Representing America looks at the critical question of how to ensure that legislators represent their constituents' interests. Using qualitative and quantitative analysis, Herrick and Fisher investigate whether professional politicians, who have prior political experience and seek to hold office as long as possible, or citizen politicians, who come from the private sector and have no prior political experience, make better representatives. They focus on key differences in representation between citizen and professional legislators elected to the Unites States House of Representatives from 1992-1998. Representing America is a valuable study for scholars and students with an interest in representative institutions and behaviors.

"Using a wide variety of variables, mostly collected by others, the authors develop a creative set of tests to determine the potential impact of term limits on the US House of Representatives in the 1990s. . . . Highly recommended." - CHOICE

"the book's strength is advancing factual knowledge of the (few) differences between the citizen and the professional legislator and linking the findings to ambition theory." - APSA Legislative Studies Section Newsletter, Book Notes, January 2008