Making Government Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics

A bold call to action for those who would lead well and those who would be well led.

"Performance is better than promise" has long been the motto of Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings, a former Governor of South Carolina and six-term U.S. Senator whose distinguished political career speaks volumes about the potential of the elected and the electorate to use government for the good of all. Making Government Work serves as equal parts political memoir and reform-minded call to action as Hollings shares compelling―and often candidly colorful―accounts from his half century of public service to illustrate the smart stewardship of resources and authority needed to enact policies that can make positive differences in the lives of Americans.

Hollings lays out clearly his deep commitment to improving our system of government, strengthening regulations on free trade, countering dependence on campaign contributions, and enhancing our communications and education programs to compete better in an information-driven global marketplace. This prescriptive compendium of sound thinking seeks to reinvigorate a floundering system and to call good people and good ideas back into the service of America's bright future.