In Pulitzer Prize’s TraditionnJ. C. Louis and Harvey Z.nYazijian: The Cola Wars;nEverest House Publishers; NewnYork.nby Gavin D. ArbucklenJournalists are different fromnother proiessionai writers in thatnno one really expects them tonknow what they are talkingnabout. Newspapers remain infested,nyear after year, by economicnjournalists who thinknhigh interest rates are inflationary,nby business journalists whonhave difficulty understandingnbasic accounting principles, andnby legal journaUsts who thinknthat accused criminals can pleadn”innocent.”nIn a time when complete fabricationsncan be awarded a PulitzernPrize, it is difficult to condemnna book by two free-lancenwriters which generally managesnto avoid gross and obvious distonionsnand overpowering bias.nAs long as Louis and Yazijianncontent themselves with recounting,nin enormous and oftenntedious detail, the histories ofnthe Coca-Cola Company andnPepsico, Inc., The Cola Warsnprovides few grounds for eithernargument or excitement.nThe authors’ fascination withnthe manipulative power of advertisingnwill hardly be shared bynthoseof us who, as they delicatelynput it, “play heavily on the freedomnof choice angle.” Nevertheless,npurveyors of Galbraithiannbuncombe have at least as muchnclaim to be satisfying consumernMr. Arbuckle is an attorney innOttawa. Ontario. Canada.ndemands as do manufacturers ofn”nonessential brown liquid.”nIn keeping with the traditionsnof modern journalism, the authorsnavoid discussing ideas,nmerely pausing occasionally tonnote that detente with the Sovietsnis a “good thing,” and thatnmultinational firms “exploit”nLatin American workers, beforenreturning to their descriptionsnof old advertising campaignsnand the personalities of companynexecutives. Unfortunatelynthe same hit-and-run approachnis applied to historical facts,nwhich are often drawn from ansmall number of sources of quitenremarkable obscurity. If journalists,nto copy Hayek, are secondhandndealers in facts, then Louisnand Yazijian are fencing somenextremely dubious political researchnunder the cover of theirndull and respectable corporatenhistory.nWhat sort of writer can implynthat President Kennedy wasnmurdered by Lyndon Johnsonnand the Pepsi-Cola Company, andnthat Richard Nixon was intimatelynassociated with organizedncrime, seemingly without beingnaware that these arguments are,nwell, somewhat controversial?nWhat sort of writer makes unref­nerenced statements that thenUnited States assisted in the murdernof Dominican dictator TrujiUonand overthrew Prince Sihanouknof Cambodia as if they werenestablished facts, which theynmost cenainly are not.’ If onenapproached the question likenLouis and Yazijian, who find anconspiracy under every inter­nlocking directorship, one wouldnconclude that such writers mustnbe leftist subversives. Actuallynthey are only modern journalists,nsearching indiscriminatelynfor any shred of scurrilous gossipnand rumored improprietynwhich might enhance the marketabilitynof a dreadfully dullnbook. ‘ •nFive Special Booi(S on Issues inThat Shiape Current Debate in America |na The Family: America’s Hope.nSpeeches from a RockfordnInstitute conference whichnanalyzed cultural forces operatingnto the detriment ofnthe family and suggestednthe means for counteractingnthem. Chapters by MichaelnNovak, James Hitchcock,n’ John Howard, Harold O.J.ni Brown, Archbishop Nicholasn1 T. Elko, Harold M. Voth,n1 Mayer Eisenstein, M.D., Joen1 J. Christensen and Leopoldn1 Tyrmand.n1 $4.00n1 Q The Alternative Media: DIs-n1 mantling Two Centuries ofn1 Progress by Francis M.n1 Watson. Jr. An in-depthn1 study of the origins andn1 development of the alterna-n1 tive press, an influentialn1 force in our culture whichn1 is largely unrecognized.n$5.00nD Corporate Responsibility. A incollection of speeches pre- ,nsented at a Rockford Institutenseminar examining de- 1nmands made under the !nbanner of corporate responsibilitynby groups whosenmajor goals are scarcelyncompatible with the capitalisticnsystem. Yale Brozen, 1nAdmiral William C. Mott, 1nLeopold Tyrmand, Jeffrey 1nSt. John, Barbara Shenfield 1nand John Howard. 1n$1.50 1na The Media Shangri-la by inLeopold Tyrmand. Examines |nthe origins of freedom of the |npress in America, the rise of |nthe “media” to their pres- |nent position of unrivaled |npower and the divorce of |n”facts” from “values” in injournalism, leading to the inrejection of norms of con- induct and the destabilization ,nof social institutions. ,n$1.50nI a A Netv Message by Jackson {n1 Pemberton. A look at how n1 the philosophy enunciated |n1 by the statesmen who |n1 founded our nation applies |n1 to contemporary issues. |n$1.50 1n1 Books from The Rockford Institute |nTotal enclosed $n1 Mail check or moneyn1 order to:n1 The Rockford Instituten934 North Main Streetn1 Rocl(ford, IL 61103nnnvlame ‘n/ Address 1n:;ity State Zip |n•MMHMM^iSfSSnScptembcr/Octobcp 1981n