"...a timely new book." - The Times "For expert guidance on the issues raised by the Tory record, youshould dip into the thoughtful tome that Christopher Foster and Francis Plowden have published." - New Statesman "...the most important dissection of the changed relationship betweenministers, civil servants and MPs since Peter Hennessy charted the history of the British civil service to the mid 1980s in his magisterialWhitehall." - Financial Times "...an important book because it amounts to a sustained critique ofcurrent administrative developments in Britain by two authors who arein principle supporters of the application of market-based concepts to the public services." - Economic and Social Rights "...the value of the bookis to widen the agenda beyond familiar issues such as alleged 'politicization', or the accountability of chief executives, and to place at centre stage the key question of the very capacity of government today and in the future." - PublicAdministration "...a concise sweep through the new structure of central British public administration." - Parliamentary Affairs