Ever wonder how, at the height of a crisis like the Monica Lewinsky imbroglio, President Clinton can maintain high approval ratings? Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz already knows the answer, and with his well-timed book Spin Cycle, he attempts to share his intimate knowledge of the "rhetorical combat" that determines what we see on TV and read in the newspapers. Spin Cycle lets the amateur politico in on the behind-the-scenes machinations and conflicts that otherwise go unreported, unveiling a cast of shady characters and spin doctors whose sole duty is unwavering partiality to the president. What's not surprising is the administration's attempts to suppress breaking stories and direct the flow of inquiry; what is surprising is the symbiotic complicity of the media, so reliant on whatever tidbits of information the White House chooses to leak that they are literally paralyzed with inactivity when Mike McCurry chooses to be uncooperative. The joke, of course, is that the official "leaks" released by people like McCurry are so clearly thought out in advance that the press is getting little more than a watered-down version of what the White House doesn't want it to know. Kurtz portrays the relationship between the media and the administration as an anxious cheek-to-cheek dance, with the president and the press whispering sweet nothings into each other's ear. Of course, when it's over, both parties head their separate ways, reverting back to a stern look of determination that disguises the ever-present fear of scandal—or, in the case of journalists, the fear of missing out on scandal. But Spin Cycle is not so much about the distribution of propaganda as it is about coping with the rapid exchange of information in a time of, thanks to 24-hour venues like CNN and the Internet, instant discourse. Cynics, of course, already distrust both the media and the White House, and books like Spin Cycle won't change their minds. But those still holding onto the fantasy of an honest government and noble press—those who viewed Wag The Dog as improbable fiction—should be forewarned that Kurtz's book is the type of tell-all that attempts to vanquish any remaining illusions of truth and integrity in politics.