First published 1995
Kenneth Davis finds himself thrust into the bewildering machinery of federal administration when he takes a position within the government bureaucracy. He discovers a world where regulations multiply like living organisms, where procedural rules govern every decision, and where the gap between legislative intent and administrative reality grows wider each day. Davis witnesses how agencies interpret statutes, how civil servants balance competing interests, and how citizens struggle to navigate systems designed more for institutional protection than public service. As he moves deeper into this regulatory landscape, Davis confronts the fundamental tension between democratic ideals and bureaucratic necessity. The story follows his growing understanding of how administrative power actually functions in American government, revealing the human cost of institutional complexity. At its heart, this is a story about one man's journey through the maze of modern governance and his discovery that the most important battles for justice often happen not in courtrooms or legislatures, but in the quiet corridors of administrative agencies.
Genres: american-fiction, non-fiction, government, law, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, institutional-complexity
Paperback · Little Brown & Co Law & Business