The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Who Is Government? by Michael Lewis

In the words of bestselling author Garrett Graff who recently wrote a review for The Washington Post, this book “examines some of the remarkable people who make up the federal workforce — career civil servants who have accomplished the extraordinary in quiet ways, people whose jobs are normally buried layers below any partisan rancor. Perhaps never before has there been a book better timed or more urgent.” It is indeed a timely read in a moment when the Federal government is being attacked from within and serving a central role in the culture war happening right now to paint all government as an unnecessary evil. The truth, of course, is far less polarized.

Government can often be a force for good and public servants doing the work are regularly ignored, minimized and underappreciated. There are certain bureaucrats and wastage and ineffective government. But there are also examples of heroic people doing great work to make the government a positive force. Those stories are ones we don’t hear often. This book offers a rare antidote for that oversight, and for that reason Who is Government? is my pick for the Non-Obvious Book of the Week.

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About the Non-Obvious Book Selection of the Week:

Every week I will be featuring a new “non-obvious” book selection worth sharing. Titles featured here may be new or from the backlist, but the date of publication doesn’t really matter. My goal is to elevate great books that perhaps deserve a second look which you might have otherwise missed.