- 1997/228 pages
- Explorations in Public Policy
In the Cross Fire:
A Political History of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
Hardcover: $65.00
ISBN: 978-1-55587-671-5
In the aftermath of Ruby Ridge and Waco, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has become one of the most controversial of government agencies. Yet, despite the headlines and congressional hearings, little has been written about the history and organizational culture of the bureau.
William Vizzard draws both on his 27 years of insider experience as a special agent and manager and on the tools of organizational theory to trace the creation, structure, and historical development of the bureau. With a perspective that is further informed by direct interviews with all the former directors of the bureau, as well as former Treasury officials and members of key interest and lobbying groups, he considers how the ATF has evolved as a product of its political environment, the tasks it has been assigned, and its organizational culture. In engaging prose, Vizzard explores the bureau's ups and downs, the conditions that were a prelude to Waco, the ensuing time of turmoil, and the prospects and problems that lie ahead.
William Vizzard draws both on his 27 years of insider experience as a special agent and manager and on the tools of organizational theory to trace the creation, structure, and historical development of the bureau. With a perspective that is further informed by direct interviews with all the former directors of the bureau, as well as former Treasury officials and members of key interest and lobbying groups, he considers how the ATF has evolved as a product of its political environment, the tasks it has been assigned, and its organizational culture. In engaging prose, Vizzard explores the bureau's ups and downs, the conditions that were a prelude to Waco, the ensuing time of turmoil, and the prospects and problems that lie ahead.
