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■ Appointed by Ronald Reagan to cut the federal payroll and to reform the federal bureaucracy, Donald Devine was successful enough to be called “Reagan’s terrible swift sword”—hence the title of his book—in a Washington Post profile (Reagan’s Terrible Swift Sword: An Insider’s Story of Abuse and Reform within the Federal Bureaucracy, Jameson Books, 228 pp., $19.95). His success disrupting the entrenched bureaucracy cost him reconfirmation by the Senate.

Swift Sword blames the “Troika”— Baker, Deaver, and Meese—for undermining Reagan’s mandate to shrink the Federal Government. The three, along with other “smarties” at the White House, believed domestic policy was best conducted in reaction to the morning’s newspaper clippings. As a result, Mr. Devine found it impossible to get the President’s imprimatur on reforms to unclog bureaucracy and save taxpayers millions of dollars.

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■ Appointed by Ronald Reagan to cut the federal payroll and to reform the federal bureaucracy, Donald Devine was successful enough to be called “Reagan’s terrible swift sword”—hence the title of his book—in a Washington Post profile (Reagan’s Terrible Swift Sword: An Insider’s Story of Abuse and Reform within the Federal Bureaucracy, Jameson Books, 228 pp., $19.95). His success disrupting the entrenched bureaucracy cost him reconfirmation by the Senate.

Swift Sword blames the “Troika”— Baker, Deaver, and Meese—for undermining Reagan’s mandate to shrink the Federal Government. The three, along with other “smarties” at the White House, believed domestic policy was best conducted in reaction to the morning’s newspaper clippings. As a result, Mr. Devine found it impossible to get the President’s imprimatur on reforms to unclog bureaucracy and save taxpayers millions of dollars.