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In a series of utterly frank talks given at his headquarters (Graziano's bootblack stand outside the New York County Court House), he revealed to a sharp-eared and sympathetic reporter named William L. Riordan the secrets of political success as practiced and perfected by him and fellow Tammany Hall titans. The result is not only a volume that reveals more about our political system than does a shelfful of civics textbooks, but also an irresistible portrait of a man who would feel happily at home playing ball with today's lobbyists and king makers, trading votes for political and financial favors.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Doing for twentieth-century America what Machiavelli did for Renaissance Italy, and as entertaining as it is instructive, \u003ci\u003ePlunkitt of Tammany Hall\u003c\/i\u003e is essential reading for those who prefer twenty-twenty vision to rose-colored glasses in viewing how our government works and why.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e With an Introduction by Peter Quinn\u003cbr\u003e and a New Afterword","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49726393319697,"sku":"CIN0451474139G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50350665695505,"sku":"CIN0451474139A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51002548420881,"sku":"NIN9780451474131","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52103988674833,"sku":"CIN0451474139VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0451474139.jpg?v=1751072432"},{"product_id":"plunkitt-of-tammany-hall-book-william-l-riordon-9781578989942","title":"Plunkitt of Tammany Hall","description":"Plunkitt of Tammany Hall\u003cbr\u003eA Series of Very Plain Talks on Very Practical Politics\u003cbr\u003eWilliam L. Riordan \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNobody thinks of drawin' the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis classic work offers the unblushing, unvarnished wit and wisdom of one of the most fascinating figures ever to play the American political game and win. George Washington Plunkitt rose from impoverished beginnings to become ward boss of the Fifteenth Assembly District in New York, a key player in the powerhouse political team of Tammany Hall, and, not incidentally, a millionaire. In a series of utterly frank talks given at his headquarters (Graziano's bootblack stand outside the New York County Court House), he revealed to a sharp-eared and sympathetic reporter named William L. Riordan the secrets of political success as practiced and perfected by him and fellow Tammany Hall titans. 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Plunkitt was part of the city's Tammany Hall organization and a cynical practitioner of what today is generally known as machine politics, a patronage-based system in which politicians openly exercise power for personal gain. \u003cbr\u003e Plunkitt defined dishonest graft as working solely for one's own interests, as opposed to honest graft, which involves the interests of one's party and state as well as individual benefits. An enthusiastic party man, he believed in appointments, patronage, spoils, and all the corrupt practices that were curtailed by the civil service law, regarding them as both the rewards and cause of patriotism. Modern readers will find his strikingly modern-sounding motivations and justifications both entertaining and instructive.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49910770270481,"sku":"CIN1420935062G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1420935062.jpg?v=1751403609"},{"product_id":"plunkitt-of-tammany-hall-book-william-l-riordon-9781607960126","title":"Plunkitt Of Tammany Hall","description":"Plunkitt of Tammany Hall\u003cbr\u003eA Series of Very Plain Talks on Very Practical Politics\u003cbr\u003eWilliam L. Riordan \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNobody thinks of drawin' the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis classic work offers the unblushing, unvarnished wit and wisdom of one of the most fascinating figures ever to play the American political game and win. 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The result is not only a volume that reveals more about our political system than does a shelfful of civics textbooks, but also an irresistible portrait of a man who would feel happily at home playing ball with today's lobbyists and king makers, trading votes for political and financial favors. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDoing for twentieth-century America what Machiavelli did for Renaissance Italy, and as entertaining as it is instructive, \u003ci\u003ePlunkitt of Tammany Hall\u003c\/i\u003e is essential reading for those who prefer twenty-twenty vision to rose-colored glasses in viewing how our government works and why. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith an Introduction by Peter Quinn\u003cbr\u003eand a New Afterword","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50385673552145,"sku":"CIN1607960125G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51039439454481,"sku":"NIN9781607960126","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53550585413905,"sku":"CIN1607960125VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1607960125.jpg?v=1750799298"},{"product_id":"honest-graft-book-william-l-riordon-9781881089582","title":"Honest Graft","description":"William L. 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It was also a successful city government delivering municipal services, a social welfare agency assisting the immigrant poor and their children in adjusting to the new country, a political interest group giving working-class people at least a modest voice in an economic world increasingly dominated by rich corporations.\"  --James S. Olson     \"In essence: the machine politicos, for all their genuine resonance with their constituencies, saw the average voter as a creature of appetite; the scientific progressives, for all their hauteur, expected something better of the public and were prepared to work for it.\"  --James W. 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