本书选录的多为西方公共行政学研究的经典、有影响的重要文章，共30篇，分别出自伍德罗·威尔逊、佛兰克·古德诺、道格拉斯·麦克格雷戈、格拉汉姆·爱里森以及威廉·葛姆勒等西方著名学者之手。阅读这些原汁原味的英文原著，有助于国内读者比较全面、准确地理解西方学者的主要观点，了解其各种流派的主要理论。
本书各章前均有编者撰写的中文背景分析，每篇文章前附有该文的中文内容摘要。对于行政管理类专业学生来说，阅读本书可以提高其阅读专业英文资料的能力。
本书适宜于作为MPA（公共管理硕士）的专业教材，亦可作为大学本科高年级学生的专业英语及行政学理论教材。

竺乾威，全国MPA教育指导委员会成员，复旦大学国际关系与公共事务学院教授，公共行政系主任，博士生导师。主要讲授公共行政理论、比较行政等课程。在《公共行政与人力资源》和美国出版的《国际公共行政》等有影响的杂志上发表过学术论文，主编的著作有：《当代中国公共政策》

CONTENTS
Chapter One From the end of the 19th century to the 30s of the 20th century
Introduction
1． The StUdy of Administration
Woodrow Wilson
2． Politics and Administration
Frank J．Goodnow
3． Scientific Management
Frederick W．Taylor
4 Bureaucracy
Max Weber
5． Notes on the Theory of Organization
Luther Gulick
Chapter Two The 40s of the 20th century to the 7Os of the 20th century
Introduction CONTENTS
Chapter One From the end of the 19th century to the 30s of the 20th century
Introduction
1． The StUdy of Administration
Woodrow Wilson
2． Politics and Administration
Frank J．Goodnow
3． Scientific Management
Frederick W．Taylor
4 Bureaucracy
Max Weber
5． Notes on the Theory of Organization
Luther Gulick
Chapter Two The 40s of the 20th century to the 7Os of the 20th century
Introduction
6． Bureaucratic Structure and Personality
Robert K..Merton
7． A Theory of Human Motivation
A．H．Maslow
8． Power and Administration
Norton E．Long
9． Parkinson’s Law or the Rising Pyramid
C．Northcote Parkinson
10．The Human Side of Enterprise
Douglas Murray McGregor
11. The Science of“Muddling Through”
Charles E．Lindblom
12．Organizations and the System Concept
Daniel Katz ＆ Robert L．Kahn
13．Policy AnalystS：A NeW Professional Role in Govemment Service
Yehezkel Dror
14．The Life Cycle of Bureaus
ANthony Downs
15．PUblic Administration in a Time of Revolution
Dwight Waldo
16．The Peter Principle
Laurenc J．Peter ＆ Raymond Hull
17．Towards a New Public Administration
H．George Frederickson
18．Organization ：a Situational Perspective
Jay W．Lorsch
19．Historical Trends in Leadership Theory and Research
Ralph M．Stogdill
20．Public and Private Management：Are They Fundamentally Alike in all Unimportant Respects?
Graham T．Allison
Chapter Three The 80s Of the 20th Century to the 90s Of the 20th century
Introduction
21．Some Developments in the Study of Market Choice，Public Choice, and Institutional Choice
Vincent Ostrom
22．EXploring the Limits of Privatization
Ronald C．Moe
23．Public Administration in Post－Socialist Eastern Europe
Eric M． Rice
24．Understanding Goverument Regulation
Richard Lehne
25． Privatization Revisited
William T．Gonnley
26．Breaking through Bureaucracy
Michael Barzelay with Babak J．Armajdni
27．Productivity and Quality Management
Marc Holzer
28．Public-Private Partnership in the Twenty－First Century
Graham Finney ＆ David A．Grossman
29．Reinventing Govemment
Davia Osbome ＆ Ted Gaebler
30．Reinventing the American Federal Govemment：Reform Redux Or Real Change?
Patricia W．Ingraham