county commissioners who had been taking kickbacks paid by suppliers on orders for county road-building supplies. That corruption could be so wide-spread and long-standing was hard to understand. How could so many good ol' boys (usually popular and respected local officials) become so corrupt? Determined to study the problem, Harry Holloway and Frank S. Meyers sifted through a large body of evidence, conducted a public-opinion survey, and interviewed nearly half of all county commissioners in office following the prosecutions. Their discoveries were two. First, because rural populism had splintered Oklahoma government from top to bottom, commissioners were left with so much money and discretion as to invite abuse. Second, abusers justified their illegal behavior on the basis that they were entitled to their gains. Local government, the authors argue, is improved but remains vulnerable. Analyzing the national savings and loan scandal, they review prospects for corruption within the state - especially the scheme of education bonds developed within the state in the late 1980s. The book will interest citizens, academics, and officials at all levels of government who want to understand an Oklahoma scandal of momentous proportions and, even more, to appreciate how political culture and institutions may contribute to corruption. As the authors show, values and institutions democratic in intent may lend themselves to the purposes of corrupt people who rationalizetheir misdeeds.  (less)

comprehensive than the Manitoba Book of Everything. No book is more fun!/PPWell known Manitobans weigh in on the province. Filmmaker Guy Maddin gives us his favourite lost Winnipeg buildings, former Premier and Canadian Governor General Ed Schreyer details Manitobans that he admires most, Olympic goaltender Sami Jo Small provides us with her favourite outdoor sports memories, broadcaster Peter Warren recounts his most memorable interviews and musician Ray St. Germain lists his top Aboriginal acts. From rivers, lakes, and beaches to the Winnipeg arts scene to famous crooks and hoodlums, Manitoba slang, the Métis and the mighty mosquito ... it’s all here./PPWhether you are a native Manitoban or visiting for the first time, there simply is no more complete book about Manitoba. If you love Manitoba, you’ll love the Manitoba Book of Everything!/P/DIV/DIVDIVP style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: noneA real gem. Everyone in Manitoba should have this book.  —CTV News at 6/P/DIVDIVP style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: noneFrom mosquitoes to perogies to socials, [this] is a vast compilation of what makes our province so special and unique.  —IInterlake Spectator/I/P/DIVDIVDIVChristine Hanlon is a freelance writer. She lives in Winnipeg./DIV/DIV  (less)

is found dead, his body lacerated with razor wounds. Once again, Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt calls on his friend — and disciple of Freud — Doctor Max Liebermann, to help him investigate.brbrIn the closed society of the school, power is everything, and suspicion falls on an elite group of cadets with a penchant for sadism and dangerous games. When it is discovered that the dead boy was a frequent guest of the deputy headmaster’s attractive wife, other motives for murder suggest themselves.brbrA tangled web of relationships and dark secrets is uncovered, which Liebermann, using new psychoanalytic tools such as dream interpretation and the ink-blot test, begins to probe. At the same time, he finds himself romantically involved with a mysterious Hungarian concert violinist, Trezska Novak, a woman gifted with uncannily accurate intuitions. Again, all is not what it seems, and Liebermann is drawn into the perilous world of espionage. The choices he is forced to make will threaten the entire stability of the Habsburg Empire.“A fascinating portrait of one of the most vibrant yet sinister cities of fin-de-siecle Europe. On top of this, Tallis has laid a murder mystery of great intelligence.” —iThe Times/ibrbr“. . . his handling of the psychoanalysis and criminal pathology are fantastic . . . a romping tale.”–iScotland on Sunday/iFrank Tallis is a writer and practicing clinical psychologist. He is the author of two previous Dr. Max Liebermann novels:bVienna Blood/bandbMortal Mischief./b  (less)

boy band,bPop Babylon/bi/iis pure, unadulterated reading pleasure. Disgraceful, revelatory and great down-and-dirty fun, it’s essential reading for anyone who wants to know what it really takes nowadays to be top of the pops.  (less)