THE SECRET LIVES OF CITIZENS: Pursuing the Promise of American Life - Review

Washington Monthly, April, 1999 by Timothy Noah

Obviously, Geoghegan's strength is exuberance and mordant wit rather than practicality. You wouldn't want this guy running the White House domestic policy council, not least because he has a winsome habit of proposing ideas and then almost immediately telling you how impractical or downright bad they are. On the other hand, at a moment when the republic is nearly choking on practical analysis that yields microscopic governmental solutions to large problems, the appearance of The Secret Life of Citizens is extremely well timed. If the White House domestic policy council--and, more important, a lot of citizens--were to read this book, it might stimulate the national imagination to think big again, just as it did during, well, the Progressive era and the New Deal. Less grandly, Geoghegan's book should be read simply because it's elegant and funny and sharply intelligent.

TIMOTHY NOAH writes Slate's Chatterbox column and is a contributing editor for George and The Washington Monthly.