The Fifth Risk

De: Michael Lewis

Narrado por: Victor Bevine

What happens when the President of the United States governs one Tweet at a time? When the elected leader of the free world may not have a firm grasp on the names of government agencies, much less an understanding of their intricate inner-workings? In the days following the 2016 inauguration, government personnel searched for answers that didn’t exist, while White House staff scoured halls for employees who would never be appointed.

Lewis’s insightful work is as much a testament to the unsung heroes who routinely go unnoticed in the unglamorous business of government as it is a criticism of the current administration’s negligence. He finds tireless public servants whose conviction and deep awareness keep schools in session and food programs afloat. Far from anti-government, The Fifth Risk is a powerful ode to those rare people who hold firm in their convictions and, despite all odds and opposition, remember why they got into government in the first place: to benefit society and better mankind.

Please note: Included with The Fifth Risk is the entirety of The Coming Storm, the Audible Original story of two scientists who revolutionized climate predictions, bringing warning systems to previously unimaginable levels of accuracy. Michael Lewis uncovers the potential cost of putting a price tag on life-saving information.

©2018 Michael Lewis (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

Well done Michael Lewis

Clarity and detail. An informational delivery like that of a comet from the ball of basic information and concerns through the various methods of evaluation, research, and understanding to the glistening tail of understanding. Michael Lewis clearly and fully researches and then eloquently informs his audiences of difficult and diverse topics in government and science. Thank you Michael Lewis for your work. Immensely. One result of this book is a confirmation of the utter damage possible when those who temporarily govern lack even a modicum of interest in or respect for the work of intellectual and scientific Americans they neither understand nor value. Of especial concern is when those who temporarily govern look at the great responsibility in that work as nothing more than an avenue to maximizing personal monetary enrichment.

A look at Trump's impact on how government works

What happens when the people responsible for running our government have no idea how it works--and don't really care?

This is a look at how complex the actual workings of our government really are, what the federal agencies actually do, why it matters, and how completely unprepared and indifferent the Trump team was.

This is not a partisan work. Not at all--unless you count caring about government working properly as "partisan." But in that case, the "parties" you're talking about aren't Democrat and Republican, or liberal and conservative.

Lewis describes the senior staff of the federal departments and agencies preparing for the arrival, right after the election, for the arrival of the "landing teams" of whichever candidate won, to be able to brief them on what their agencies and departments do, to equip them to start the process of taking over.

Lewis also describes the utter silence and absence of anyone from the Trump team that day, that week, for weeks to come.

When Trump people did arrive, it was in ones, twos, or very small groups. They weren't interested in in-depth briefings. In several cases, they just wanted the names of anyone in the department or agency working on "questionable activities," such as researching or studying climate change or energy safety.

We also get some of the backstory.

I am not Chris Christie's biggest fan. More accurately, I'm not a Christie fan at all. But Christie got Trump to, very grudgingly, agree to create, once he was the nominee, the Presidential transition team which is required by federal law. But Trump wouldn't pay for it with his own money, and he wouldn't agree to spend campaign funds on it, so Christie started separate fundraising for it.

When Trump discovered this, he hit the roof, and accused Christie of "stealing my money." He was convinced he and Bannon could plan the transition in twenty minutes after he'd won the election. Bannon persuaded him that if he disbanded the transition team, Joe Scarborough and Trump's other media favorites would conclude that Trump believed he had no chance of winning. So transition planning continued. Christie, of course, was fired.

And Trump didn't pay any attention to the plans his transition team made for him.

When a former Bush official took the time and care to assemble a list of people politically inoffensive to Trump who were qualified to fill positions in one department, Trump ignored that list, and appointed friends, donors' favored candidates, campaign volunteers with absolutely no relevant experience. We've all seen the coverage of Steve Mnuchin at Treasury and Scott Pruitt at Energy, but the nomination of Barry Myers, CEO of Accuweather, to head NOAA did not get the same level of coverage. It wasn't ignored, and it was controversial. Why? Because Barry Myers has sued NOAA, and lobbied intensively, to have NOAA banned from sharing its weather information and data with anyone who might otherwise be a paying customer of the for-profit weather companies. This was an attempt to take the information and data the American taxpayers pay millions for our government to collect and process, and turn it over to for-profit companies to make the taxpayers pay for again.

If you think, no bbiggie, I get my weather from Accuweather or the Weather Channel, or whatever other source, not NOAA, you need to know that those companies get all their data that they reprocess and give to you for a profit, from NOAA. They are not launching the satellites, or gathering the data, or maintaining the history, or anything else that is the expensive end of weather prediction. Accuweather claims they make better predictions, but they also don't share enough information for anyone to even have an opinion. And weather prediction overall has gotten dramatically better in recent decades and even in recent years--NOAA is the source of the research that has done that.

Myers is so controversial, even in a highly partisan Congress, that he hasn't been confirmed, a year after his nomination.

That is just one example in this book. This book only covers a small number of departments and agencies because a book that covered them all would be unmanageable to write and produce in time to be of current use rather than historical use. It's just scratching the surface.

Lewis covers this through interviews and with people formerly at the agencies, people outside of them who work with and rely on the vast data these agencies and departments produce, and looking at the ways this data, instead of being a drain on the economy, is a valuable source of growth and innovation in the private sector. It's fascinating, absorbing, and clear. Very much worth reading or listening to. Recommended.

I got this audiobook free from Audible as an Audible member, and I'm reviewing it voluntarily.

A siren bell to protect data

The fifth risk explains the treasure trove of data held and collected by the US Government over the last century. It explains its value, how it’s used to help our day to day and finally how it helps our society improve. Finally, it explains what government agencies really do. This is the most eye opening Michael Lewis book I’ve ever read, and that’s saying something. It exposes the risk of hiding this data, the risk of privatization of governmental agencies and WHY it matters to our long term success. If we don’t keep our data and our agencies public, we risk the information deletion Hitler’s Germany would have been very envious of

Potential consequences caused by science ignorance

The book does a wonderful, although scary, job of outlining the risks and consequences of having a government run by people who do not believe in government or science.

Great story, fabulous read

Very educational l learned so much about the wonderful government employees and their selfless determination for the greater good of the American people. Loved it.

great book for anyone with a science interest

I learn more so much about the government in this book it's priceless. I recommend it for anyone with an interest on how the government works, and how the sciences are being put to a test in this administration. It really makes want to work for the government. yes it's that good. Manuel Rodriguez.

More than I expected

From the reviews I'd heard about this book I pretty much thought I knew what I was getting into. A book that talked about how Trump's transition team was inept. But it was so much more than that. The last line of the book kind of set it all. there's a lot of people who wanted someone to shake up the government. We didn't want someone it would break it.

it is a call to start paying attention.

Our government is an unbelievable reservoir of useful information

The storyline posits the conflict between the usefulness of information and data vs the sometimes hidden agendas and self-serving goals of those clueless individuals who seriously lack the imagination to grasp the power and benefit of information. I was amazed to recall some of the instances which have made such a huge difference in our lives, often without the recognition for these marvelous achievements. A salute to all those dedicated in their service to the United States and to the world!

Shockingly important stories we should all know

A very enlightening book of the unsung heroes who have served our country just for the love of doing the work....not financial gain, not TV spots. Highly recommend for all high school students in search of what they want to be.

Eye opening

Everyone should take the time to read this book because I’m sure like me, they have no idea just what and how much the people of the government really do for us each day.