Newly received book: HOW POLICY SHAPES POLITICS: RIGHTS, COURTS, LITIGATION, AND THE STRUGGLE OVER INJURY COMPENSATION. Authors: Jeb Barnes and Thomas F. Burke. Barnes is an associate professor of political science at USC, with a focus on the politics of health policy. Burke is a professor of political science at Wellesley. The title of this book is embarrassingly generic. Of course policy shapes politics. A former poli sci professor of mine used to characterize policy as the "output" of the political system, but with the understanding that of course there is a "feedback loop," with the results of the output continuing to the next day's political debates. That was at Marist College, not USC or Wellesley, but I doubt the title here means much more than is implied in that observation. The subtitle, though, states in a more sensible manner what this book is about.