"Berkowitz's careful use of Cohen's well kept, vast personal papers
and his subject's many interviews, position papers, and
autobiographical accounts has made this a definitive study."--Labor
History"Berkowitz skillfully portrays the life and accomplishments
of an important technician of American social policy. In the
process, he reveals much about the inner workings of Washington
politics and policy making."--Michigan Historical Review"An
excellent source of ideas and information for workers in fields
such as social security and public assistance, for researchers and
teachers on social welfare policy, and for all who are interested
in the historical development of US social welfare and social
work."--Social Work"A clearly written, thoroughly documented, and
important discussion of how one man spent his life improving the
lives of millions of Americans."--Journal of American
History"Berkowitz has provided us with a fine perspective on the
making of the welfare state in the twentieth century, and with the
best biography we have had of a major architect of social
insurance. Historians who wish to generalize about the effects and
fate of New Deal liberalism need to reckon with Cohen's career, and
with Berkowitz's book"--Reviews in American History"Mr. Social
Security provides much material for the careful reader that should
stimulate thought and discussion about the history of the American
social policy process. Berkowitz has done us a real service in
bringing together the details of this productive life."--H-Net
Reviews"A useful, if affectionate, biography and a sound study of
public policy formation from the New Deal to the Great
Society."--Choice
"Wilbur Cohen was present and active at the defining points through
which an initially fragile Social Security system became the
central core of America's welfare state. In this marvelously rich
volume Berkowitz not only captures the complexities of Cohen's
personality, outlook, and administrative style but also uses him to
illuminate the changing role of the bureaucratic consensus builder
in America. A major achievement."--Ellis W. Hawley, author of The
New Deal and the Problem of Monopoly"The life of Wilbur Cohen, as
Berkowitz admirably shows, provides a window on the entire process
of statebuilding for Social Security in America. This is a major
contribution to American political history."--Theda Skocpol, author
of Protecting Soldiers and Mothers: The Political Origins of Social
Policy in the United States"A fascinating portrait of one of the
giants of twentieth-century American public life. A triumph of
sound and imaginative scholarship."--Theodore Marmor, author of
Understanding Health Care Reform and The Politics of Medicare"No
one worked longer, harder, or more effectively to build the
American welfare state than Wilbur Cohen. He is the perfect subject
for giving policy history a human face."--Martha Derthick, author
of Policymaking for Social Security"Must reading for anyone who
wants to understand our Social Security program by seeing how it
developed from the start. An enchanting read about an intensely
brilliant person."--Robert J. Myers, author of Social Security and
former Chief Actuary, Social Security Administration"Essential
reading for those who wish to understand the incremental politics
that characterized policymaking in the U.S. from the Progressive
era through the Reagan years."--W. Andrew Achenbaum, author of
Social Security: Visions and Revisions"Will be as indispensable to
those who applaud the collapse of liberalism as it will be to those
who hope to revive the ideology that Cohen personified."--Louis
Galambos, editor of The New American State: Federal Bureaucracies
and Policies since World War II
Ask a Question About this Product More... |