Reading Guide + Lightning Protection + Table of Contents See Chapter 1 for details.
One-sentence synopsis: The Whitehall trio make order out of absurdity—and occasionally tear order back into absurdity.
Who really rules Britain?
On the surface, he is the Prime Minister of No. 10 Downing Street.
In fact, it's probably a department you've never heard of - the Department of Synergy and Coordination (DSC).
It was born out of political dealings and was seen as a "gilded cage" for troubled people.
It has no permissions, no backend, and not even much budget.
But it has information, it has procedures, it has an invisible web that stretches across Whitehall.
When Charles Hyde tried to use idealism to transform the bureaucratic machine.
When Alistair Cavendish used rational logic to weave the web of power.
When Cyril Easley secretly analyzed and recorded the story of the changes in Whitehall.
A game of taming and anti-taming about who controls whom is quietly unfolding in Whitehall.
From the war in the South Atlantic to the strikes that paralyzed the country, from the spotlight on the G7 to the reshaping of the Constitution...
Every crisis is an opportunity to expand departmental authority.
But when they must face the Leviathan of their own creation.
Who is the real winner?
Welcome to Whitehall.
The idea: Make it look like it's running first, then make it actually run.
