escalating Inequality and Public Opinion Lewis A. Friedland, Hernando Rojas, and Leticia Bode

A sobering account of a disenfranchised American working class and important policy solutions to the nation’s economic inequalities One of the country’s leading scholars on economics and social policy, Isabel Sawhill addresses the enormous divisions in American society—economic, cultural, and political—and what might be done to bridge them. Widening inequality and the loss of jobs to trade and technology has left a significant portion of the American workforce disenfranchised and skeptical of governments and corporations alike. And yet both have a role to play in improving the country for all. Sawhill argues for a policy agenda based on mainstream values, such as family, education, and work. While many have lost faith in government programs designed to help them, there are still trusted institutions on both the local and federal level that can deliver better job opportunities and higher wages to those who have been left behind. At the same time, the private sector needs to reexamine how it trains and rewards employees. This book provides a clear-headed and middle-way path to a better-functioning society in which personal responsibility is honored and inclusive capitalism and more broadly shared growth are once more the norm.