Recent Reads | Who is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service

Who is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service

Edited by Michael Lewis

Ross’ recommendation

It seems I am one of the legions of readers who devour anything Michael Lewis writes the moment it is published. He started with Liar’s Poker back in 1989 but really gained a following with the publication of the soon-to-be-hit movies Moneyball and The Blind Side. Lewis specializes in revealing the different perspectives and experiences of those toiling in relative obscurity. And toiling in obscurity is, indeed, the focus and meat of his most recent anthology, Who is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service.

Early in the first Trump administration, The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy described a seeming disregard by the incoming president for the various government agencies that are the grease and gears that keep America running smoothly. Reading helped me feel a little less ignorant about information and services we all take for granted and more appreciative of the value of simple things like early weather forecasting. In an effective follow-up, Who is Government? assembles a small collection of appreciative essays about civil servants’ efforts and results in pursuits ranging from healthcare to the military, to data, to industry. Among them:

The Sentinel: Casey Cep

Profile of Ronald Walters of the National Cemetery Administration. Shoulders the responsibility of making service members’ families feel appreciated.

The Canary: Michael Lewis

Profile of Christopher Mark of the Department of Labor. Mark single-handedly deployed his engineering instincts to bring safety to coal mining. Led the development of industry-wide standards to prevent roof falls in underground mines. Mining wins. Labor wins.

The Searchers: Dave Eggars

Profile of the unassuming personalities of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The Number: John Lanchester

Profile of the limitless, esoteric, and invaluable data continuously produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Specifically, the Consumer Price Index. Businesses trust and bet on this information.

The Cyber Sleuth: Geraldine Brooks

Profile of Jarod Koopman, forensic agent of the Internal Revenue Service. Accounting brings down unsavory characters of illegal drug trade and human trafficking.

Why read it?

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has a stated mission of eliminating government fraud and waste. We all support fiscal responsibility, but a chainsaw approach may cause damage to/loss of essential services. Essays like those gathered here can enlighten us and enable a more effective, efficient, and thoughtful shoring up of budgets. Agencies can be right-sized; most shouldn’t be bulldozed.

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