The Idea Brokers: Think Tanks And The Rise Of The New Policy Elite

The subject of this book is far broader than the title suggests, being nothing less than a history of how the increasing complexity of government and changing attitudes toward "experts" as an identifiable profession gave rise to the twentieth-century think tank. There is a stimulating discussion of the interplay of liberal and conservative ideology. A useful appendix provides thumbnail descriptions of the history, character and agendas of 30 leading think tanks.