Not Well Advised

A brief and well-written analysis, by an insider, of the attempts - mostly failures - of academics and other consultants to provide useful advice to officials of city government during the "urban crisis" of the 1970s and '80s. Though grounded in the experience of two decades ago, the book formulates lessons of permanent relevance to anyone seeking to "speak truth to power."

Peter L. Szanton is President of Szanton Associates and a consultant to governments and non-profit organizations on strategic planning and organizational renewal. An Associate Director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget during the Carter administration, he was also the founding president of the New York City-RAND Institute.