Book Nook

Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets

2008-05-06T14:25:00Z

Author: Sudhir Venkatesh

Publication Date: January 2008

Publisher: The Penguin Press

Bottom Line: Current government programs designed to benefit people living in the projects are essentially useless, because residents have learned to rely on corrupt community members, specifically gang leaders, to survive, and, as a result, are stuck in a cycle of poverty.

What it Covers: Gang Leader for a Day is an in depth analysis of Sudhir Venkatesh's time spent in the Robert Taylor housing project in Chicago, and more specifically, his involvement with the Black Kings gang. Venkatesh details the corrupt society that governs life in the projects. Whereas in most locations there are police and city officials to govern and help the area, locals in the Robert Taylor projects depended upon gang leaders, and those connected to them, for survival. Even community leaders who appear to conduct business above the line rely on assistance from the gangs.

Through Venkatesh 's analysis, we see that those living inside the Robert Taylor housing projects are essentially living outside of society. Neither normal rules nor normal laws apply. OhMyGov! readers will be intrigued by the underground economy which dominates life in the projects. Though Venkatesh is unable to veil his arrogance in his writing, he succeeds at writing a book that is both comical and humbling as he reflects on his time spent in the projects in this humanizing account about poverty in America.

About the Author: Sudhir Venkatesh is a professor of sociology at Columbia University.

Excerpts: “You need to understand that the Black Kings are not a gang; [they] are a community organization responding to people's needs.”

“Many of these women had protested for civil rights in the 1960s and campaigned for black political candidates in the 190s; they took the need to fight for their community very seriously. But during the 1980s and 1990s, as their plight was worsened by gangs, drugs, and even deeper poverty, they struggled just to keep their families together. By then the housing authority had grown corrupt and unsupportive, the police were largely unresponsive, and the tribe of strong women had been severely marginalized.”

“[JT] had grown up in this neighborhood, then gone to college on an athletic scholarship and found that he loved reading about history and politics. After college he took a job selling office supplies and industrial textiles at a midsize corporation in downtown Chicago. But he felt that his chance of success were limited because he was black; he got angry when he saw white people with lesser skills get promoted ahead of him. Within two years he left the mainstream to return to the projects and the gang life.”

Suggested Backdrop: With summer fast approaching, Gang Leader for a Day makes for a perfect travel book - this reviewer read the book while sitting on the beach in Florida. Have enough time to sit down and read the book cover to cover, because you will not want to put it down.

OhMyGov! Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars

Managing Government Employees: How to Motivate Your People, Deal with Difficult Issues, and Achieve Tangible Results

2008-04-18T09:30:00Z

"Imagine working in an organization that makes it so hard to fire non-performers that managers have quit trying...Imagine routinely losing your best employees because you can't pay them what they are worth."

Author: Stewart Liff

Publication Date: 2007

Publisher: AMACOM, American Management Association

Bottom Line: A desktop reference to assist federal managers/supervisors who are frustrated with the government system when interacting with federal employees.

What It Covers: Unlike many other management reference books, the author shares his government experience and expertise with human resources and management and sheds light on its many nuances. He also provides a roadmap and reference tool to the potential pitfalls that experienced and inexperienced federal managers face daily.

This book clearly demonstrates that civil service is not the world of the "Apprentice" where you deal with poor performers by simply firing them or reward top performers with a private jet excursion to an exclusive island resort. Rather the role of the federal manager is to assist and develop staff within the organization.

To assist the federal supervisor/manger, the author provides advice, procedures, methods, anecdotes and examples on how to navigate through the many complexities that federal supervisors and mangers deal with on a day-to-day basis. He also provides insight with the intricacies of performance, disciple and how to avoid the pitfalls associated with these very complex management situations.

Recommended For: Federal government supervisors/managers, federal staff seeking supervisory experience, and those who are baffled and/or intrigued with the federal sector.

About the Author: Stewart Liff, has bought and worn the tee shirt. He is a veteran of the federal workforce with 32 years of human capital experience within various federal agencies from the General Services Administration (GSA) to the Department of Defense (DoD). He rose through the ranks to become a member of the government's senior executive service. His book is currently being presented to government senior executives in a variety of agencies as a management reference tool.

