The Insider's Guide to Political Internships: What to Do Once You're in the Door

by Grant Reeher and Mack Mariani

Book Overview

Every year, thousands of college students invade Washington, D.C. and the fifty state capitals to volunteer as political interns. Unfortunately, they are rarely able to "hit the ground running," lacking the tools to help them do so. The Insider's Guide to Political Internships provides those tools. This volume contains practical, concise essays written by political professionals and scholars with extensive experience supervising internships,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813340160
• ISBN13: 9780813340166
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A must for anyone starting out!

Mack Mariani is one of the political master-minds of our time. He has even been considered the Carl Rove of local politics. While the reviewer below says that political interns don't make much money, I would argue that this book will allow you to enter the big league. When you have worked your way up, I guarantee you will have Mariani to thank! Basically, this is a MUST for anyone who wants to get into the wild world of politics. Good luck!

Great niche book for political internships.

I teach students in political science, and I have had several of them read this book and remark that it is very useful on several levels. First, it helps them conceptualize about the purpose and meaning of their internships. Second, the book helps them understand some of the details of the internships they are likely to secure. It also helps them to get a jump-start on the types of skills and tasks they need in their internships. With internships becoming increasingly important to career-minded students (and their parents), this book is a nice way for students to balance their practical ambitions with their political science education. It is a welcome addition to internships, which too often occur serendipitously and absent any academic perspective. With this book, students are able to think about what they are doing, why they are doing it, and what the internship means for their studies and career interests.

From the book's editors

The Insider's Guide has been favorably profiled in a number of publications, including Roll Call, Capitol Hill's leading newspaper. Our students have found the book extremely useful in helping them to get the most out of their political internship experiences. College faculty and internship supervisors have also found the book helpful. --G. Reeher and M. Mariani