Agents of Influence

Library Journal

This is a highly sensationalized, even xenophobic, treatment of an important contemporary topic, namely the lobbying practices of foreign governments in Washington and the influence-peddling by former American officials. Instead of focusing on the problem itself, however, Choate, the author of The High-Flex Society ( LJ 9/15/86) and a popular writer on economic subjects, chooses to concentrate solely on Japan. The result is a book that emphasizes negative feelings toward a major economic competitor rather than addressing the need for reform of the lobbying system. Although this book will be highly publicized, it cannot be recommended as a balanced treatment of its subject. BOMC alternate.-- Scott Wright, Univ. of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn.