Book excerpt: In this comprehensive analysis of social systems of taxation and budgeting, the authors provide detailed examples from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, Greece and Rome, the Middle Ages in Europe, and modern times to show how governments through the ages have raised money and spent it. They examine the two essential activities of government--taxing and spending--against the background of the societies in which they were imbedded and the development of government's administrative capacities. They also argue that government mobilization of resources involves critical human concerns--waging war and providing for the welfare of the people. ISBN 0-671-54617-1: $24.95.