Excerpts:

"In several of the organizations that I have worked in, union officials would frequently raise issues that from many people's perspective were innocuous. They would complain about the arrangement of a couple of desks, argue over a short-term assignment for one employee...and so on...I couldn't help but wonder how much of the government's time was being wasted on nonsense. Sometimes, it almost felt like a Seinfeld episode. That is, a show about nothing."

Suggested Backdrop: Read this book the night before you give your next performance feedback session or have it close the next time you have to deal with a difficult staff member. If the advice does not prove useful, you can always toss it at the employee but be prepared to pick it back up to assist you when you get the EEO, grievance, unfair labor practice, complaint or assault with a deadly weapon charge.

OhMyGov! Rating: Not another door stop or dust gatherer. 4 out 4 of stars if used earnestly by federal mangers.

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

2008-04-03T01:07:00Z

Author: Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Publication Date: 2006

Publisher: William Morrow (Harper Collins Publishers)

Bottom Line: Why is conventional wisdom so often wrong? This book uses economics to explain hot-button issues including legal abortion's impact on crime rates, the parallels of the Ku Klux Klan to real estate agents, and cheating among sumo wrestlers and schoolteachers alike.

What It Covers: Freakonomics begins with the certainly controversial assertion that it was the legalization of abortion which indirectly lead to the 1990's crime drop in America and not gun control, a strong economy, or innovative policing techniques. According to the book's author, the simple explanation is that crime was reduced because the pool of potential criminals was dramatically decreased.

Other nuggets of basically unrelated conventional wisdom are considered and dispensed with by economics rather than the morality human nature typically ascribes to them. The chapter on cheating uses the economics of an honor-system bagel service to illustrate this intersection between the two - a lot of people will steal, but most do not even if no one is watching. Another chapter asks the question: "Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?" and compares gangs to McDonald's franchises.

While the book is written for a general public audience, it examines the folly of many of our government's efforts, such as the dismally poor outcomes of school choice programs and the tendency of the government to spend money on "high dread" issues like preventing terrorism rather than high impact problems like heart disease. OhMyGov! readers are certain to find plenty of cause for contemplation and outrage in Freakonomics.

About the Authors: Steven D. Levitt teaches economics at the University of Chicago and was recently awarded the John Bates Clark Medal, an award granted to the best American economist under forty. Stephen J. Dubner writes for the New York Times and The New Yorker.

Excerpts:

"Imagine that you are a government official charged with procuring the funds to fight one of two proven killers: terrorist attacks and heart disease. Which cause do you think the members of Congress will open up the coffers for? The likelihood of any given person being killed in a terrorist attack is far smaller than the likelihood that the same person will clog up his arteries with fatty food and die of heart disease... Death by terrorist attack is considered wholly dreadful; death by heart disease is, for some reason, not."

"The problem with crack dealing is the same as in every other glamour profession: a lot of people are competing for a very few prizes... But criminals, like everyone else, respond to incentives. So if the prize is big enough, they will form a line down the block just hoping for a chance."

Suggested Backdrop: Read or listen to during your commute. Due to its format and content of many loosely related topics, it is well suited to stopping and starting. This reviewer listened to the audiobook version in the car over a two week period and it gave plenty to think about while staring at the tail-lights of DC gridlock.

OhMyGov Rating: 3 out 4 of stars.

Best Care Anywhere: Why VA Health Care Is Better Than Yours

2007-11-17T15:50:00Z

Author: Phillip Longman

Publication Date: 2007

Publisher: PoliPointPress, LLC

Bottom Line: Want to know what has made the VA health care system a successful health care model? Phillip Longman lays out VA's transformation from the worst to the best in the nation.

What It Covers: A journalist by profession, the author describes the transformation of the VA's health care system from the America's worst to one of the best health care systems in the nation, becoming the "Toyota of Health care". Sharing his own experience with the health care system in the United States and several anecdotes throughout the book, the author does a great job in not boring the readers unlike many other health care books.

The book emphasizes the unique characteristics of the VA health care system, such as universal health care to a special population, life-long commitment and relationships with its patients, and its economic status as a non profit-maximizing organization, and how these unique incentives led the VA's success and to be considered as a possible solution to the fragmented private sector health care. The author attributes the VA's success to the integration of health care information system (VistA electronic health records), evidence-based medical procedures, a dedicated and strong leadership, and its dedication to preventive medicine.

