Can anyone suggest a good advanced "How Congress Works" book?

[demdiva]

Maybe a good overview book for grad students or more advanced grad students??? I need to hone my knowledge a bit but I don't need to start at the beginning of everything.

Thanks!
DemDiva

[TayTay]

1. How does it work procedurally or politically?

What kind of book? The procedural stuff is online at senate.gov. There are books and books and books on the political stuff.

How can I help on this?

[demdiva]

5. hmmm....that's a good question

I've been looking into doing some committee work on the Hill and since my background isn't in politics or law, if I good opportunity comes up I don't want to walk in totally green on the insider Congress stuff. More than anything it's just to boost my confidence a bit ;)

[MH1]

2. Not sure if this fits, but my favorit grad course was

"Government Information" (yes, I know I need help, many people have told me so, lol)

Our textbook was United States Government Information: Policies and Sources by Peter Hernon et al.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1563089793/ref=pd_sim_b_2/002-6489600-1562440?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155

I think our prof told us this is really THE only book that's any good about this subject.

Of course the scope is much broader than Congress - it only has a couple of chapters on the legislative process, and the focus is on accessing information products, but it does cover the legislative process fairly well.

It's really fascinating and informative. If you have access to a college or university library where there's a graduate Library Science program, there's a good chance they have a copy. Otherwise if you can afford $50, I highly recommend it, even though it may not be as deep as you would like on the legislative process. All the other stuff it covers may be worth it to you though.

Amazon page:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1563089793/ref=pd_sim_b_2/002-6489600-1562440?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155

btw, thanks for asking the question and making me pull this book off my shelf - I think I'll re-read a few sections!

[demdiva]

4. Thanks ... actually that's perfect

I work with a lot of government clients right now so I think it'll be helpful for both my current and future jobs.

[MH1]

3. Also, I searched Amazon on the phrase "How Congress Works"

and found a few things.

This one looks promising:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1568028199/ref=pd_bxgy_text_b/002-6489600-1562440?%5Fencoding=UTF8

[karendc]

6. Dick says

This is not a process book, but a two-year struggle about a bill, and is useful:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0295980230/qid=1148833188/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-3613605-1676825?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
Eric Redman, <i>The Dance of Legislation</i>

[demdiva]

7. That's great ... thanks!