Congressional Travels ─ Places, Connections, and Authenticity - Tenth Anniversary Edition

Written in preeminent legislative studies scholar Richard Fenno’s "homespun" story-telling style, Congressional Travels argues that authenticity -- knowing what a representative is like in his/her district and looking beyond mere roll-call voting -- contributes significantly to understanding the full body of work done by our members of Congress. It further posits that the best way to gain a sense of authenticity is to do what Fenno is most famous for, i.e., making multiple trips and spending a great deal of time observing representatives at home in their districts, with their constituents. The book is engaging, quietly provocative, and unique, offering an alternative to what some consider the increasingly specialized and technical nature of political science.

Richard F. Fenno, Jr. is Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Rochester. His numerous publications include Home Style: House Members in Their Districts, which won the Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award for best book in political science in 1978, and Congress at the Grassroots: Representational Change in the South, which won the 2001 V.O. Key Award for best book on Southern politics. Fenno is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.

Morris P. Fiorina is Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Wendt Family Professor of Political Science at Stanford University.