The Politics of Public Management

How do political appointees chosen to head government agencies deal with the powerful political forces that surround them? In a fascinating and instructive book Philip B. Heymann draws on his own experience and on the successes and failures of such prominent officials as Casper Weinberger, Anne Burford Gorsuch, Les Aspin, Edwin Meese, and Joseph Califano in order to explore the political context of high-level government management. "Not only has Heymann written a superb manual for would-be presidential appointees, he has written an insightful political history of the past decade and a half."-Issues in Science and Technology "Great help to incumbents as well as newcomers, and one classic-to-be in its field."-The Bureaucrat "In my opinion, Heymann has written the most interesting book on the politics of management since Chester Barnard."-Theodore R. Marmor, Yale University "A marvelous combination of analytics commentary and case illustrations, The Politics of Public Management is filled with insights that are both powerful and original."-Richard E. Neustadt, Harvard University