Knowingo
The cover of The Fifth Risk

The Fifth Risk

Michael Lewis, 2018

Michael Lewis goes inside the federal agencies Trump's team ignored and shows how quietly they manage nuclear, food and weather risks, and what we lose when no one pays attention.

Get the app Read on the web

4 parts, about 18 minutes to read.

Why read it

  • Shows what the federal government actually does, from guarding nuclear material to feeding children and forecasting storms
  • Helps you see the fifth risk: answering long term dangers with short term fixes, or ignoring them
  • Reveals how a careless transition left expert staff unheard and handed key posts to loyal amateurs

Who it is for

  • Voters who assume government is mostly waste
  • Civil servants and public sector managers
  • Readers interested in how societies manage slow risks

What the summary covers

  1. Prologue: Lost in Transition2 min
  2. Part I: Tail Risk5 min
  3. Part II: People Risk4 min
  4. Part III: All the President's Data7 min

Recommended by

  • Cory DoctorowAuthor
    A hymn to the 'deep state,' which is revealed as nothing more than people who know what they're talking about.
  • Anat AdmatiGeorge G.C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics, Stanford GSB

About the author

  • Michael LewisAmerican author and financial journalist; former Salomon Brothers bond salesman
    • Born 15 October 1960 in New Orleans
    • MSc in economics 1985
    • Bond salesman at Salomon Brothers in London
    • Liar's Poker (1989) described his Salomon experience
    • Vanity Fair contributing editor 2009 to 2026

More books like this