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by: Akhil Reed Amar  List Price: $16.95 Amazon.com's Price: $11.53 You Save: $5.42 (32%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 342.73029 EAN: 9780812972726 ISBN: 0812972724 Label: Random House Trade Paperbacks Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 672 Publication Date: September 12, 2006 Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks Release Date: September 12, 2006 Studio: Random House Trade Paperbacks Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: In America’s Constitution, one of this era’s most accomplished constitutional law scholars, Akhil Reed Amar, gives the first comprehensive account of one of the world’s great political texts. Incisive, entertaining, and occasionally controversial, this “biography” of America’s framing document explains not only what the Constitution says but also why the Constitution says it. We all know this much: the Constitution is neither immutable nor perfect. Amar shows us how the story of this one relatively compact document reflects the story of America more generally. (For example, much of the Constitution, including the glorious-sounding “We the People,” was lifted from existing American legal texts, including early state constitutions.) In short, the Constitution was as much a product of its environment as it was a product of its individual creators’ inspired genius. Despite the Constitution’s flaws, its role in guiding our republic has been nothing short of amazing. Skillfully placing the document in the context of late-eighteenth-century American politics, America’s Constitution explains, for instance, whether there is anything in the Constitution that is unamendable; the reason America adopted an electoral college; why a president must be at least thirty-five years old; and why–for now, at least–only those citizens who were born under the American flag can become president. From his unique perspective, Amar also gives us unconventional wisdom about the Constitution and its significance throughout the nation’s history. For one thing, we see that the Constitution has been far more democratic than is conventionally understood. Even though the document was drafted by white landholders, a remarkably large number of citizens (by the standards of 1787) were allowed to vote up or down on it, and the document’s later amendments eventually extended the vote to virtually all Americans. We also learn that the Founders’ Constitution was far more slavocratic than many would acknowledge: the “three fifths” clause gave the South extra political clout for every slave it owned or acquired. As a result, slaveholding Virginians held the presidency all but four of the Republic’s first thirty-six years, and proslavery forces eventually came to dominate much of the federal government prior to Lincoln’s election. Ambitious, even-handed, eminently accessible, and often surprising, America’s Constitution is an indispensable work, bound to become a standard reference for any student of history and all citizens of the United States. From the Hardcover edition. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - The Constitution is brokenProfessor Amar knows the US Constitution is broken, dead, corrupted, and he is one of the few people smart enough to fix it. As a private citizen who is concerned about the serious dangers confronting our country, I summon Professor Amar and over one hundred other of the nation's best thinkers, politicians, statespersons, Constitutional scholars, foreign policy experts, business leaders, and media stars to Independence Hall in Philadelphia beginning July 4th, 2009, to craft an alternative Constitution. ... Read More Rating:  - From a Court-historan for party-hacksAmar makes the contradictory claims that the Constitution was ratified by the peoples of the individual sovereign states, but that somehow they also did so as "one people" that he admits didn't even exist as a legitimate ratifying body. And it just goes downhill from there; Amar, being a satist lackey, reads powers into the Constitution that would have the Framers and States calling for his head on a platter-- most notably the power of the federal government to interpret the same Constitution that supposedl ... Read More Rating: - A rare gemThis is a remarkable book. The author's knowledge, insight, analysis and synthesis are amazing. There's too much to praise about it, so I'll just mention one aspect: Amar makes a very compelling case that from the beginning slavery was a disease spreading infection in our society and political system (aided by the 3/5 clause), increasingly corrupting our character and institutions until a terribly bloody breaking point was reached. The evil was partially righted, then amorality returned, allowing a viciousness ... Read More Rating: - scholarly, yet readableFor decades I've been wandering about with a mish mash of semi-contradictory ideas about the constitution. Mr. Amar has managed to correct, justify, and reframe most of them into a (_thoroughly_ documented) coherent whole. Where the constitution is unclear, he quotes the debates and letters of the founders explaining what they meant. Where there is modern debate, he footnotes where to look for different viewpoints. Where there was debate during the writing of the constitution, he tells you who said ... Read More Rating: - A must read.Wow, I learned more about the consitution then I ever could have imagined. I didn't have any idea about many of the themes and debates over the constitution and it's amendments. I'm a novice at political thinking, before the presidential campaign I could've care less about politics. Some of this is a bit over my head since I don't have a background in law or political history. However, Mr. Amar explains it well enough that most should understand. I can't recommend it enough for anyone interested in the constitution. ... Read More 
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