Acknowledgments

Sometimes the genesis of a book becomes somewhat vague to an author. But this is not the present case. About five years ago Steve Engelberg, a friend and young reporter in the Washington Bureau of The New York Times, looked up from his desk in the newsroom and suggested I write an investigative book about the IRS. Almost immediately I realized Steve had hit upon a terrific idea, one that followed naturally from my longstanding interest in law enforcement and privacy issues.

To thank all the others who have contributed to the writing of this book is not possible. The Alicia Patterson Foundation, a wonderful organization that supports independent writing projects, selected me to be one of its 1987 fellows. The J. Roderick MacArthur Foundation and the Deer Creek Foundation provided additional essential support. Jerry Berman and Morton Halperin of the American Civil Liberties Union generously offered me a year of office space. Then Michael Pertschuk and David Cohen suggested I take up residence within their small organization, the Advocacy Institute.

The IRS has not always been so cordial. Former Commissioner Lawrence Gibbs and several other officials, for example, refused to be interviewed. Their separate decisions contrasted with the actions of the IRS’s public affairs office, which courteously answered hundreds of my large and small questions. Most of the day-to-day burden of my endless inquiries fell on the shoulders of Wilson Fadley and Johnnell Hunter.

This is the second book I have written with the expert and supportive editorial advice of Bob Loomis of Random House. I am grateful to him. Once again, my agent Robin Straus has been a wonderful friend and counselor.