Larry Pressler: “having written two books myself, I appreciate the great time and energy involved in preparing, researching, and writing…”

“having written two books myself, I appreciate the great time and energy involved in preparing, researching, and writing a book, especially one recounting a complex series of historical events. As an enthusiast and lifelong student of history, I am pleased to bring to my colleagues' attention ``Legislating the Revolution,'' by James G. Gimpel. Jim is a native of western South Dakota. His thorough recounting of the Contract With America during the first 100 days of this Congress so impressed me that I hope my colleagues will take the opportunity to read it. The book is fair, factual, and comprehensive. Appealing to a spectrum of readers ranging from the social scientist to the concerned citizen, Jim's book already is being used in college classrooms across the country as a resource and reference book. After countless interviews with Members of Congress, congressional staff, interest group representatives, pollsters and party leadership, the product is a detailed, thoughtful chronological record of the events which shaped the so-called Contract With America. The book examines the many individuals who, behind the scenes, created the Contract itself and the campaign that played such a significant part in the Republican takeover of Congress in November 1994. The first 100 days of the 104th Congress may have been history in the making, but the period prior to the Contract With America was a new and equally historic era.”