I'm in the early stages of reading this. An early impression was it was just a "Trump bashing". It may be but it's much more.Addie wrote: ↑Thu Dec 20, 2018 2:55 pmMichael Lewis's book about the Trump Administration, The Fifth Risk is not only about the Trump Admin, but about governing itself. The fifth risk facing the nation is identified as "Program Management" or what could happen if government programs are not managed properly or at all. Say if there's an administration in the White House that doesn't give a damn about things like science or terrible threats that diligent civil servants find every day, the discoveries that might have been if anyone was paying attention. This is a deeply researched and harrowing book to read. You might want to wait to do it until after the holidays. But read it.
ETA: Forgot to mention that the Obamas have an option on this book to develop as a Netflix documentary.
I found a good synopsis within the NYT review:
There's more to it and I'm enjoying the perspective.“The Fifth Risk” raises the most important question of the moment: Have we grown too lazy and silly and poorly educated to sustain a working democracy? We live in a moment when tribal bumper stickers — both left and right — pass for politics, when ignorance and grievance drive policy. The federal government exists at a level of complexity most people just can’t be bothered to understand. We have little idea what it does, only the vague sense that it doesn’t do anything very well. Michael Lewis has taken on the task of rectifying that misconception, and he has done so with refreshing clarity — and a measured sense of outrage — which makes this his most ambitious and important book.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/08/book ... -risk.html