If you're like me, you probably never imagined a book about creating a tax reform bill could ever be interesting let alone compelling, but this book is both. I almost couldn't put it down. A fascinating look at the inside of how our government functions. ( )

2516 Showdown at Gucci Gulch: Lawmakers, Lobbyists, and the Unlikely Triumph of Tax Reform, by Jeffrey H. Birnbaum - Alan S. Murray (read 9 Jul 1993) This is a 1987 book about the enactment of the 1986 tax bill. I realize it is now dated and I should have read it in 1987. But it is still interesting and the perspective of a few years has its own value. Senator Packwood and Representative Rostenkowski are the " heroes" of the book, but one cannot help but be dismayed by some aspects of how Congress works. The most disturbing thing is all the money that people on the Ways and Means and Finance committees simply fall into by way of political donations--it must be of value to the givers. ( )