Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Darn Nifty
Review: The saying I used to repeat was "The only people who hate the IRS more than the American taxpyer are the people who work there." It was interesting reading Mr. Yancey's memoir and realizing that that is still true.The book is well written and well-constructed with many a gripping anecdote and deft characterization. As a memoir of a generally low regarded job, it is a first rate book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This book is better than any book I've read this year. Surprisingly funny and fresh, it made me feel as if I was right there, experiencing this with the author. A very talented writer. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Have you given up your dreams for your job?
Review: This book is not an expose of the IRS. It is a excellent depiction of office politics and corporate culture. You will get introduced to IRS terminology and procedures. However, what this book is really about is the transformation of Richard Yancey. In order to succeed at the IRS, Yancey transforms himself from mild-mannered playright to driven tax collector. Yancey's drive for perfection will transform him into a completely different person. This book will speak to anyone who has found success at work, yet does not like what they have become.
Rating: 
Summary: engaging account of life inside the IRS
Review: This is a compelling, novel-like story of the author's 12 years as a revenue officer in Collections for the Internal Revenue Service, from his initial recruitment by a classified ad that never mentioned who the employer was to being a hardened and efficient seizer of assets. Yancey tells a story of initiation into the IRS, office intrigues, taxpayer sob stories, and the shenanigans of tax protestors. Yancey took to his work, with which he had a love/hate relationship--mostly hate, at first, yet he kept with it and found motivation to stick with it and become the best revenue officer he could, for reasons he couldn't clearly identify. I found this book a surprisingly engaging read, difficult to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Laughed out loud
Review: This is the funniest book I have read all year. I laughed so hard I cried.
I highly recommend this book. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Rating:
Summary: Novel Collects Interest Over Time
Review: This novel is as entertaining as it is insightful. It gives ordinary people a look at the innards of the most feared and hated government agency in the country. Yancey tells the story of his work with the IRS, focusing on his first three years of service. The story relates to everyone because everyone has to pay taxes. This biography deserves all the publicity it is receiving.
Rating:
Summary: I'm double checking my next 1040
Review: What a great book. I couldn't put it down. I had read the reviews and thought it sounded interesting, but probably would not have picked it up, but for the fact that on a visit to my local independent bookstore the author was there and doing a signing. I figured it was worth the $ to bring my wife a surprise (as she's an MBA and loathes the IRS - am I going to get audited now?). Anyway, I quickly stole the book from my wife and read it practically straight through. Not only is Yancey (if that's his name) a great and sardonic writer, but his story actually had me laughing out loud with some frequency. And though I certainly hate paying my taxes I was comforted by his continuous message - If the Revenue Officers have been sent after a tax payer it is because that person has repeatedly ignored the IRS. Scary though it may be to say it, I found myself having empathy for the tax-man. Yancey does paint a picture of a dysfunctional office environment, but not one very different from those I've seen in government service or the private sector. By the end not only was I rooting for him, but I was hoping he'd put away more tax protestors. After all, why should they be able to get away without paying their share while the rest of us work 4 months a year in effect to pay the government? I would quibble with the details of his personal life at the end. They seemed forced and uncomfortable. Uncomfortable for him to write and uncomfortable for the reader to have to wade through. Highly recommend it, for the type of laugh that sticks in your throat. I can't wait for the next installment.
Rating:
Summary: Great read, but not an expose of the IRS
Review: With all the bad press about "tax shelters" these days, I expected this book to put some bad press on the other side, but that's not what it does at all. Just as it is labeled, it is "One Man's" experience described from start to finish. It was a great read about some interesting characters. Mr. Yancey's story has some truisms -- like describing that by the time the tax collector calls on someone, they are usually on such a downward spiral that their tax problems are just a symptom of bigger issues. Although Amazon is trying to pair this book up with "Perfectly Legal," I can't imagine a worse combination. "Perfectly Legal" was labeled as nonfiction, but reported statistics, percentages and quotes out of context with economic realities, presenting the author's totally lop-sided view of the tax system. Which leads me to Mr. Yancey's other truism -- People believe whatever they want about tax collectors and the tax system -- nothing will change their mind, so just deal with it.
Rating:
Summary: Great read, but not an expose of the IRS
Review: With all the bad press about "tax shelters" these days, I expected this book to put some bad press on the other side, but that's not what it does at all. Just as it is labeled, it is "One Man's" experience described from start to finish. It was a great read about some interesting characters. Mr. Yancey's story has some truisms -- like describing that by the time the tax collector calls on someone, they are usually on such a downward spiral that their tax problems are just a symptom of bigger issues. Although Amazon is trying to pair this book up with "Perfectly Legal," I can't imagine a worse combination. "Perfectly Legal" was labeled as nonfiction, but reported statistics, percentages and quotes out of context with economic realities, presenting the author's totally lop-sided view of the tax system. Which leads me to Mr. Yancey's other truism -- People believe whatever they want about tax collectors and the tax system -- nothing will change their mind, so just deal with it.
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