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by: Jack N. Rakove  List Price: $17.00 Amazon.com's Price: $11.56 You Save: $5.44 (32%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 342.73029 EAN: 9780679781219 Edition: 1st Vintage Books Ed ISBN: 0679781218 Label: Vintage Manufacturer: Vintage Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 464 Publication Date: May 27, 1997 Publisher: Vintage Release Date: May 27, 1997 Studio: Vintage Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Amazon.com: Imagine, for a preposterous moment, that 55 national leaders convened to write a document to guide the country for hundreds of years. It seems unlikely--given that our current contingent of so-called leaders can't agree on how to balance a checkbook--that they could reach consensus on such issues as the allotment of congressional seats. The political and ideological issues that faced the creators of the Constitution were similar in some ways to those at play today. And in some ways they were vastly different ones. Jack Rakove, a history professor at Stanford University, has in this book framed the process that led to the drafting of the constitution in its historical and political context to offer insight into the difficulty of interpreting that most influential of documents. Product Description: From abortion to same-sex marriage, today's most urgent political debates will hinge on this two-part question: What did the United States Constitution originally mean and who now understands its meaning best? Rakove chronicles the Constitution from inception to ratification and, in doing so, traces its complex weave of ideology and interest, showing how this document has meant different things at different times to different groups of Americans. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - The wrong titleThe title should include this addendum: "An in-depth look at the American experience during the ratification of the Constitution." One can't fault the author's knowledge or research, but his ability to write a captivating book about an important subject is wanting. At a time in U.S. Constitutional history when the questionable theory of "original intent" is tossed about by conservative judicial activists to justify their judicial philosophy, the book misses the opportunity to explore and synthesize ... Read More Rating:  - An excellent explication of the political thought behind the U.S. ConstitutionI just finished reading this book for a class in U.S. Constitutional History and my Professor has aptly noted that this book really attempts to do two things: first, it makes this point about Originalism, demonstrating that any attempt to divine original meaning, intention, or understanding is perilous because of the diverse thought, political motivations, and interests present in the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Second, it attempts to show the difficulties of Constitution-making, ... Read More Rating: - Misreading the Intent of the FoundersOur Constitution has been misconceived by the so called "progressive" Left for over half a century - at least since the days of the New Deal. It is not a list of suggestions passed on by the founders to be modified in each succeeding generation according to the prevailing mood of that generation. The Constitution is a compact between the people and their government establishing the basic framework by which a free people are to be governed, and the the limits of the power to be wielded over them ... Read More Rating:  - A Book for the thinking personA previous reviewer said it best already: this book is not for the average reader. If the person picking up this volume has a basic understanding of 18th century American thought, an open mind--critical not gullible, an understanding that America was not a unified nation until the Civil War, this very informative, thought provoking book will prove a treasure. You may not agree with the author in everything, but make sure you know enough to know why you disagree. Rating: - A wealth of information, presented badly, bound by a poisonous ideaJack Rakove certainly knows a lot of history about the founding fathers. Perhaps he knows too much. For the wealth of information in his brain has left him confused. It has left him confused about the meaning of the constitution. And it has led him to believe, since the meaning of the constitution is so hard to divine, that it actually has no meaning, and therefore we must be at the mercy of judges to mete out justice. This is poppycock. No, worse, it is dangerous. I am not ... Read More 
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