OPTIONS FOR US ENERGY POLICY

is a fine little book published by the people who answered the Ford Foundation's book of psalms A Time to Choose with No Time to Confuse. It consists of 10 essays by leading scholars; we found one weak (on proliferation), the others excellent, and some of them brilliant. One of the latter is by E.J. Mitchell, professor of economics at the U. of Michigan (whose works have often been recommended in this newsletter). His essay is on Energy Politics: The Irrelevant Debate and deals with ideology. "By ideology," says Prof. Mitchell drily, "I simply mean that body of general beliefs you consult when you have to make a decision on something you know little or nothing about."