38 / CHRONICLESnthe Soviet Union for thatnfailure, one is effectivelynblaming all those Americansnwho are responsible fornformulating and selling thenagreements.nMuch of the worst damage has beenndone not by the liberals but by thensupposedly tough, hardheaded realists.nThe arms control process began in thenEisenhower administration with the appointmentnof a Special Assistant fornDisarmament (Ike selected HaroldnStassen). Nixon and Kissinger, for theirnpart, “were seduced by the idea that ‘thenspirit’ of negotiations would control antotalitarian side in the same manner itnwould control the democratic side.”nThe Reagan administration comes innfor special attention. Ronald Reagannwas first convinced to pay lip service tonarms control as a “cover” against chargesnthat his military buildup was militaristic.nThen he came under pressure tondemonstrate “sincerity” in his desire fornnegotiations. Aspiring to build a strategicndefense but unwilling to repudiatenarms control—indeed, committed to itnBOOKS IN BRIEFnby repeated public declaration—thenPresident was maneuvered bynGorbachev into restricting SDI to labnresearch, leaving the decision of deploymentnto his successors. This latest sacrificenon the altar of arms control maynprove costly. While the U.S. hesitates,nthe Soviet Union proceeds apace tonbuild its own SDI and to augment itsnalready-vast offensive threat.nIt is to the authors’ credit that they donnot take the easy path preferred by mostnRepublicans: adopting the popular President’snassertion that his military buildupnhas so strengthened us that we cannagain afford to “take chances fornpeace.” There is a twist to this argument.nWallop and Codevilla point out:nThe Reagan administration doesnnot say we are stronger than thenSoviet Union in absolute terms,nor even that we are in a betternrelative position than during thenCarter administration—both ofnwhich propositions arendemonstrably untrue. Rather,nthe Reagan administrationnargues only that the U.S.nLabels by Evelyn Waugh, with an introduction by Kingsley Amis, London:nDuckworth; 206 pp.; $8.95; Ninety-Two Days by Evelyn Waugh, Duckworth; 169npp. Duckworth has brought back two of Waugh’s amusing travel books. Painfully honest asna reporter, Waugh must have been less than amusing to the victims of his discontent. Nonlover of Waugh should pass up these travel books — chapters of which sometimes read likenfirst drafts of the novels.nRealist of Distances: Flannery O’Connor Revisited, edited by Karl-Heinz Westarpnand Jan Nordby Gretlund. The volume of dissertations, conferences, and essayncollections that have been published are a good indication of Miss O’Connor’s posthumousnstature. This volume is distinguished by such noted literary scholars as Ashley Brown,nRobert Drake, and Marion Montgomery.nBooks Children Love: A Guide to the Best Children’s Literature by ElizabethnWilson, Westchester, XL: Crossway Books; 330 pp. Everyone has his own private list ofngreat children’s books, no two in agreement. Wilson has put together an intelligentlynannotated Christian list that is particularly helpful for literature — much less so for historynand science. Still, it is the best such work that has come to our attention, andnparents — Christian and pagan alike — would do well to buy and consult it.nEditor’s Choiee H: Fiction, Poetry, and Art From the U.S. Small Press, edited bynMorty Sklar and Mary Biggs, Iowa City, lA: The Spirit That Moves Us Press; 336npp.; $17.95. Morty Sklar is probably the center of the small press avant-garde, and thisnwell-edited collection is a reliable introduction to the strengths — and weaknesses — ofnsmall press publishing. Contributions by Wendell Berry, Marge Piercy, William Stafford,nJaroslav Seifert, and many others.nNorth Country Notebook hy George Vukelich, Madison, WI: North Country Press.nVukelich is the best-known nature writer in contemporary Wisconsin, as well as a sort ofnPublic Radio Will Rogers. Always readable, sometimes moving, occasionally sentimental,nthese pieces are an eloquent testimony to the Wisconsin outdoors and to the environmentalistnethic of Aldo Leopold. Anyone who has ever gone fishing in Wisconsin ought to readnthe book—even if Studs Terkel did recommend it.nnnmilitary is in better shape innabsolute terms than it had beennduring the Carternadministration. This is both truenand irrelevant.nSuch straight talk does not normallynissue from the mouths of senators. Thatnit does from Wallop is gratifying evidencenthat there is someone in Americannpolitics who is willing to play thenrole of Churchill.nMatthew Kaufman is editorial internnat The Rockford Institute.nRegulation Issuenby Richard A. CoopernThe Rule of Experts: OccupationalnLicensing in America by S.nDavid Young, Washington, DC:nThe Cato Institute; $15.95.n”Occupational regulation has served tonlimit consumer choice, raise consumerncosts, increase practitioner income, limitnpractitioner mobility, deprive the poornof adequate services, and restrict jobnopportunities for minorities—all withoutna demonstrated improvement innquality or safety of the licensed activities.”nS. David Young, who teachesnaccounting and finance at Tulane University,nbrings economic analysis to bearnon the labyrinthine system of occupationalnregulation in America. His analysisnindicts that system as a means tonenrich the few at the expense of thenmany.nYoung begins with an overview ofnoccupational regulation, its kinds andnextents. Nearly 1,000 occupations arenregulated by some or all of the states.nRegistration merely lists practitioners onnan official roster. “Today 643 occupationsnin the United States require registration.”nCertification, which may callnfor certain qualifications, allows use ofncertain titles. “At present 65 occupationsnare certified in at least one of then50 states.” Licensure requires permissionnfrom the state to engage in a givenntrade or occupation. “At present 490noccupations are licensed in the UnitednStates; some occupations, however, maynbe licensed in some states but onlynregistered or certified in others.”nBy restricting entry in the occupation,nlicensing limits the number ofn