David M. Gold, Ohio Legislative Service Commission, has published Democracy in Session: A History of the Ohio General Assembly. The press describes the book as "a lavishly illustrated history of the Ohio General Assembly, the state's most important political institution, and one that is now more than two centuries old. Through a lively mix of law, politics, biography, and Ohio history, David Gold traces the transformation of the General Assembly from a part-time body of citizen lawmakers to a full-time professional legislature and provides the reader with a sense of how the General Assembly looked, sounded, and functioned at various points along the way.Says Andrew Clayton, Miami University:
David Gold has written as close to a definitive history of the General Assembly--the most consequential and least understood political institution in the history of Ohio--as we are ever likely to have. With a host of colorful characters and anecdotes, Gold expertly details the contested development of procedures, customs, membership, and legislation, all the while showing how changes in the General Assembly have reflected changes in Ohio itself.E. Gordon Gee, the president of Ohio State University, adds:
How wonderful that we now have a comprehensive, scholarly, and readable history of such an important institution as the General Assembly. David Gold’s book is more than a history of the legislature's work. Democracy in Session also tells the story of how a modern, professional body of lawmakers developed over the past two centuries.
