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William L. Riordon's compiling and embroidering of Boss Plunkitt'sboastful comments on machine politics constitutes a minor classicin American social history. in an introduction to this edition ofthe political boss's remarks, James S. Olson, chairman of thehistory department at Sam Houston State University, and James W.Mooney of American University engage in a provocative exchange overhow the boss mentality as Plunkitt expressed it is to be judged.Thereby they complicate and enrich a reader's perception of thepractical devices and ethical ambiguities of popularpolitics. "Tammany Hall was far more than a disinterested detached citygovernment for several million poor, working-class New Yorkers. Itwas also a successful city government delivering municipalservices, a social welfare agency assisting the immigrant poor andtheir children in adjusting to the new country, a politicalinterest group giving working-class people at least a modest voicein an economic world increasingly dominated by richcorporations." --James S. Olson "In essence: the machine politicos, for all their genuineresonance with their constituencies, saw the average voter as acreature of appetite; the scientific progressives, for all theirhauteur, expected something better of the public and were preparedto work for it." --James W. Mooney