As it turns out, the reasons are rather complex; though perhaps it is rather fitting that THE book about the endless tangle of bureaucracy is itself endlessly tangled. Dunkelman recalls decades, sometimes even centuries of context before he can even begin his explanation of how the US found itself in a mess of procedure and paperwork. Thankfully, his storytelling is as engrossing as his research is thorough. Multiple times, I found myself putting down my book to read further about a mentioned topic on Wikipedia, only to find said Wikipedia article to be nonexistent. Whether a little-known circuit court decision or some obscure elected official from the 1800s, Dunkelman points the spotlight at influential dominos that have, until now, remained unknown.