Rating: 
Summary: The Death of Common Sense.
Review: A must for responsible future leaders in all factions of government (civic, local, state, and national) as well as those whom have lost the will to exercise their vote. Phillip Howard goes out of his way to omit emotional triggers, relying on empiricle data to prove his points on everyday events confronting us all. His background as a lawyer, pastor's son, and family man add credibility to this concerned, but calm writer. Anyone feeling alone in America with the fear or confusion of the law and government will enjoy this short but broad-scoped essay of a real and paralyzing problem with our system. Howard goes further to challenge his readers in taking a responsible and brave stance toward recognizing and even dealing with the problem of over-regulation and inequity within the US. DW
Rating: 
Summary: Reason is dead in America
Review: Affirmative action legislation creates an atmosphere stifling the very goals it seeks to achieve. Environmental law pollutes our air and water. The cry for the rights of the few denies the same rights for the many. These are but a few of the outrageous abuses perpetrated on the American public by a well-meaning legal system run amok. Phillip Howard details horrid abuses of the American lifestyle in this fast-read book perpetrated by a bureaucracy that is no longer able to get out of its own way and so ensnarls public servants that they are unable to fulfill the very roles with which they have been charged. Howard talks of a charitable fund run by the organization with which Mother Theresa was involved. They bought from the city of New York a number of dilapidated structures and sought to renovate them for the homeless. However, when it came time to open them, the city decided that the three-story structures required the installation of elevators at $100,000 per building. The charity did not have the funds to install the elevators and so the homeless were denied clean, warm housing in the interests of not forcing them to endure the evils of walking up a flight of stairs. OSHA promulgates thousands of pages of documents to protect American workers from the tyranny of unsafe working environments resulting in an atmosphere where the use of a hammer or stepladder is covered in hundreds of pages of unintelligible legalese. Howard talks at length of one firm which has now accepted the fines levied by OSHA as an expense of doing business since it is not humanly possible to comply with all of the requirements. In order to protect its workers, it instead implemented a "Safety First" campaign of its own imploring common sense while OSHA inspectors chose to concentrate on tape measures showing banisters to be installed at 44" from the floor rather than the 48" required by law. And "Common Sense" is exactly the thrust of the book. We are "entertained" with tales of OSHA determining that bricks are a hazardous substance -- not because someone might hit you over the head with one, but because if one is sawed in half, the dust particles might be inhaled. Affirmative action has created an atmosphere where a secretary in the government's employ who did not show up for work (and did not work when she showed up) could not be fired without years of legal battles while she was on "paid leave". The atmosphere leaves minority applicants in the position that they have to be not just qualified for a position but have to be far superior to the white, male competitor. Otherwise, employers feel they will face a lawsuit every time they need to discharge a minority employee for legitimate reason. The abuses go on and on. My only complaint with this relatively short work is that it could have shorter. Mr. Howard belabors and repeats many points thus detracting from an otherwise excellent book, which should be read by every citizen of America.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, a book about this lingering thought
Review: As someone who has struggled to comply with reams of intractable federal regulations, I've often paused at this thought: there's something massively wrong with laws in the US. Howard captures the essence of the problem admirably. It's reassuring to know you're not alone in being bewildered by a system that has gone so awry.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, a book about this lingering thought
Review: As someone who has struggled to comply with reams of intractable federal regulations, I've often paused at this thought: there's something massively wrong with laws in the US. Howard captures the essence of the problem admirably. It's reassuring to know you're not alone in being bewildered by a system that has gone so awry.
Rating:
Summary: Rethinking the Rule of Law
Review: As the author notes in the book, these days it seems we're being ruled by law instead of the reverse. I found the book to be a fantastic and thought provoking read. I've experienced many similar instances of absurdity while threading my way through a frustrating gauntlet of regulatory hurdles in pursuit of the most mundane activities. What I never questioned until now was the basic philosophy of regulation. Human judgment has been removed from the equation. The rules are no longer a few well understood guidelines, they are an incomprehensible morass of instructions with which everyone must comply whether they apply or not. Solving the problem is no longer the goal, the process and its regulations are an end unto themselves. So we have EPA regulations that not only don't make the environment any cleaner, they needlessly make compliance hugely expensive. It's as if the government mandated a multi-billion program for holes to be dug then filled back in. I always knew I was frustrated, but at least I thought all the trouble and expense was necessary. Now I know better. Mr. Howard has neatly identified the problem. Perhaps in a hundred years we'll have implemented his solution.
