"In this book, longtime political scientist Richard Davis tells the stories of academics who have reached beyond the ivory tower-not only scholars in the past, but also his own story of working in party politics in Utah. He frames his political activism within the context of a larger trend in political science away from the affairs of academia toward more public and political engagement. Some political scientists have become purely activists; a few have left academe and accepted appointments in government or have been elected to full-time office. Davis discusses different ways to remain both active in academic life while also becoming more publicly engaged in the community and state where one lives. At a time when higher education is going through a crisis, this book shows how political scholars may find alternative ways to explore their passion for politics"--