Book Reviews

The great Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes' 2006 novel, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eagles-Throne-Novel-Carlos-Fuentes/dp/0812972554/…; target="”_blank”"><i>The Eagle's
Throne,</i></a> translated from the Spanish by Kristina Cordero, is one of
the best political novels I've ever read. I highly recommend it. The
novel also happens to contain some great quotes that touch on

To commemorate the death of Václav Havel, here are some
quotations from his work that are relevant to government ethics:<br>
<br>
"The prerequisite for everything political is moral. Politics really
should be ethics put into practice."<br>
<br>
“Even a purely moral act that has no hope of any immediate and
visible political effect can gradually and indirectly, over time,
gain in political significance.” <br>
<br>
Living in the Truth:  "A person who has been seduced by the

Henry Adams' 1880 novel <i>Democracy</i> is a must-read for those
interested in government ethics. It's also a first-rate novel, full
of wit, excellent writing, and a good portrayal of post-Civil War
Washington. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2815&quot; target="”_blank”">It's
available free from Project Gutenberg</a>, in six e-book formats.<br>
<br>

This fourth blog post on Philip Zimbardo's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lucifer-Effect-Understanding-Good-People/dp/08129…; target="”_blank”"><b>The

Lucifer Effect</b></a> is a miscellany of various ideas in the book
that have relevance to local government ethics.<br>
<br>

This third blog post on Philip Zimbardo's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lucifer-Effect-Understanding-Good-People/dp/08129…; target="”_blank”"><b>The

This second blog post on Philip Zimbardo's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lucifer-Effect-Understanding-Good-People/dp/08129…; target="”_blank”"><b>The

A year and a half ago, I wrote <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/moral-clarity-iii-ethics-environments…; target="”_blank”">a

<br><br>
The participation of professionals in local government has become

Trust in government is a requirement for participation in

<br><br>
I recently read an important social science classic, <b><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=XsUojihVZQcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=ha…; target="”_blank”">Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life</a></b> by