In this field-defining, broad approach to the study and practice of public administration, H. George Frederickson, one of the field's most respected scholars, carefully measures the meets and bounds of public administration and fixes its place in the context of changing politics, values, and ethics. He describes a robust and exciting public administration that includes, but is much more than, effective government management.

Frederickson strongly defends broad grants of discretion to public administrators and then lays out the proper norms and ethic which should inform that discretion. And he firmly argues that the effectiveness of democratic government and modern governance, not just for the majority of but for all citizens, depends on the energetic exercise of bureaucratic discretion. The book concludes with seven principles that should guide everyone who works in public settings.

Students and scholars will find The Spirit of Public Administration an exhilarating and challenging perspective.