Best Care Anywhere is a well-organized and well-researched book. However, the author's opinions have a potential to be viewed as skewed and the author underestimates the challenge of overcoming the perception of "socialized medicine" for the VA's system to be duplicated in the private sector.

About the Author: Phillip Longman, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, is the author of numerous articles and books on health care, demographics, and public policy. He's work has appeared in many well-known publications such as the Harvard Business Review, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy. He is also a frequent speaker and has won numerous awards for his business and financial writing.

Excerpts:

"The essential first step is a reform that is not only morally overdue but that also has the potential to bring great political advantage to members of either party who take it on as an issue. The first step is simply this: All veterans should have access to all the VA health care benefits they deserve and were promised when they enlisted."

"While the costs of health care continue to soar for most Americans, the VA is reducing costs, reducing errors, and becoming the model for what health care management and delivery should look like."

Suggested Backdrop: A short read...this book can be read in any setting, however, if you are a fast reading veteran and it takes you longer to read this book than the wait time to see your health care provider you may question the author's opinions or perhaps your visit to the VA just may be needed.

OhMyGov Rating: 3 out 4 of stars...If Oh My Gov! gave half stars it would be a 3 1/2.

Super Crunchers: Making Math Cool Again

2007-11-01T13:59:00Z

Author: Ian Ayres

Publication Date: 2007

Bottom Line: An easy to follow insight into the behind the scenes data and data crunchers driving today's biggest companies and decisions.

What It Covers: Have you ever wondered how Netflix or Amazon always seems to suggest a relevant book or movie, how eHarmony can find your future spouse, or how Google seems to always find you what you're looking for so quickly? If so, you've been wondering about the world of super crunchers - individuals who compile and process huge quantities of data. These super crunchers are able to make highly accurate predictions today by examining variables influencing outcomes, reviewing data trends, and then creating an algorithm or formula that may be applied to situations in the future in order to make predictions.

The premise of the book is this: numerical predictions are replacing human predictions because they are more accurate, more dependable, and more testable.

The book begins with the story of a mathematician who decided to apply his trade to baseball. With one equation, he was able to predict who the leagues best hitters would be, not by simply reviewing RBI or home run stats, but through an equation that predicted the total bases in a season a player obtained through walks or hits. The formula is now used by baseball scouts, often in lieu of relying on the "scout's eye" for talent alone.

While the author does not directly state how the trend of super crunching might be applied to government, it's easy to figure out. Imagine relying on a simple formula based on previously recorded data to predict enemy troop movement, instead of a team of analysts pouring over stagnant satellite images. Perhaps super crunchers could use their predictive skills to tackle public transit problems by more accurately predicting times of heavy ridership, so transit officials can allocate the correct number of trains to those times and fewer trains during quieter times. The possibilities are endless and we are undoubtedly heading in that direction.

Recommended For: Anyone interested in how large organizations are making better decisions and offering more personalized services. Scientists & engineers looking for hard core numbers are going to be disappointed - this book was written for Joe Public, not you.

About the Author: Ian Ayers is an econometrician and lawyer who teaches at Yale's School of Management. He's a regular columnist for Forbes magazine and editor of the Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization.

Excerpts:

"Wal-Mart learns three different kinds of things from its employment test regression. First, it learns how long a particular applicant is likely to stay on the job. Second, it learns how precisely it made this prediction..."

"When you call Capital One, a recoding immediately prompts you to enter your card number. even before the service representative's phone rings, a computer algorythm kicks in and analyzes dozens of characteristics about the account and about you, the account holder...Capital One found that some customers call each month just to find out their balance or to see whether their payment arrived. The computer keeps tracks of who makes these calls, and routes them to an automated system that answers the phone this way: 'The amount now due to your account is $164.27.'

Suggested Backdrop: Coffee shops, airplanes, trains, and any time you need to stimulate an "ah-hah!" moment of clarity.

OhMyGov Rating: 3 (out of 4) Stars. A well simplified look at a complicated process. Good for the average reader, but leaves you wanting some snapshots of these math geniuses in motion.