ABSTRACT
The strengths of the book are that it presents basic descriptive material on political incorporation from several US cities, and that some of the individual essays go beyond that to put the descriptive findings in theoretical perspective. Apparently the authors of the individual chapters were not held to any common list of theoretical concerns beyond “political incorporation” in general. The chapters in the book give more attention to minority access to city jobs and contracts, even though most of the contributors argue that minorities are better off politically by forming coalitions outside urban political machines or party regulars. The careful conceptual and empirical work that needs to be done would be enhanced by greater attention to literature on minority representation, urban reform, and urban public administration. As the urban predicament in the United States worsens, political scientists need to do some hard and systematic thinking about the consequences of different patterns of political institutions, mass political behavior, and leadership.
