Providing content analysis of all published executive orders from March 1936 through the end of the Clinton administration, Warber (political science, Clemson U.) seeks to assess the degree to which modern presidents have been active and strategic in using executive orders to establish policy. His theoretical approach to the topic rests upon the assumptions that presidents are rational actors who maximize their unilateral action powers to the fullest in order to enact their agendas, unilateral powers are useful tools for presidents to use in achieving their policy agendas, presidents are strategically motivated in deciding when and how to use unilateral powers, presidents will be more successful in using unilateral powers to achieve results in certain policy domains than in pursuing their policy agendas through traditional legislative strategies, and there are costs associated with the exercise of unilateral powers. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)