Backstage in a Bureaucracy provides a first-hand day-to-day look at running a large bureaucracy. Susan Chandler candidly shares her experiences while serving as director of the Hawai'i State Department of Human Services for eight years, while Richard Pratt, a public administration professor and advisor to numerous public and private organizations here and abroad, offers his thoughts on what these experiences tell us about the inner workings of government agencies. Their stories—some sad, some funny, but all educational—reveal the challenges and rewards of public service.