Viewers of The Thick of It - a dark British comedy television series that satirizes the inner workings of modern British government - will know of special advisers as spin doctors and political careerists. Several well-known ministers have been special advisers to the government; among them, David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Jack Straw, and Vince Cable. People also know about the public relations disasters involving Jo Moore, Damian McBride, and Adam Smith. But what is the reality? What do special advisers actually do in British government? Who are they, where do they come from, and what do they go...