The life story of Washington lobbyist Gerald Cassidy is used to “illuminate how Washington has changed over the past three decades” in this bleak but informative book. Kaiser, an associate editor at the Washington Post
, traces the ascendance of Cassidy, from his rough childhood in the 1950s to the incorporation of his lobbying firm, a pioneer in winning congressional earmarks for its clients, which Cassidy cofounded with Kenneth Schlossberg in 1975. The relationship between the two partners was dissolved in 1984, but Cassidy continued to build what became one of the most powerful and wealthy firms in the industry before it slipped from its vanguard status in the last few years. The author also lays out a larger history of influence peddling in federal politics, stretching back to the Civil War era, and examines the evolution of today’s “permanent campaigns.” The author’s gestures to a broader historical narrative—often in alternating chapters—sometimes distract from his nuanced examination of the rise and decline of Cassidy and Associates, but Kaiser manages to vividly elaborate the firm’s history while placing it in the context of a degenerating political culture. (Jan.)
