The House and Senate Explained: The People's Guide to Congress

Whether you're a C-SPAN addict or simply a citizen who wants tolearn about how our Constitutional Republic works, this book is agreat introduction into the workings of the Legislative branch, and ahandy reference that's a lifesaver when watching C-SPAN or during aCivics test. This book is conveniently divided into threeparts. The first part deals with the makeup of each chamber, and whereeveryone goes. Answers to questions like "Where does the Speakerof the House sit?" and "How are the seats in the Senatearranged?" can be found here. The second part, the heart ofthe book, is a large dictionary of Congressional terms. This is themost useful section of the book. Find out what a "SecretSession" is, as well as a "filibuster", a"line-item veto", and what a "Pro-Forma session"is. Clear, consise definitions, in laymans terms. The thirdsection deals with Congressional procedure. This section detailscommon phrases, how to testify for Congress, how a Bill becomes Law,and a common day in the life of Congress. Last of all, is anappendix with Congressional websites, ... and other Internetresources. At the end is a lengthy listing of all the CongressionalCommittees (just so you know, a Congress is subdivided into committeesthat focus on certain aspects of the government), such as theCommittee on Indian Affairs and the Agriculture Committee. Overall, this is a great book, and I highly recommend it for anyonethat wants to have a better knowledge of the enigma that isCongress. For political junkies, this is a very handy referncetool, as is a dictionary to a grammarian.