Meet political essayist and attorney Geoghegan, an unrepentant
liberal, i.e., a living anachronism. With power moving from the
center to the periphery and political involvement essentially
defined as local activism, Geoghegan (Which Side Are You On? Trying
to Be for Labor When It's Flat on Its Back, 1991) reminds us that
Lincoln went to war to establish the primacy of the Union, not the
states. His heresies include doubting the wisdom of state
governments - "When the states do look good, which is hardly ever,
it's always because of something Washington, D.C. is really doing"
- and crediting government with making cities "blossom" in recent
years. He doesn't claim that the federal government is doing a good
job; his point of departure from conservatives is that he wants it
to do a good job rather than to disappear. For Geoghegan, the
tragic story of recent decades is that we have "lost the art, the
old art, of running a Central Government." Unfortunately, his
message is mostly lost in a volume of personal stories that are
more self-indulgent than illustrative. We learn about his
experiences in national politics in Washington, D.C., and his
experiences in local politics. We learn that he believes American
life should produce increasing prosperity for everyone, not just
improve the chances that some will get rich, and we learn of his
liberal prejudices for cities and the East and against the suburbs,
countryside, and the South and West in what hopefully is
self-parody. We certainly learn that Geoghegan is a talented
writer, entertaining not only as a political novelty but as a
storyteller with an eye for the amusing turn of events and phrase.
But we do not learn enough about how his life links up to the
themes of government and citizenship to put the pieces of this book
together into a coherent whole. Fun to read, but unlikely to help
fulfill any promise of liberalism. (Kirkus Reviews)
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 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
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