ABSTRACT
James Q. Wilson (1931–2012), a political scientist, held endowed chair professorships at Harvard University and several other leading universities. He received numerous academic honors as well as several major public service awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The author of a leading American government textbook, his more than a dozen other books included Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do It (1989). He published major works on political parties, crime, the biological bases of behavior, and many other topics, but his work on bureaucracy is considered to be his finest.
