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Rating: 
Summary: That's all well and good
Review: but John McDonough was in the Massachusetts Legislatorship and all the other states are different as to thier laws and the ways they perform public policy, so you would have to live in Massachusetts in order for anything within the book to be of any consequence to you personally. So how can we call outselves The United States when we have so many divisions amongst us, even within our state of Cslifornia. The laws change across state lines and there were over 40 Million new laws passed just last year for the average citizen to follow, therefore there are way too many laws for anyone to comprehend.
Rating: 
Summary: Bay Staters Will Appreciate This One
Review: Former Massachusetts state legislator John McDonough takes readers from the theory to reality of practical politics in a surprisingly unegotistical fashion. He uses various theories about why and why political actors do what they do as they go about their business to introduce his own experiences. The obligatory academics (the book is a valuable text book as well as a good read) are clear and easy to get through. The political stories are particularly informative and of great interest to people who want to know some of the 15,000 ways and by-ways that bills can travel to become law. Experiencing Politics is instructive and should be required reading for zealots who'd rather make a point than make a difference. Of particular interest to all the victims of Narcissistic Advocates Personality Disorder (the Nader types, the zealots, the self righteous as only the Boston/Cambridge axis can breed) are McDonough's experiences and observations as an advocate for housing and as one who tried to ameliorate the impact of the loss of rent control. Massachusetts political junkies and students of legislative process should love this book. McDonough doesn't describe his role as that of savior or saint, but as an interested student and practitioner of practical progressive politics who wants to be a player in his legislature.
Rating: 
Summary: Tedious, unnecessary detail
Review: McDonough's stated purpose is to illustrate explanatory political models taken from the political sciences with specific illustrations lifted from his political career. Unfortunately, his analysis of the models is superficial and disorganized and his personal anecdotes are excruciatingly long and unnecessarily detailed. As a result, he is like the wise uncle who repeatedly masks his wisdom behind voluminous, forgettable chatter. For those interested in government and health care, this book is likely to be a complete waste of time. This is one volume it would help to look through at a bookstore before purchase.
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