BLOWING THE WHISTLE: Dissent in the Public Interest

by Charles & Taylor Branch Peters ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 28, 1972

Elegant muckraking -- different from the turn-of-the-century brand as practiced by Lincoln Steffens, Upton Sinclair, et al. -- ""whistleblowing"" denotes exposures of government corruption by insiders violating sacred loyalty taboos in the interest of the public's right to know. Peters and Branch, editors of Washington Monthly, a magazine which provides a forum for government employees with tender consciences, here review various recently disinterred skeletons and consider the risks taken by those who talked. Among the new breed: James Boyd, Sen. Dodd's erstwhile aide who disclosed wayward use of campaign funds; Jacqueline Verrett who uncovered the FDA's benign tolerance of cyclamates; Patrick J. McGarvey, an intelligence officer who outlines the inner workings of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) which was supplying self-serving ""Intelligence to Please"" to the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Daniel Ellsberg of the Pentagon Papers; and a dozen more. Coming from the well-informed insider most of the charges (which range from outright graft to institutional rigor mortis) have the advantage of sharp and specific documentation; collectively the stench is overpowering. The authors, who seem to be in search of an archetypical model of the successful whistleblowers, sardonically note that credibility rises if he is ""visited with some signs of martyrdom"" -- i.e., he gets fired -- or better yet, investigated. Personal agonies arising over divided loyalties to the boss and the (greater) public interest are a necessary ingredient. Ralph Nader, lacking insider status, doesn't really qualify as a whistleblower but is included anyway. Hitherto whistleblowing has been practiced strictly on an ad hoc basis but Peters and Branch are evidently groping toward some overall strategy. Meantime, in lieu of a holistic critique of the abuses of power by government, the Peters and Branch operation has only reformist sting.

Pub Date: April 28, 1972

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Praeger

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1972

Categories: NONFICTION