Caught Between the Dog and the Fireplug, or How to Survive Public Service (Text Teach / Policies) - Softcover

Ashworth, Kenneth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0878408479 ISBN 13: 9780878408474

Publisher: Georgetown University Press, 2001

Synopsis

Replete with practical advice for anyone considering a career in federal, state, or local government, Caught between the Dog and the Fireplug, or How to Survive Public Service conveys what life is really like in a public service job. The book is written as a series of lively, entertaining letters of advice from a sympathetic uncle to a niece or nephew embarking on a government career.

Kenneth Ashworth draws on more than forty years of public sector experience to provide advice on the daily challenges that future public servants can expect to face: working with politicians, bureaucracy, and the press; dealing with unpleasant and difficult people; leading supervisors as well as subordinates; and maintaining high ethical standards. Ashworth relates anecdotes from his jobs in Texas, California, and Washington, D.C., that illustrate with humor and wit fundamental concepts of public administration.

Be prepared, says Ashworth, to encounter all sorts of unexpected situations, from the hostile to the bizarre, from the intimidating to the outrageous. He shows that in the confrontational world of public policymaking and program implementation, a successful career demands disciplined, informed thought, intellectual and personal growth, and broad reading. He demonstrates how, despite the inevitable inefficiencies of a democratic society, those working to shape policy in large organizations can nonetheless effect significant change-and even have fun along the way.

The book will interest students and teachers of public administration, public affairs, policy development, leadership, or higher education administration. Ashworth's advice will also appeal to anyone who has ever been caught in a tight spot while working in government service.

About this title

From the Author:

This book, written over a decade ago, has continued every year to sell more copies each year than in the previous year. This is unusual for a book published by a university press; the growing sales (over 10,000 copies as of 2014) come almost entirely from word of mouth recommendations. My students call it a "keeper," that is, a book not to be resold to the bookstore at the end of the semester, but a book they will carry into their practicing careers as practical advice for them in their future jobs.

From the Back Cover:

"As a guy who has been 'caught between the dog and the fireplug' for more than thirty years, I would recommend this book to any student of public service."
Charles B. Reed, Chancellor, California State University

"A wonderful, witty, and literate distillation of a distinguished career in public service."
Bill Hobby, Former Lieutenant Governor of Texas

About this edition

• Publisher: Georgetown University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0878408479
• ISBN 13: 9780878408474
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208