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The Fifth Risk

Written by: Michael Lewis
Narrated by: Victor Bevine
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Publisher's Summary

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.

What the critics say

"Narrator Victor Bevine has a low, restrained voice that underlines Lewis's sense of foreboding.... Bevine narrates deliberately but varies his tone to keep the audiobook interesting... He also pauses effectively to allow us to consider the meaning of the author's words." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about The Fifth Risk

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Elections have consequences

What happens when someone not interested in the government gets elected to run it? Michael Lewis focuses on the transition from the Obama administration to Trump. In so doing, he scared me more witless than a stack of Steven King horror films.
Ignore at your own peril.

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Not balanced

I've generally been a big fan of Michael Lewis, but lately not so much. The book was an attempt to demonstrate how badly the Obama - Trump transition was...talking about federal departments and how wonderful they were before the transition. I'm not a fan of Trump...at all...but I find the media is doing a poor job of accurately representing the true facts of both sides of the story. I do a lot of work with government and I guarantee that there was far more inefficiencies and waste and bloat with the previous administration than Lewis leads on. I just couldn't accept the narrative at face value based on my personal experience. I don't disagree that the new administration probably did away with a lot of quality programs in a wreckless and careless way, but they probably got rid of things as well that were ineffective and wasteful as well,.but because of a very clear bias in the narrative it's really hard to work through the book with an objective and open mind. The one thing I found striking was how all these wonderful government programs went unnoticed, that's why they've been nixed because no one knew what benefit they were bringing. Well then, that is that fault of the past administration. A government is basically like running the biggest company in the world. if you, as the leader of that company can't convince your clients...your people and your voters that your company services and programs bring value, then don't be surprised that no one buys in and the programs get nixed. I've come to realize that when I have negative thoughts towards another country...it's not their people...or their culture...or appearance...or food that I dislike....it's their government....and around the world, all government's right now are dissapointing, uninspiring and incompetent. Past and present.

Malcom Gladwell's - Talking to Strangers I found to be a much more balanced approach to disecting a topic or event. It provided the type of depth and balanced contrasting opinions and facts that mainstream media has completely forgotten how to do. I read books like this now because given how incompetent media has become, i rely on them to get a better sense of the truth. Lewis has been good about this in the past...this time not so much. Home Game was fun though :)

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Not much new here

I hate when authors do this, if you want to write a new book, write a new book. I love Micheal Lewis and I pretty much pick up anything he puts out. I was disappointed with this book because I kept feeling that I was buying this book a second time, it felt old, I could barely glean any new information. I was going to return it as I thought I duplicated the title but after going through my library, I found that I had not bought it twice. Turns out he wrote another book called "The Coming Storm" which formed more than half of this book. I feel ripped off so I will be returning this one for my money back!

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too short!

great narration, amazing topics of the devolution of trust toward government planning and the stacking of political appointments with ideologues but I thought there would be more!

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Science good, Trump bad?

Michael Lewis either had too much detail about his chosen subject or not enough which forced him to stretch a magazine-length article beyond its breaking point in order to fit the dimensions of a non-fiction book. Many times I found myself asking - in spite of enjoying his story telling technique - "and your point is...?" It's interesting to note for a book that can be lumped in with all the other Inside-Washington Frankenstein authors running around chanting "Trump Baaaad!", Mr. Lewis keeps Trump pushed to the side or hidden in the shadows, not allowing him to take center stage. You still get the sense of the damage he is inflicting on his country because we hear from the civil servants who care about what they do and the loss to society if they and their jobs are suddenly swept away by poor planning or poor governance.

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Biased info

I appreciate the warning of trumps administration like so many other books are trying to do but as I listened I found some pretty clear biases around the science end of things that are more opinion and a type of science that is funded by big business and is more propaganda than real science. It’s a shame because he does have some real concerns that should be brought to light. When writers, journalists and media run with stories that are full of biased opinions then it ruins the message and makes them less credible. Bad science repeated does not somehow become good science it just is what it is...propaganda of those that benefit from deceiving the masses.

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Every school should cover this

There is so much bashing of the government these days that is easy to forget everything that it actually does. This book shows how ignorance- wilful and otherwise- has helped populists attack the entire idea of the public service. The book concentrates on Trump, but we can trace this problem all the way back to Reagan.

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Brilliant and so upsetting

It’s a book everyone should read but very few people actually will. It is so insightful

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Fascinating!

I had no idea about what a transfer of Presidents entailed. Very eye opening and extremely captivating! I highly recommend this book to anyone who started following politics the last several years; because let’s be honest it’s been a crazy ride!

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great read or listen

I liked it, very interesting to hear about the people that actually want to make a difference to everyday life in America.

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