William French
Dolores Byrnes helps us conceptualize 'the state' in Latin America and understand the personal and gendered ways power is embodied. Her provocative book will attract a broad audience and interest readers in a number of fields.
Susan Tiano
Driving the State achieves much more than simply telling the story of the strengths and weaknesses of the Mi Comunidad project. The case study is nested in a multilevel account that illuminates politics, economics, culture, and gender in contemporary Mexico and that is linked to a commendable range of literature in a host of disciplines.
Maria Lorena Cook
In a riveting account of her participation in the Mi Comunidad program, Dolores Byrnes illuminates the everyday exchanges of public policy by focusing on the individuals behind 'the state.' Byrnes's keen powers of observation, sophisticated analysis, and elegant writing make this book both necessary and pleasurable reading for all who seek to understand politics and public policy in contemporary Mexico.