Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service

Price: $30.00 - $15.12
(as of Nov 06, 2025 22:39:18 UTC – Details)


“Perhaps never before has there been a book better timed or more urgent.” —Washington Post
One of President Obama’s 2025 Summer Reads
As seen on CBS Mornings, CNN Anderson Cooper, ABC News Live, MSNBC Morning Joe, and many more
Who works for the government and why does their work matter? An urgent and absorbing civics lesson from an all-star team of writers and storytellers.
The government is a vast, complex system that Americans pay for, rebel against, rely upon, dismiss, and celebrate. It’s also our shared resource for addressing the biggest problems of society. And it’s made up of people, mostly unrecognized and uncelebrated, doing work that can be deeply consequential and beneficial to everyone.
Michael Lewis invited his favorite writers, including Casey Cep, Dave Eggers, John Lanchester, Geraldine Brooks, Sarah Vowell, and W. Kamau Bell, to join him in finding someone doing an interesting job for the government and writing about them. The stories they found are unexpected, riveting, and inspiring, including a former coal miner devoted to making mine roofs less likely to collapse, saving thousands of lives; an IRS agent straight out of a crime thriller; and the manager who made the National Cemetery Administration the best-run organization, public or private, in the entire country. Each essay shines a spotlight on the essential behind-the-scenes work of exemplary federal employees.
Whether they’re digitizing archives, chasing down cybercriminals, or discovering new planets, these public servants are committed to their work and universally reluctant to take credit. Expanding on the Washington Post series, the vivid profiles in Who Is Government? blow up the stereotype of the irrelevant bureaucrat. They show how the essential business of government makes our lives possible, and how much it matters.

From the Publisher

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DHZ2ZXPM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Riverhead Books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 18, 2025
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8217047802
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.69 x 0.93 x 8.56 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #4,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #3 in United States National Government #3 in Job Hunting & Career Guides #10 in Public Affairs & Policy Politics Books
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