Memorandum for the President: A Strategic Approach to Domestic Affairs in the 1980s; Politics and the Oval Office: Towards Presidential Governance

The change of administrations invariably revives a cottage industry: publishing advice for the new President. The Heineman and Hessler book, written before the 1980 election by two sub-cabinet members of the Carter Administration, is an excellent description of the federal bureaucracy and a cogent plea for intelligent planning on use of resources by the President. The Meltsner book is directed specifically to President Reagan and contains a similar message, although the analysis of 13 authors is thinner.