U.S. Senators and Their World

“A solid scholarly achievement which probably will be the standard work on the Senate for a long time.” ―R. K. Huitt, American Political Science Review At a time when the effectiveness of Congress is increasingly being questioned, this pioneering study takes on new significance. Drawing on extensive interviews with senators, Senate staff members, lobbyists, and Washington journalists, U.S. Senators and Their World is the first book to give a detailed picture of the inside workings of the United States Senate. The book's description of the Senate's structure and day-to-day functioning provides valuable pertinent information on the role of the legislative branch and its relation to other branches of government. When U.S. Senators and Their World was originally published, John F. Kennedy commented, “This profile of the Senate is sharp, perceptive, instructive, and entertaining. Here, with anecdotes and critical comments, with charts and statistics, is the world of a United States Senator. In these careful pages one can see the strengths and weaknesses, the traditions and the traps, the comedy and the tragedy of the most powerful democratic legislature in the world.”