Watchdogs: Inspectors General and the Battle for Honest and Accountable Government

Recommended by Carol Steiker, Henry J. Friendly Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

As even many lawyers do not know, every federal agency has an inspector general (IG) tasked with making government more honest, efficient, and accountable. Glenn Fine served as IG for two of the largest and most important federal agencies — the Justice Department and the Defense Department, working in one of those capacities across every presidential administration from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump. In his engaging and revealing account, Fine illuminates the intense pressures that IGs face and the difficult calls they must make. Criticized from all sides as either “junkyard dogs” (when thought to be too aggressive) or “lapdogs” (when thought to be not aggressive enough), inspectors general, Fine argues, are indispensable “watchdogs” — the title of this excellent book.