Product DescriptionThe American Congress provides the most insightful up-to-date treatment of congressional politics available in an undergraduate text. Informed by the authors’ Capitol Hill experience and nationally recognized scholarship this book presents a crisp introduction to all major features of Congress: its party and committee systems leadership and voting and floor activity. The American Congress has the most in-depth discussion of the place of the president the courts and interest groups in congressional policy making available in a text. The authors blend an emphasis on recent developments in congressional politics with a clear discussion of the rules of the game the history of key features of Congress and stories from recent Congresses that bring politics to life. No other text weaves into the discussion the important ideas of recent political science research. The book includes the most comprehensive list of suggested readings and Internet resources on Congress.Book DescriptionThe American Congress is an up-to-date well-informed undergraduate textbook on congressional politics.About the AuthorSteven S. Smith is Kate M. Gregg Professor of Social Sciences and Director of the Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He has authored or coauthored seven books and many articles on congressional politics including Politics or Principle: Filibustering in the U.S. Senate (Brookings) and coauthored several articles and a book on Russian parliamentary politics. He is a former Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and has taught at the University of Minnesota Northwestern University and George Washington University.Jason M. Roberts is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota. His research interests include American politics the U.S. Congress elections and Supreme Court nominations. He has published articles in the American Journal of Political Science the Journal of Politics and Congress and the Presidency.Ryan J. Vander Wielen is a Graduate Fellow at the Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He publishes articles on congressional politics and elections and has published recently Political Analysis and the Loyola Law Review.