michael December 18th, 2008

POGO works tirelessly (mostly) to oversee the federal government.  And after spending our time at work reading reports and articles about oversight, at night, we curl up with a cup of tea and read…BOOKS on oversight.  Knowing that our readers and the people on their holiday shopping list do the same, we (of course) have a few book recommendations–in no particular order–for that very special watchdog on your list:

For the friend that is either completely shocked about the state of our economy, or the friend that saw it coming all along: Fooling Some of the People All of the Time by David Einhorn (disclosure: the book release party for this one provided another example of POGO working, uh, less than tirelessly.  And David is also giving some of the royalties to POGO).

For the person suspicious or fascinated by Vice President Dick Cheney: Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency by Barton Gellman.

For the friend that is still upset about security contractors in Iraq: Shadow Force: Private Security Contractors in Iraq by David Isenberg.

For the person crying for more oversight in the War On Terror: The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals by Jane Mayer.

For the friend who worries that contractors our putting American troops in jeopardy: Betraying Our Troops: The Destructive Results of Privatizing War written by POGO-founder and current Board member Dina Rasor and Robert Bauman.

For the person that can’t get enough of lobbying scandals: Turkmeniscam: How Washington Lobbyists Fought to Flack for a Stalinist Dictatorship by Ken Silverstein (blogger’s note: extra points for ‘tude in the title).

For the friend worried about the whole Department of Defense, from the weapons to the personnel: America’s Defense Meltdown, edited by Winslow Wheeler and prepared by the Center for Defense Information’s Straus Military Reform Project.

– Mandy Smithberger

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