Americans are disenchanted with politics, their government, and their leaders. But before Americans climb again on a new bandwagon of government restructuring, they would do well to listen to Cal Mackenzie's admonitions in The Irony of Reform. The trouble with contemporary government, he explains, is not a lack of change or "restructuring" over the years, but rather the disjointed, inadvertent, and unpredictable pattern of reform we have followed since World War II.

Mackenzie traces the roots of our current distress, noting that more tinkering will only lead to more - though perhaps different - problems. Something much bolder is needed - a new approach that enables leadership, facilitates coalition building, and enhances accountability.