A truckload of watermelons: Five OMG’s from John Lawrence’s “The Class of ‘74”

John Lawrence has some tales to tell. He served nearly four decades in the House, culminating as the chief of staff to Nancy Pelosi during her stint as speaker from 2007–2011.

Lawrence’s book, The Class of ’74: Congress After Watergate and the Roots of Partisanship (Johns Hopkins), was released earlier this year, and is a heady, political history book. Lawrence shows how the 1974 election of 93 new members — 76 Democrats and 17 Republicans — helped disrupt the status quo of the House…. (Read more)