Some months ago I read "War Against the Poor, Low-Intensity Conflict and Christian Faith" by Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. It is published by Orbis Books. Although written by religious folk the religious part is the last chapter which can be skipped without loosing the value of the book. It begins by describing the Reagan-Bush foreign policy of low-intensity conflict with the third world nations as economic imperialism.  Through the news media the military operations are justified as anti-communist measures. The second chapter describes repressive action against the poor in third world countries supported by the US government.  The real enemy is defined as poor folks who are engaged in political activity to improve their living standard.
The third and fourth chapters describe terrorist tactics used by third world agents of the US right wing and the news distortion used to cover their actions.  The hypocrisy of the Reagan and Bush administrations is exposed. Most of the terrorist action takes place in Nicaragua and El Salvador.
Activities in Guatemala, Honduras and Chile are also described.
This is an effective primer on the abuses of US foreign policy in modern times and I highly recommend it.

"America: What Went Wrong?" by Donald L. Bartlett and James B. Steele is an account of US internal economic upheaval in the 1980s. It is published by Andrews and McMeel. This book describes the Savings and loan crisis and the junk bonds and economic havoc caused by the corporate raiders. Long and detailed accounts are given of the hardships of displaced and robbed workers. These accounts argue strongly for legal reform. Unfortunately they are often long winded. I believe the book could be shortened by two thirds if the hardship stories were attenuated. The book does little to clarify the detailed process by which the often rotten deals are accomplished. Still it is a very good motivater and I recommend scanning it in a couple of hours.

"Who will tell the People" by William Grider Is the best book so far to describe the mechanisms of Washington corruption. This is a very important book because it contains the most detailed accurate and complete description, as far as I know, of what has happened in recent years to the Federal Government. It analyzes in detail the branches of government, the regulatory process and the influence pedaling foundations.
In chapter one Greider explains why American democracy is fake.  The politicians and the media only listen to authorities and the authorities are created by institutions funded by business.  The public and the public interest are effectively locked out of the governing process.  The history of the Savings and Loan crisis is given in chapter two.  It is shown how both the Republicans and the Democratswere responsible.  There was one Senator from Texas who saw the crisis coming and tried to warn country.  He was ignored by the press.  He was the same senator who initiated impeachment proceedings against Bush for the Panama invasion and the Gulf war. His name is Henry Gonzalez.
In chapter three "Bait and Switch", the process is explained by which the Congress allows a problem to fester until it produces strong public support for action. Then a bill is hatched that in name fixes the problem but in reality is at best a partial fix. Simultaneously the bill creates other sometimes worse problems and often hatches a whole slew of nasty corruptions.

Chapter four describes the process by which Washington has become a market place for industrialists buying favors and politicians selling them.
Chapter five gives examples of regulations that were deliberately sabotaged by the congress and sit today often as obstructions to justice.
In chapter six the regulatory agencies of the Reagan-Bush years are shown to be corrupt.
The agencies were directed by the president to rewrite the law to accommodate the criminal practices of numerous industries.
Chapter seven describes how the public is fighting back.  Several examples of "Rude and Crude" public action are given.
In chapter eight "Political Orphans" several groups of workers are shown to be unrepresented and consequently grossly underpaid.
In chapter nine modern reform movements are compared to the civil rights movement.
It is explained that the modern movements lack the formal structure the rights organizations had and hence leave the rank file unrepresented and untrusting.
Chapter ten gives the history of Californian propositions and others.  The proposition limiting insurance rates passed but was blocked by the state supreme court.
The next two chapters describe the power structures and philosophy of the two major political parties.  The Democrats are seen to be broken by disorganization and corruption.  The Republicans are described in so many words as little more than lying showmen.

Chapter thirteen traces the evolution of the press from a small town honest little guy model to the modern corporate elite news managing machine.
The press is seen to be no longer supportive of democracy. Then "The Lost Generation" tells how younger folks, brought up in the TV age have a different outlook on politics.  They see themselves dwarfed by monster institutions.
"Citizen GE" describes the schemes of several big businesses and how they have the legal standing of super citizens but immunity from significant punishment even for serious crimes.

Chapter sixteen "Crackpot Realism" identifies the dishonesty of several nationally accepted truths.
The inflated cold war and the red baiting in central America are both exposed.

Chapter seventeen describes the awful power of the international corporations to play off  nations against each other for wage and environmental concessions that ultimately have the potential to enslave all humanity.
The concluding section gives the author's own optimistic position that with a little effort the problems can be fixed.  I did not find any encouragement in this last section.

This book is my answer to those who say all politicians are corrupt and that there is no way to tell who the bad guys are and who the good guys are. History is very clear.
It is only hidden in a book.