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

by Glenn A. Fine

The last line of defense for our institutions, and our democracy

Inspectors general may be the most important public servants you’ve never heard of. In Watchdogs, Glenn Fine—who served as the inspector general of the Department of Justice from 2000 to 2011 and the acting inspector general of the Department of Defense from 2016 to 2020—explains why all Americans should be familiar with this critical pillar of our democracy.

Drawing on his own experiences in numerous high-profile investigations over two decades, from 9/11 to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Fine provides a fascinating insider’s view of government at the highest levels, illuminating how federal officials spend our tax dollars and how inspector general oversight seeks to make government more honest and accountable. Full of revealing stories—from the FBI’s handling of evidence in the Timothy McVeigh trial to the treatment of post-9/11 detainees to investigating the US Navy’s most infamous corruption scandal—Watchdogs illustrates the mission of inspectors general in improving government operations, deterring wasteful spending, and curtailing corruption, and the ways they work every day in America’s unique system of oversight. 
 

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Crime, History, Government

232 pages, Hardcover

Published August 27, 2024

Reviews

[John Upton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book but it isn’t a blow-by blow about the cases Mr. Fine had while he was an inspector general. It is more about the scope of investigations done by the IGs and the issues that they face.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by a former inspector general of the United States Departments of Justice and Defense, Watchdogs is an invaluable and engaging study of inspectors general. Because a primary purpose of the book was to propose suggestions for strengthening the position, it tended to wear rose-tinted glasses. As Richard Behar's forthcoming Madoff: The Final Word describes, the then-IG of the Securities and Exchange Commission appeared to become inappropriately fraternistic with witnesses of the OIG's investigations, resulting in the SEC OIG becoming the subject of its own IG investigation (by the Postal Service OIG). Fine's insider experience and expertise would have shone much light on these lapses. I warmly commend Watchdogs to every student of American government.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this book on the library shelf and just like that I realized that I knew next to nothing about IGs and wanted to know about the job.
What I did know is that President Trump quickly after winning the 2024 election fired numerous IGs. It was obvious to me that our current want-to-be dictator needed to be rid of the watchdogs that investigate fraud, waste and abuse in government agencies which is ironic in that Trump and Company Boast about eliminating fraud, waste and abuse in those same agencies.
With the dryness but thoroughness of a textbook with the occasional examples that I recognized from news reports I learned a lot on this subject.
Mr. Fine did a more than fine job showing the importance, albeit necessity, for Inspectors General.
Confession: I still wonder why the plural of Inspector General is Inspectors General and not Inspector Generals.
Time to Google

[Regan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvelous read. Parts are a bit dry -- which memoirs can be but for the most part it was a fascinating read. Fine gives his readers the history of the Inspector Generals and shares some of the more dramatic cases they were resolved in. He shares his experiences and how decisions came about. I'd say this book is essential reading for anyone interested in how our government works and specifically for anyone interested in going into the law and public policy positions.

[Daniel Pearse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the stories of Inspector General duties. The recommendations are great. But, how in the world would the author think leaving troops in Afghanistan or in Syria (which the U.S. never declared war on ) is a great idea. Just crazy.

[John Converse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book and informative about an important and lesser understood government agency. Not a Tom Clancy novel, but the author offers some entertaining stories in his narrative. Worth reading.

[Wendy L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent discussion of the need for Inspector Generals. The book was engaging and well-written.

[Cline Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about the IGs. A bit redundant in some areas. Kind of makes you wonder how Elon musk could find so much waste an inefficiencies if the IGs are doing their job.

[JANET · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an eye opening book. I can't follow all of the legalese but I sat up and remembered the Iran Contra mess; the documents that the FBI failed to disclose about the Oklahoma City bombing; that the FBI had ignored multiple breaches of security by a Russian spy for 20 years; that there were many arrests and abuses of people with expired visas who happened to be Muslim after 9/11; that the Pentagon too optimistically assessed their foreign wars; that a whistleblower was listened to about a certain illegal phone call with the leader of Ukraine. Mr Fine, the author has written a good book and one that gave me a lot of hope that there are still independent monitors in Cabinet agencies looking for waste, fraud and abuse without fear of being fired or ignored by the agency head. He reports to Congress and the public as well as the head. Of course, Trump got rid of Mr Fine who had served in this capacity for more than 20 years. That is the one flaw with the system. The President appoints them, but they are supposed to serve for a long period, often for several administrations. What they have to say and suggest as improvements are often unwelcome but in the end for the good of the people. I knew nothing about Inspectors General.