The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis

The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Unlike many other books about the Trump administration which take aim at Donald's actions and words this book instead takes a look at the inner workings of government. It paints a picture of a picture of incompetency or the very least a lack of knowledge of the what the departments in government actually do and how the benefit all of us.

The author takes an in depth look at few government departments and takes in in depth look at them. He looks at how the department of Agriculture funds food stamps and school lunch programs for families in need. Or how important it is that the Department of Energy keeps track of (and maintains) our nuclear arsenal and the materials that make them. How the Commerce Department is one of the worlds biggest collectors of weather data.

One gets the feeling that the incoming administration was caught off guard in winning and still hasn't taken seriously the concept of managing these vast departments. I think this lack of knowledge of how much our government does and either a lack of awareness or appreciation for what is being done is a pervasive outlook of a lot of Americans. In short our government does more good than you may be aware of.

The book is relatively straight forward reading style and is not too long. Although it gives relative statistics and facts it does not overwhelm you with too much information which could make for heavy reading and cause one to lose interest and attention.

As I said before this doesn't take direct aim at the President himself but takes a look at how his management style(or lack of) and how it can affect how our government is run. For gossipy tales of Trump's awfulness from former staffers , leaky aides or whoever you'll have to look elsewhere.

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