Rostenkowski: The Pursuit of Power and the End of the Old Politics

Dan Rostenkowski--Chicago ward politician, 36-year congressman, and former chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee--went from the pinnacle of power to federal prison when he was convicted of corruption in 1994. His downfall makes for fascinating political drama, and Richard E. Cohen, a veteran Congressional reporter for the National Journal and author of three books on Washington, D.C., is well-placed to examine the long and colorful career of this Chicago bull's political life.

Rostenkowski's father was a city alderman in Chicago and a Democratic ward boss who taught his son the importance of taking care of constituents. For Danny, politics was the family business. However, this book is as much about the way Congress worked under Democratic leadership in the '60s, '70s, and '80s as it is about Rostenkowski. Plenty of attention is devoted to internal Democratic power struggles, for instance, while Rostenkowski's kickback scandal receives comparatively little space. At times, Cohen even seems to downplay his wrongdoings, quoting aides and colleagues who said of Rosty, "In the 1990s he used 1950s' rules. The standards changed and he didn't change with them." Cohen writes that the end of Rostenkowski's political career also marked the end of an era in politics and that characters like "Rosty" have "all but disappeared from increasingly bland American politics.... we won't see many more like him." Some might say that's a good thing. --Linda Killian