Conservative Brain Trust traces the rise, fall, and rise again of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI). More than that, it is the story of one of Washington's leading think tanks, what it's like to work there, how Washington works, and how AEI influences policy, including policy on the controversial Iraq War. The book is a social science and political study of the role of think tanks in Washington policy-making; it is also, in part, a personal memoir of the author's adventures and perceptions in seeking to link academic research and American foreign policy.