Legislators, Leaders, and Lawmaking: The U.S. House of Representatives in the Postreform Era
A most remarkable undertaking. It represents a scholarly research effort that has stretched over nearly two decades. It has involved the getting and maintaining an unusual level of access to the workings of Democratic party leadership and yet an ability to remain sufficiently distant to develop the broader perspective. The end result is clearly a most important-if not the most important-book on party leadership and Congress.(Bruce I. OppenheimerAmerican Political Science Review)A superb combination of description and analysis that captures the Democratic-dominated House of the 1980's and early 1990's... Sinclair has provided us with both a summing up and a benchmark as we proceed to analyze the so-called Republican Revolution as it reverberates through the U.S. House. We are in her debt.(Burdett LoomisCongress and the Presidency)A classic study of the postreform house for all present and future students of Congress... Applying a perceptive and disciplined mind to an impressive knowledge of the topic, the author provides a detailed and instructive account of the relations between majority leaders and members in the postreform House, as well as valuable evidence and insights on such matters as the blending of substance and politics in decision making, current patterns of relationships with lobbyists, and the emerging public role of the Speaker.(Joseph CooperPolitical Science Quarterly)