Larry N. Gerston, professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State University, interacts with the political process as both an author and an observer. As an author, he has written eleven academic books in addition to CALIFORNIA POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT: A PRACTICAL APPROACH, including MAKING PUBLIC POLICY: FROM CONFLICT TO RESOLUTION (1983), POLITICS IN THE GOLDEN STATE (with Terry Christensen, 1984), THE DEREGULATED SOCIETY (with Cynthia Fraleigh and Robert Schwab, 1988), AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: POLITICS, PROCESS AND POLICIES (1993), PUBLIC POLICY: PROCESS AND PRINCIPLES (1987), PUBLIC P...