Upon receiving Jerald Waltman's book, the first thing I readwas the dedication to the author's "coworkers at A. & W.Root Beer, Ruston, Louisiana, 1963­67." I like root beer, butI wondered whether a mistake had been made in sending methis book to review. It did not take long to realize no mistakehad been made. This is a book that treats minimum wage assymbolic politics, but, more important, it entirely reexaminespublic policy.