This is a fully documented inside examination of the Internal Revenue Service, in many ways the largest and most powerful of all federal agencies, and also the agency whose competent function is most essential to our democracy. The book's appearance in 1989 sparked a public furor and major legislation attempting to redress the IRS' many abuses of power, both political and bureaucratic. The book will be a relevant handbook as long as the agency remains a towering presence in American life.
"Mr. Burnham is at his best relating anecdotes about government ineptitude, incompetence or pigheadedness . . . The reader will find it hard to put down once he's begun."
Wall Street Journal
"Burnham rushed in where most taxpayers fear to tread, and discovers an Internal Revenue Service that often has trouble balancing its own books."
