The proper role of government in the U.S. economy has been the subject of ideological dispute for generations. In some recent variations the debate has ranged from purist advocacy of government "hands-off" to calls for protectionist policies and aggressive support for American businesses struggling in a cut-throat world market.

What is the reality? This question animates Richard Bingham's provocative study of industrial policy American-style, as practiced (if not preached) by administration after administration. Readable and enlivened with case studies, this book is accessible and of interest to anyone who follows business-government relations in the United States and abroad.

Chapter 1 What's in a Name?; Chapter 2 In the Beginning: America's Long History of Industrial Policy; Chapter 3 Functional Problem Solving; Chapter 4 Aggressive Unilateralism in a Free Trade Environment; Chapter 5 Rebuilding Urban America; Chapter 6 Industrial Policy Through National Defense; Chapter 7 Industrial Policy for New Technologies: Pitfalls and Foibles, Richard D. Bingham, Maria Papadakis; Chapter 8 Why All the Fuss?;