Who is Government: The Untold Story of Public Service

By Michael Lewis, ed. (2025)

Lewis is the author of Liar’s Poker and Moneyball (among others) and here takes on what should have been non-controversial: the dedicated efforts of public servants. A series of essays, two by Lewis and six by other authors, profile public servants ranging from a group of statisticians in the Bureau of Labor Statistics to the administrator in charge of National Cemeteries. Each essay demonstrates the dedication of these otherwise anonymous public servants, the challenges they face, and the vitality of the services they provide to the public and democracy. As quoted in the book, Oliver Wendell Holmes once observed that “taxes are what we pay for a civilized society.” These profiles provide concrete and encouraging examples of the truth of that aphorism.

I read a hard copy of this book.