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SharonAnn

(13,766 posts)
Mon Sep 23, 2019, 12:38 AM Sep 2019

Just finished "The Fifth Risk" by Michael Lewis. Great book. Well written and very, very interesting

Last edited Mon Sep 23, 2019, 09:12 AM - Edit history (1)

Highly readable, as are all his books. Covers some of the “buried” functions that our government performs and how important they are. Based on real profiles of and interviews with people who work in these functions. I couldn’t put it down until I finished it.
It’s really, really interesting and I learned a lot. Didn’t want it to end.

“What would you name as the top 5 risks?
Lewis asks this question to former government employees from the departments of Energy, Agriculture, and Commerce about their agencies.
The former chief risk officer at Energy answers: 1) a broken arrow (a lost or damaged nuclear missile/bomb), 2 and 3) North Korea and Iranian nuclear aggression, 4) the vulnerability of the electrical grid.
It is the 5th risk that Lewis focuses on, and it where the book’s title comes from. That risk is bad project management.
Most of what the government does, as Lewis points out, only makes the news when things go very badly. The real work of government involves dealing with enormously complex challenges that can’t be managed by the market.”

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Just finished "The Fifth Risk" by Michael Lewis. Great book. Well written and very, very interesting (Original Post) SharonAnn Sep 2019 OP
I agree, and very disturbing, too. The Velveteen Ocelot Sep 2019 #1
I liked it too, very much. The t admin failure to transition should be mahina Sep 2019 #2
Thanks for the post - just added this book to my wish list. - n/t Jim__ Sep 2019 #3
I've read most if not all of his previous books Crabby Appleton Sep 2019 #4
Thanks lunatica Sep 2019 #5

mahina

(17,506 posts)
2. I liked it too, very much. The t admin failure to transition should be
Mon Sep 23, 2019, 12:50 AM
Sep 2019

Headlines.

Admission: audiobook

lunatica

(53,410 posts)
5. Thanks
Mon Sep 23, 2019, 11:00 AM
Sep 2019

I looked it up on Amazon to read the reviews. I’ll consider purchasing it. The first few pages were interesting and held my attention. The author just dives right in to an incident in the first paragraph which is unusual and, to me, very good. It got my attention right away. I don’t like slogging through books, be that the sign of a good reader or not.

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