We’ll be doing a Crooked Timber seminar around the end of next month on Sheri Berman’s new book on the past and future of social democracy in Europe (now available from “Powells”:http://www.powells.com/partner/29956/s?kw=Sheri%20Berman%20primacy%20politics and Amazon). The book itself is highly recommended, and should make for a fun and interesting discussion.
{ 12 comments }
Adam 09.08.06 at 11:35 am
God forbid actually giving a link where those of who live in, er, Europe, might like to buy the book! Is it highly recommended enough for us to resort to transatlantic shipping?
ingrid robeyns 09.08.06 at 12:17 pm
it’s also available through “amazon UK”:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Primacy-Politics-Democracy-Twentieth-Century/dp/0521521106/sr=8-1/qid=1157735608/ref=sr_1_1/202-7373158-1345404?ie=UTF8&s=gateway or “Amazon Germany”:http://www.amazon.de/Primacy-Politics-Democracy-Twentieth-Century/dp/0521521106/sr=8-3/qid=1157735688/ref=sr_1_3/028-6549187-3598126?ie=UTF8&s=gateway and probably many other places.
Patrick S. O'Donnell 09.08.06 at 12:19 pm
I suppose there’s little to be gained by speaking of ‘actually existing social democracy.’
[My goodness Adam, you can find the book at Amazon abroad–Amazon UK, for instance–(I’m writing from the states) with a few keystrokes….]
And by way of background reading, first, I’d like to make a plug for two books from an old friend of mine, Robert Ladrech, at Keele University:
(with Philippe Marliere) Social Democratic Parties in the European Union: History, Organization, Policies (1999), and Social Democracy and the Challenge of European Union (2000),
secondly, for those in the states not well acquainted with social democratic politics, I would recommend reading Gosta Esping-Andersen’s classic, Politics Against Markets: The Social-Democratic Road to Power (1985) and his The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism (1990)
and, finally, see Robert E. Goodin, Bruce Headey, Ruud Muffels and Henk-Jan Dirven, The Real Worlds of Welfare Capitalism (1999).
Jacob Christensen 09.08.06 at 4:55 pm
Just a practical note for serious lumberjacks:
Amazon UK lists the book as available in “4-6 weeks”. But if the end of next month is the end of October, then we should be prepared to follow the discussion.
:-)
Ben 09.08.06 at 5:22 pm
Browsing UK and US Amazon I’ve noticed that having found a particular product you can usually just change the .com for a co.uk (or vice versa) to go straight to the same product from the other shop…
John Quiggin 09.08.06 at 6:44 pm
I’ll also plug Goodin et al, particularly as the bes t single source to demolish the idea that the US is characterised by high levels of economic mobility.
Jim Johnson 09.09.06 at 11:34 am
This is a general complaint for Crooked Timber bloggers & readers. I wonder why you always link to Amazon or some other mega seller when recommending books or music? There are lots of independent purveyors out there who could use the business and who provide excellenet mail order servie. I view this as analogous to buying food from local sources – it is a way of maintaining the intellecctual and cultural ecoology. Link to the publisher. Link to your favorite independent bookstore or music shop. Thanks!
Patrick S. O'Donnell 09.09.06 at 5:53 pm
Jim,
Thanks for making this point. I print up the Amazon info. for all the books I want and then give it to my local bookseller (there’s only a couple left here in Santa Barbara) and those not in stock they then order for me. Sometimes their distributors don’t carry the titles, so I have to get them from Amazon or directly order them. So, I do use Amazon, but largely for research/informational purposes only. My local bookstore (Chaucer’s Books, it’s a wonderful bookshop), in the end, gets the business. Our family does, however, use Amazon for this or that item on occasion, but I’m absolutely loyal to our local booksellers, for both new and used books (for used books, we have The Book Den and Lost Horizon, among a few others).
Henry 09.09.06 at 9:13 pm
Hi Jim
I always make sure that my first link for featured books is to Powells, which is big, but is also an independent bookstore, and a damn good one, and a union store. My sense is though that not all that many people click on the Powells link, while people do seem to click through much more frequently for Amazon. I’m not happy about this, but when I provide a link to books, it’s because I want people to read them, and if a majority of the blogreading public uses Amazon as their first choice, it seems to me self-defeating not to provide a linkthrough.
harry b 09.10.06 at 8:17 am
Can I add to the plugs, and suggest Donald Sassoon’s 100 Years of Socialism, which is the perfect complement to Esping Anderson’s Politics Against Markets. Its basically a history of European social-democracy, with ever more detail as the story progresses. Very, very long, but so gripping and well written that you come away wishing it had been longer.
Jim Johnson 09.10.06 at 10:57 am
Henry,
Yes, I know about Powell’s, but there are many other independent purveyors too. Your CT crowd could likely name a couple dozen off the top of their heads. I agree that probably “a majority of the blogreading public uses Amazon as their first choice” but if the point of blogging is to change or influence behavior (isn’t it?) then why not proppose a list of good independents (as Patrick has mentioned some already) and suggest that readers use them? There is PLENTY of room on the CT right sidebar for such a list! Thanks – hope all is well. I’m sorry to have missed you at apsa.
Jim Johnson 09.10.06 at 11:03 am
PS: The thing thatprompts all this is that I live in a metropolitcan area of roughly a million and htere is not a decent bookstore around. The music shops are going belly up fast too. Rochester is not the only place where this is the case.
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