The True Cost of Public Service: Leadership Lessons from Making Sausage
Introduction: Understanding the Real Price of Leadership Public service is often viewed as a position of influence, responsibility, and recognition. From the outside, it can appear to be a career built on authority and decision-making power. However, the reality is far more complex. The true cost of public service is rarely visible, and it extends […]
What Really Happens Behind Closed Doors in Politics: Lessons from Making Sausage
Introduction: The Hidden Side of Politics Politics shapes nearly every part of daily life, yet most people only experience it from a distance. Elections, speeches, and policy announcements dominate public attention, but they reveal only a fraction of the full picture. What happens behind closed doors in politics is far more complex, demanding, and often […]
Book review: An Alaskan political veteran reviews his life of service
“Making Sausage: from Illinois farm to a 45-year career in public service in Alaska” By Jim Duncan, 2024; 349 pages; $20. Most people have probably heard the saying that watching laws being made is like watching sausage-making. It’s best not to observe the messy process or to know what goes into the final product. Longtime […]
Former longtime Juneau lawmaker Jim Duncan reenters the political ‘Sausage Factory’
Book revisits decades of history at Alaska’s Capitol and issues that remain much the same today. While these are strange political times, it’s not like an actual coup has occurred. Which is more than can be said for longtime local political titan Jim Duncan, who decades after being ousted as House Speaker at the Alaska […]
Jim Duncan’s Making Sausage: A 45-Year Odyssey of Leadership in Alaska
In an era when many Americans are anxious about the future of politics and leadership, Jim Duncan’s book, Making Sausage: From an Illinois Farm to a 45-Year Career in Public Service in Alaska, provides a candid and critical look back on his decades of public service. Duncan’s 45-year journey—from humble origins on an Illinois farm […]