Aleksa's Book Review: European Lobbying Guide

Some fields are just hostile to books. Lobbying is one of those fields: anybody who is capable enough to write a manual to help you understand it is not going to, because they are too busy getting rich from lobbying to write a book about it. At least, that's the overwhelming vibe I'm getting from my reading so far. This one, in particular, is essentially a cheat-sheet of relevant contacts and institutions more than it is a book.

The first 5 chapters explain how laws get passed in the EU, and how they're implemented once they are. The book does an average job of this - somebody without a background in EU structure wouldn't get this part of the book. Then the book goes into very concrete parts of the lobbying process - such as which conferences to attend, what segments of the EU parliament are most amenable to what kind of legislation etc.

Reading this feels wrong, like an intelligence briefing you're not meant to see. I'm sure that in somebody's hands this book is more than useful, but I need some more fundamental insights before I can start using manuals such as this one. As appreciated as the information contained herein may be, it's also vulnerable to being outdated sooner rather than later.

Experienced lobbyists won't need this book, and newbies won't be able to use it. Intermediates and adepts may get some mileage out of it, but it's almost too specific to be useful in general. Read this if you're approaching the EU Parliament, but little else.
5/10