Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service
Michael Lewis
Who works for the government and what do they do? A timely and absorbing civics lessons 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 to find someone doing an interesting job for the government and write 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 workers are committed to their work and universally reluctant to take credit. The vivid profiles in On Duty 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.
- Author
- Michael Lewis
- Contributors
- Michael Lewis (Editor/Author), Casey Cep (Contributor), Dave Eggers (Contributor), John Lanchester (Contributor), Geraldine Brooks (Contributor), Sarah Vowell (Contributor), W. Kamau Bell (Contributor)
- Edition published
- March 18, 2025
- Publication year
- 2025
- Goodreads rating
- 4.18/5 from 16,791 ratings and 2,365 reviews
- Purchased
- August 11, 2025 · kindle
- Publisher
- Riverhead Books
- Edition
- Kindle Edition · 272 pages
- Language
- English
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Politics, History, Audiobook, Essays, Government, Biography, Book Club, American History, Political Science
- ISBN
- 9798217047802
- Added
- August 11, 2025
- Times read
- 1
- Owned copies
- 1
- Goodreads
- Book record