The Washington almanac

Library Journal

This guide to U.S. federal policy making covers 23 major policy areas, including civil rights and liberties, education, health, farmers, taxes, energy, defense, the budget, foreign policy, etc. For each topic, an essay discussing background and key issues is accompanied by profiles of significant public and private figures. In all, 350 people have been selected, including executive branch officials, Congressional leaders, lobbyists, scholars, and so forth. The information is current through 1991. Haas, a writer for National Journal , used interviews, articles, and reports of various kinds for research, but bibliographical sources are not listed. While other reference works offer much of the same information on elected and appointed officials, Haas's interesting pieces on policy and persons influential in policy formulation are useful and unique in a public policy handbook. As the introduction says, this is ``for anyone who wants to change a law, lift a regulation, or influence the course of national debate.'' An informative source for academics as well as educated public library users.-- Mary Jane Brustman, SUNY at Albany Libs.

Booknews

An updated guide (1st ed., 1992) to some 400 of the most prominent policy-makers and the policy-making process in the US. Among the individuals profiled are White House and Cabinet officials, House and Senate members, aides, regulators, lobbyists, and scholars. Each profile is accompanied by biographical information that includes education, background, and previous posts. Essays covering 23 major policy areas--such as education, foreign policy, defense, and the national budget--have been updated, as have important legislative developments and key political appointments through mid-1993. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

From The Critics

Compiled by a longtime Washington reporter, "The Washington Almanac" is to serve as a "one-stop guide to policymaking in the nation's capital." Haas covers 23 areas of public interest and describes for each the major power figures inside the Beltway, basing his profiles on extensive interviewing and reading of news sources. These 23 areas are arranged in five major sections: "American Society" (e.g., health, civil rights), "Leading Actors" (e.g., farmers, states and cities), "The Economy" (e.g., taxes), "The Nation of Tomorrow" (e.g., energy, telecommunications), and "America and the World" (e.g., defense). This arrangement is of little consequence, and the index will help the baffled reader The key questions to ask are (1) how accurate are Haas' selections of key players on these issues, and (2) how valuable to the novice will this source be? The first question is easier to answer. For each topic, Haas supplies a brief essay on recent developments, then provides thumbnail sketches and addresses and telephone numbers for key individuals from the Executive Branch, Congress and its staff, and the private sector (i.e., the heads of special-interest groups based in Washington). For example, under "The Poor" he profiles the assistant secretary for children and families and the commissioner in the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families, both in the Health and Human Services Department. We also find Senators Daniel Moynihan and Jay Rockefeller, Congressmen George Miller, Tom Downey, and Leon Panetta and two staff members of the House Ways and Means Committee. From the private sector, Haas picks the executive directors of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Children's Defense Fund, the Food Research and Action Center, and the Committee for Economic Development. He also treats two scholars from the Urban Institute and the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Haas warns the reader that policy-makers whose influence spans many issues, such as the president, are not profiled How accurate is Haas in his depictions? In checking the biographical details of the political figures with the "Almanac of American Politics" and the "United States Government Manual", no discrepancies were found in executive or legislative branch biographies and official appointments. Checking the private sector's movers and shakers was more difficult. Most of the chief officers of unions, public interest groups, or associations are not sketched in other convenient sources. Whether another analyst, equally in the know, would have selected the same people is the most difficult question to answer The strength of the almanac lies in the breezy characterizations in the sketches of these policy shapers. Haas speaks as one who is familiar with the salient issues. The work will be most helpful to experienced political activists. "The Washington Almanac" is recommended for public and academic library consideration.