Book Reviews
Abstract
Book Reviews Federal Preemption: The Silent Revolution. By Joseph F. Zimmer- man. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1992. Hardcover, $34.95. Pp. 238. Federal incursion on the "turf" where state or local governments have traditionally held sway is a matter of constant interest to state and local officials, while the scholars has focused more on the flow of federal dollars to state and local governments. Joseph Zimmerman is an exception to the latter group, and this volume is the result of the author's longstanding and constant interest. The topic is and will continue to be important because of the plethora of federal statutes and regulations including preemptive language. This is the "silent revolution" in the subtitle-the rise of partial preemptions of "traditional state and local responsibilities [that have] . . . become common since 1965" (p. 12). This is not the stuff of headline news, but for people who think about the implications of these actions; questions at the core of democratic governance-accountability and responsiveness-quite naturally arise. Zimmerman sets out to show how national power has grown, thereby altering the roles of the various actors involved. At center stage in this story is Congress and its use of