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Research universities are unique in American education in the degree to which they are sensitive to policies of the national government. The author of this study contends that it is impossible to understand the recent past, the present and the future of the university without understanding the political process that determines those policies - including the various ways universities have tried, with mixed results, to shape them to their own ends. Drawing on 30 years of professional experience, particularly as administrator of Stanford University and president of the Association of American Universitites, the author offers an insider's perspective on research universities, the AAU and the Washington agenda. He discusses the problems and prospects of American research universities in light of such issues as shifting federal policies, resource constraints, increased partnerships with business and industry, and the changing needs and perceptions of the larger society. The book also brings other perspectives to the discussion - those of 12 former university presidents, all of whom served through the 1980s, all of whom left office around 1990 for various reasons, and none of whom will ever hold a presidency again. In their discussions, they examine the complex political process on which the modern research university depends - and through which the modern university president must lead constituents.