Reviews for Most Exclusive Club A History of the Modern United States Senate

The average rating for Most Exclusive Club A History of the Modern United States Senate based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-01-02 00:00:00 Wheeler Wagenet This is one of those books I should have read when it came out in 2005 but missed. As a starter book for learning about why the Senate is so terrible, this one is a pretty good place to start. The book spans 100 years of Senate history in just 320 pages, pointing out that the institution has long been insulated from the rest of America because it's dominated by old white men. There were several occasions where I wish more than a few paragraphs had been devoted to a given fight, but it's also somewhat admirable that this book exercised some restraint when it came to length. The old boy's club attitude in the Senate is signified by the rampant alcoholism and womanizing that runs through its history. For this reason, this branch of government is particularly slow when comes to change. Today's Senate, though still dominated by old white men, looks very different even than it did in 2005. We'll see if it's more open to change now. The book's secondary thesis is that internal Senate rules and heightened partisanship have moved it from a governing body to a paralyzing institution is one that's no longer novel. Progressives universally hate the filibuster, which has killed climate change legislation, the DREAM Act, and a treaty to recognize the rights of the disabled, just to name a few in recent memory. Likewise, we are well aware that we are living in a time of extreme partisanship, and Congress' inability to come to an agreement on anything is repeatedly creating fake budget crisis after fake budget crisis that no one in the American public has any patience for any longer. Come to think of it, this book is making me angry. Recommended for: The budding politico geek in your life.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-02-12 00:00:00 Tina Terry A great book to a point... The history is clear and Gould takes the time to introduce all of the major players. However, he tends to repeat himself often and makes MANY "moral" judgements regarding various politicians and their actions. Still, a very interesting read and I'm glad I finally picked it up.