Rating:
Summary: Implementing government by the book without reason
Review: Compelled to read this book by the author's appearance at a conference I attended, and having worked for state government
for eight years, I heartily recommend it as an eye opener to
flawed bureaucracy and the lack of judgment and responsibility
which impedes "common sense governing." Wishing to avoid
the criticism everpresent in the political environment,
bureacrats refer citizens to the text of laws and rules regardless of exceptional circumstances and with an instinctual
shoulder shrug, "it's the law..." The examples Philip Howard uses will leave the reader slack-jawed in amazement and in some cases simply outraged (...sure we want Mother Theresa to build a homeless shelter here, but if she can't do it by the book...). The buck rarely stops when no one wants to be held responsible and the operating maxim is "cya." There's defintely more than enough material for additional books eulogizing common sense in governing and Howard's book sets the stage in an impressive fashion!
Rating:
Summary: Implementing government by the book without reason
Review: Compelled to read this book by the author's appearance at a conference I attended, and having worked for state governmentfor eight years, I heartily recommend it as an eye opener to flawed bureaucracy and the lack of judgment and responsibility which impedes "common sense governing." Wishing to avoid the criticism everpresent in the political environment, bureacrats refer citizens to the text of laws and rules regardless of exceptional circumstances and with an instinctual shoulder shrug, "it's the law..." The examples Philip Howard uses will leave the reader slack-jawed in amazement and in some cases simply outraged (...sure we want Mother Theresa to build a homeless shelter here, but if she can't do it by the book...). The buck rarely stops when no one wants to be held responsible and the operating maxim is "cya." There's defintely more than enough material for additional books eulogizing common sense in governing and Howard's book sets the stage in an impressive fashion!
Rating:
Summary: A great book that describes how the Law hurts
Review: Finally, someone that i agree with, on the ways the law hurts more than does help the citizens in america. Phillip K. Howard illustrates the way the American law is creating more enemies with-in the country than agreeing with what democracy is really about. This book is food for thought, and he makes the evidence more obious. By really getting a point out that "The people's right" is more of a fine print in the constitution. I agree with him how, if people are trying to help other or, themselves, you have to go through a major process in order to do so. How Nuns tried to build a shelter for Homelesss people on a abandoned burned building, but yet couldn't due to new renovation laws that required elevators for any new or renovated building. Homeless don't care for elevators, but warm place to sleep. How in 1993 kids couldn't display artwork on the walls of there school, due to fire hazards, and it is against the law to do so. Where it came up in a holloween presentation. Whatr's worse is how our taxes are paying for a mojor part of cost that the government shouldn't spend on.
What is more interesting in this book is how the government can make situations worse, like the father of eight who turned for the government for help when his kids came out positive for lead poisoning, they told him to paint over it. Yet The city inspectors came in and red tag the house, fined him $1700, and if he didn't strip the house and repaint it, he would be fine more than $8,000. This book is really great for those who know, or have a feeling that the laws here in the USA, are far worse than actually read. Also it is a great book who think that the Law here is the best amd that there is no corruption with the government, or anything wrong with the Government.
Rating: 
Summary: Endless rant
Review: Howard should have borrowed from Dennis Miller and started the book with "I don't mean to go on a rant here, but..." and then proceeded with his 187 pages of endless whining about how horrible the law is in America. The examples given (about how law is suffocating America) are sometimes right on the mark and at other times not as well defined. Less would have been more. His ideas of how to fix this dilemma are also good...if we lived in a perfect world. Unfortunately, we don't. With no practical solutions and a message lost amongst a myriad of words, I woudn't recommend this book to anyone but Ted Kazinski.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful arguments, but uneven in style
Review: I agree with the reviewer who concluded that this book is much too long; Howard would have more compelling if he had prepared this as a (long) magazine article. In terms of style, the book is uneven and distracting. Howard overloads the book with anecdote after anecdote of bureaucratic bungling; between the anecdotes are interspersed quotations and the author's somewhat ponderous narrative. Despite the style problems and the excessive length, Howard makes some highly compelling points. He has broken down his subject into to three discrete governmental problems, nicely separated into distinct chapters. The first main chapter is about the 'bureaucrat as bull in a china shop' and government employees' inability to use common sense. This is the weakest chapter- even if all of the author's anecdotes are true, he gives no indication whether bureacrats act like this all the time, half the time, or 1% of the time. One suspects that there are some dedicated government employees out there who occasionally (maybe frequently) display common sense, but Howard gives no inkling that such an employee exists. The second and third main chapters are more compelling, because these chapters deal with systemic problems with the USA government and the legal system. The second chapter concerns the mindless fascination the government has with process and procedure, a truely fascinating commentary on our sclerotic government. The root problem, as the author notes, is that, except at the highest levels of a government, no one is authorized to make a decision. Inevitably, government gets staffed with hacks and drones who are comfortable with that role. Clearly, government will not be 'reformed' until it can operate more like a business enterprise. The third main chapter concerns the proliferation of 'rights' in America. This chapter is likewise compelling; his discussion of the hundreds of billions that America has spent to accomodate the 'rights' of every perceived disadvantaged group in America is less shrill than other tracts on the topic, but still compelling. In general, a worthwhile and educational read.
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