The first of four volumes comprising a biographical dictionary of state house speakers from 1911 to 1994, this book covers speakers from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Entries provide basic biographical and career information on more than 400 speakers. The book opens with an insightful analytical introduction and includes valuable statistical appendixes based on an exhaustive database.

Complementing Charles R. Ritter and Jon L. Wakelyn’s book ^IAmerican Legislative Leaders, 1850-1910^R (1989), this book covers those who have served as state speakers in the West since 1910. Forthcoming volumes will cover state house speakers in the South, the Midwest, and the Northeast.