The Secret Lives of Citizens Pursuing the Promise of American Life |
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| Author:
| Geoghegan, Thomas |
| ISBN: | 978-0-226-28764-5 |
| Publication Date: | Apr 2000 |
| Publisher: | University of Chicago Press
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| Book Format: | Paperback |
| List Price: | AUD $42.95 |
Book Description:
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In this witty combination of memoir and observation, Thomas Geoghegan addresses the widespread cynicism about our government and explores what it means to be a "national" civil servant and a "local" citizen. "This is unlike any public-policy book I've ever read: part
Catcher in the Rye, part
The Road to Wigan Pier, part
The Federalist Papers, it is mesmerizing, rueful, painfully honest, and never, ever dull."--Nicholas Lemann, author of
The Big...
More DescriptionIn this witty combination of memoir and observation, Thomas Geoghegan addresses the widespread cynicism about our government and explores what it means to be a "national" civil servant and a "local" citizen.
"This is unlike any public-policy book I've ever read: part Catcher in the Rye, part The Road to Wigan Pier, part The Federalist Papers, it is mesmerizing, rueful, painfully honest, and never, ever dull."--Nicholas Lemann, author of The Big Test
"Extraordinary. It has the essential trait of a memorable book, in that after reading it you look at daily life in a lastingly different way." --James Fallows, author of Breaking the News
"[Geoghegan] has written a book that is not only compelling to read but that provokes us to seriously reflect on the choices we make and how we spend our time." --Jonathan Coleman, Washington Post Book World
"Geoghegan's language is playful. . . . Personal reminiscence mixing with historical anecdote, dipping into complex themes . . . shifting from wistful nostalgia to dark comedy." --Robert B. Reich, New York Times Book Review
"A truly strange and wonderful book." -- William Finnegan