Reviews for Informal politics in East Asia

The average rating for Informal politics in East Asia based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-10-27 00:00:00 William Garcia I can see why this book (re)blazed a trail at the time that it was published. It's an interesting account of political culture. Of particular concern for me, given my academic focus, was the chapter on political culture in Africa. Like all books on the subject of Africa (as a unitary concept) the chapter deals with Africa in broad brushstrokes. Obviously subtle nuances within each African state are lost but if you're looking for an overview of African political culture, then the chapter in this book should be a good intro. The book is (obviously) dated and it would be interesting to see more contemporary analysis on African political culture.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-12-30 00:00:00 Billy Brown This was one of my favorite books. A correspondent in Russia dialogued with me about this book, and I finally sent him my copy. Fortunately, I found a replacement. I also bought Hicks' general history of the U.S. "The Populist Revolt" is rich in information, detailed to the point of intimidation. But it is the very details, along with the straight-forward writing style, and of course the author's perspective, that made this book such a favorite with me. Hicks covers the rise and glory of Populism, which means also the beginnings of labor parties and farmers' parties even before the Civil War (War of Southern Independence). The central time period for the peak of populist sentiments, unfortunately (or fortunately?) divided among several political parties, ranges from the 1880s to the 1990s. After reading this book in 1980, I realized that Professor Hicks had persuaded me, whether that was his intention or not, that I was a Populist at heart. (I have since then further evolved my political views.) For a person taking even a simply survey course of U.S. history, such as American colleges generally require (or, sadly, once required but today do not), this book will give such a more colorful, exciting picture of that era. I truly believe this book should be required reading in American history courses.