The Secret Lives of Citizens: Pursuing the Promise of American Life by Thomas Geoghegan (1998, Hardcover)

Synopsis
A trenchant analysis of the need to redefine basic questions such as the role of the citizen and the definition of "the good life" in a time of weakening central government. Geoghegan is a respected essayist and commentator who also practices law in Chicago.

Key Details
Author:	Thomas Geoghegan
Language:	English
Publisher:	Pantheon Books
Format:	Hardcover
ISBN-10:	067942153X
ISBN-13:	9780679421535

Size
Length:	240 pages
Height:	9.8 in
Width:	6.3 in
Thickness:	1 in
Weight:	17.6 oz

Publisher's Note
An incisive examination of the "good life" in contemporary America draws on keen observation, memoir, and analysis to shed new light on the value of government in contemporary society, what it means to be a citizen, and the type of civic life needed to secure the promise of a better life. 15,000 first printing.

At a time when the cynicism about the government's value is a topic of heated discussion, Geoghegan vividly redefines the terms of the debate. Combining memoir and trenchant observation, he uses his own life to explore what it means to be a "national" civil servant and a "local" citizen.

Now, at a time when the cynicism about our government's value is a topic of heated discussion, Thomas Geoghegan vividly redefines the terms of the debate. Combining memoir and trenchant observation, he uses his own life to explore what it means to be a "national" civil servant and a "local" citizen. He begins with the sense that a child has of Washington, D.C.--the marble presence of a big central government created by the New Deal. It was in this city that Geoghegan and many others of his generation expected to live their lives as civil servants and lawyers: the national elite, serving the common good, pursuing the promise of American life.The decline of the "national idea," the rise of the States, and the growing weakness of the central government pushed Geoghegan to the local level in Chicago. There, as a lawyer, he fought evils of a new kind: tuberculosis among the homeless, the spread of child labor, the use of jails to house the poor--evils that the progressives at the turn of the century had vanquished but were now back in a new and more virulent form.National government and majority rule were once the two great achievements of our history. But now, as Geoghegan vividly shows, the weakness and gridlock of the central government has undermined our sense of local community and local citizenship, and, most perniciously, has restricted our ability to affect the political process at every level, leading to disengagement. In revealing the true nature of the current problems and the connections among them, The Secret Lives of Citizens shows how we might reclaim our right to shape our government and secure for everyone the true promise of American life.

Industry Reviews
"...[A] book that is not only compelling to read but that provokes us to seriously reflect on the choices we make and how we spend our time."
Washington Post Book World (03/21/1999)

"...Geoghegan is a talented writer, entertaining not only as a political novelty but as a storyteller with an eye for the amusing turn of events and phrase."
Kirkus Reviews (02/15/1999)