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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Thomas G. Corcoran was one of the first modern lobbyists, a Washington power broker from his early years as an influential member of Franklin D. Roosevelt's "brain trust" through his postwar career representing a host of corporate, political and even religious interests. The young Irish Catholic Corcoran came to Washington to clerk for the great jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes, the first of a series of powerful mentors that included Felix Frankfurter, Sam Rayburn and Roosevelt himself. Nominally employed by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Corcoran gradually took on a complicated role in support of FDR's New Deal, helping to draft the legislation that created the Securities and Exchange Commission while building a network of government cronies and developing his skills as a political arm-twister. After leaving government in 1941, Corcoran spent almost 40 years as an increasingly conservative "fixer" for companies and causes ranging from the notorious United Fruit Company to the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. McKean is chief of staff for Sen. (and Democratic presidential hopeful) John Kerry and previously wrote a biography of another great power broker, Clark Clifford. Although McKean occasionally suggests idealistic motivations behind his subject's maneuvering, Corcoran comes across as an amoral operator, seeking power and influence for their own sake. This biography offers an intriguing glimpse of how the power game in Washington evolved in the middle decades of the 20th century as well as sketches of Holmes, FDR, Joseph P. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and many other notables; even New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd makes an appearance as a cousin of Corcoran's wife, Peggy. B&w photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From The New Yorker
When Lyndon Johnson was starting out as a congressman, in 1937, F.D.R. handed him a slip of paper. "Here's a telephone number," he said. "When you get to Washington, ask for Tom." At the time, Thomas (the Cork) Corcoran was a New Deal official whose modest title didn't convey his influence, but he soon left government and, with dazzling speed and cynicism, set up shop as the prototypical K Street lobbyist. Many lobbyists can solve regulatory problems; it's the rare one who can get the C.I.A. to buy an airline, hire Evita to hawk aspirin, and help orchestrate a military coup on behalf of the United Fruit Company. McKean, a Senate staffer who works for John Kerry, attempts to portray his subject as a fallen idealist—a tough sell, given that Corcoran doesn't seem to have ever had ideals to lose.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
Thomas G. Corcoran was one of the first modern lobbyists, a Washington power broker from his early years as an influential member of Franklin D. Roosevelt's "brain trust" through his postwar career representing a host of corporate, political and even religious interests. The young Irish Catholic Corcoran came to Washington to clerk for the great jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes, the first of a series of powerful mentors that included Felix Frankfurter, Sam Rayburn and Roosevelt himself. Nominally employed by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Corcoran gradually took on a complicated role in support of FDR's New Deal, helping to draft the legislation that created the Securities and Exchange Commission while building a network of government cronies and developing his skills as a political arm-twister. After leaving government in 1941, Corcoran spent almost 40 years as an increasingly conservative "fixer" for companies and causes ranging from the notorious United Fruit Company to the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. McKean is chief of staff for Sen. (and Democratic presidential hopeful) John Kerry and previously wrote a biography of another great power broker, Clark Clifford. Although McKean occasionally suggests idealistic motivations behind his subject's maneuvering, Corcoran comes across as an amoral operator, seeking power and influence for their own sake. This biography offers an intriguing glimpse of how the power game in Washington evolved in the middle decades of the 20th century as well as sketches of Holmes, FDR, Joseph P. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and many other notables; even New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd makes an appearance as a cousin of Corcoran's wife, Peggy. B&w photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From The New Yorker
When Lyndon Johnson was starting out as a congressman, in 1937, F.D.R. handed him a slip of paper. "Here's a telephone number," he said. "When you get to Washington, ask for Tom." At the time, Thomas (the Cork) Corcoran was a New Deal official whose modest title didn't convey his influence, but he soon left government and, with dazzling speed and cynicism, set up shop as the prototypical K Street lobbyist. Many lobbyists can solve regulatory problems; it's the rare one who can get the C.I.A. to buy an airline, hire Evita to hawk aspirin, and help orchestrate a military coup on behalf of the United Fruit Company. McKean, a Senate staffer who works for John Kerry, attempts to portray his subject as a fallen idealist—a tough sell, given that Corcoran doesn't seem to have ever had ideals to lose.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
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