Who is Government?

Who is Government? explores who works for the government and why their work is significant. It takes readers on an urgent and absorbing journey into a hidden world, as uncovered by an all-star team of writers and storytellers.

The government is a vast, complex system that citizens pay for, rebel against, rely upon, dismiss, and celebrate. It is our shared resource for addressing the biggest problems of society. It is comprised of people, mostly unrecognised and uncelebrated, doing work that can have deeply consequential and beneficial effects on everyone.

Michael Lewis invited his favourite writers to find someone doing an interesting job for the government and write about them in a special in-depth series for the Washington Post. The stories they found are unexpected, riveting, and inspiring. These include profiles of a former coal miner committed to making mine roofs less likely to collapse, thus saving thousands of lives; an IRS agent reminiscent of a character in a crime thriller; and the manager who transformed the National Cemetery Administration into the best-run organisation, public or private, in the entire country. Each essay shines a spotlight on the essential behind-the-scenes work of exemplary federal employees.

Whether digitising archives, chasing down cybercriminals, or discovering new planets, these public servants are dedicated to their work and universally reluctant to take credit. Expanding on the Washington Post series, the vivid profiles in Who is Government? deconstruct the stereotype of the irrelevant bureaucrat. They reveal how the essential business of government makes our lives possible and how much it truly matters.