THE WAXMAN REPORT: How Congress Really Works. Henry Waxman with Joshua Green. Twelve. 235 pages. $24.99.

Henry Waxman is to Congress what Ted Williams was to baseball -- a natural. As you read this nicely proportioned, fast-paced book, you realize that Waxman was born to be a member of the House, ideally the chairman of an important committee. He's just five-feet-five, he's woefully short of hair, he's neither charming nor funny, but none of that has mattered. Waxman has been one of the most effective members of Congress for 35 years.

Ego can be the fuel on which the legislative branch runs, and Waxman is in no danger of running out of gas. He makes this clear in the first pages of his book, ably co-authored by Joshua Green, a senior editor of Atlantic Monthly: ''Nearly every worthwhile fight in my career began with my being badly outmatched,'' Waxman confides. ``The other guys always have more money. That's why Congress is so important. Run as it should be, it ensures that no special interest can ever be powerful enough to eclipse the public interest.''

That is the theme of this book, which in fact does not explain ''how Congress really works,'' but rather tells engaging stories about how Waxman has made Congress work, sometimes, for the causes he has embraced.

In these pages he teaches the importance of good staff work, patience and the willingness to make unexpected alliances to advance your causes. He believes in oversight hearings, Congress' most basic tool, but one that has fallen into disrepair through disuse.

Waxman's personal accomplishments are impressive. With symbolic support from Ryan White, a 13-year-old who contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion, Waxman pushed federal aid for victims of the disease through Congress, over ferocious, homophobic opposition from conservative members. His legislation banned smoking on airplanes; his bill forced food manufacturers to list ingredients on processed foods. He managed to push pesticide legislation through the Congress when it was controlled by anti-regulatory Republicans. On all of these occasions he built alliances, often bipartisan alliances, that made victory possible.

The Waxman Report explains how Congress ''can'' work, and it is fun to read. You finish it with gratitude to the voters of Beverly Hills and nearby areas who keep returning this ornery fellow to the House to challenge special interests. More Waxmans on both sides of the aisle would give us a much better Congress than the one we've got.

Robert G. Kaiser reviewed this book for The Washington Post.

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