Subjects:  1. Europe    2. Europe - General    3. Feudalism    4. General    5. History    6. History: World    7. Kinship    8. Land tenure    9. Medieval    10. Politics / Current Events    11. To 1500    12. Constitution: government & the state    13. European history: c 500 to c 1500    14. Social history    15. c 1000 CE to c 1500    16. c 500 CE to c 1000 CE   

Subjects:  1. Constitutional history    2. General    3. Political Process - General    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. United States    7. Constitution: government & the state    8. Education / General    9. USA   

Reviews (6)

Today's Climate
I found this book "Founding Character:The Words and Documents That Forged a Nation" to be outstanding. In todays climate of Red States vs Blue States and the Division that the last election has wrought, it was uplifting to read the words that
The Best Single Reference on the Founding Documents!
If you are tired of the tiny pocketbook edition of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and want a version with more substance, then Founding Character: The Words and Documents that Forged a Nation is the book for you!
A Reminder Of Who We're Supposed To Be
Reading this book brings back to me the remembrance of who we are supposed to be as Americans. I am reminded of citizenship lessons in grade school (I don't think they teach this anymore), and the bravery and courage of the Founding Fathers, and of the definition of Republic. Since the end of WWII we have been moving further and further away from what the Founding Fathers envisioned for the United States; we have become something quite different from what the Constitution describes. Our leaders do not rely upon the People at all. Our president requires nothing of us but to spend our money and be afraid. We are Americans, we routinely fight earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, forest fires, floods, and assaults on our liberty, and we are not afraid of anything. "Founding Character" reminds us that we don't have to stand still for this, that we can take the United States back from politicians who have stolen it from us. Read this book before you vote in the next election. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Americas (North Central South West Indies)    2. Articles of Confederation    3. Constitution    4. Constitutional history    5. Constitutions    6. Declaration of Independence    7. History    8. History & Theory    9. History - General History    10. History - U.S.    11. History - United States/Colonial & Revolutionary    12. History / United States / Revolutionary Period (1775-1800)    13. History: American    14. Political Science    15. Political Science / Constitutions    16. Political Science / History & Theory    17. Sources    18. U.S. Constitutional History    19. U.S. History - Revolution And Confederation (1775-1789)    20. United States    21. United States - 20th Century    22. United States - Colonial Period    23. United States - Revolutionary Period (1775-1800)    24. United States - Revolutionary War    25. American history: from c 1900 -    26. History / Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies)    27. USA    28. c 1700 to c 1800    29. c 1800 to c 1900   

Editorial Review

"The Bill of Rights stands as the high temple of our constitutional order--America's Parthenon--and yet we lack a clear view of it," Akhil Reed Amar writes in his introduction to Read more

Reviews (25)

Understanding the Bill of Rights
The The Bill of Rights by Akhil Reed Amar takes an original look at the Ten Amendments to the United States Constitution that became known as the Bill of Rights.Amar, a professor at Yale University Law School, is one of the most respected constitutional scholars in the country.
Great, except Amar doesn't quite understand his own work...
...where the 2nd Amendment is concerned!
A Sound Overview of the Bill of Rights and Reconstruction Amendments
~The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction~ is an informative historical exposition of the Bill of Rights and the rich republican tradition animating these protections from the impetus of the American republic.The Bill of Rights (specifically the first eight amendments thereof) are often misunderstood as it was not a positive grant of rights to the people, but it was rather a negative upon the federal government exercising restrictions upon generally-accepted common law protections, hence the phraseology "Congress shall make no law..." in the First Amendment.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Constitutional    2. Government - U.S. Government    3. Law    4. Politics / Current Events    5. United States - General    6. Civil law (general works)    7. Constitution: government & the state    8. Constitutional & administrative law    9. Human rights    10. Law / General    11. USA   

Subjects:  1. Political Science    2. Politics / Current Events    3. History & Theory - General    4. Constitution: government & the state    5. Political Science / Democracy    6. Political structures: democracy    7. Politics | International Studies | International Organizations    8. Democracy    9. Comparative government    10. Politics/International Relations    11. Democratization    12. Congresses   

Subjects:  1. General    2. Philosophy    3. Political    4. Political Science    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Constitution: government & the state    7. Philosophy / General    8. Social & political philosophy   

Reviews (1)

A Comparative Analysis
Among the significant documents of American history, few hold such a high degree of significance as the FEDERALIST PAPERS, constructed by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. There is an endless list of books written on the Federalist Papers of which to choose from, however, the Anti-Federalist side of the argument has, for the most part, been ignored among American historians, and I know of no other volume that gives the reader a better opportunity to examine both sides of the argument together. THE ESSENTIAL FEDERALIST AND ANTI-FEDERALIST PAPERS, edited by David Wootton, presents both sides of the argument for the reader's examination.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 1783-1789    2. Constitutional    3. Constitutional history    4. Constitutional law    5. General    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Political Science    8. Politics and government    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Sources    11. United States    12. Constitution: government & the state    13. USA    14. c 1700 to c 1800   

Subjects:  1. Political Science    2. Politics / Current Events    3. Politics/International Relations    4. Public Administration    5. Public Affairs & Administration    6. Public Policy    7. Public Policy - General    8. Constitution: government & the state    9. Political Science / General   

Reviews (2)

All the World's a Theory
In Imaginary Communities, Wegner glides from heady theorists like Jameson and Zizek to popular fiction like Dissposessed and to "cannonical classics" like 1984. Always readable, always introducing and always challenging, Wegner traces the evolution of the 'uptopia' novel while reorienting our reading of distopias by asking 'who's utopia are they?' Wegner sets up the concept of utopia as a mode of reading, asking us to position the texts we encounter in terms of it and in terms of social space as well, thus he discusses nation building and the onset of modernity in terms of the development of the utopia novel. Far reaching and deeply penetrating, whether you're a professor of literature, an avid sci-fi fan, an activist, or even an urban design specialist, Imaginary Communities is a 'place' worth visiting.

Buy this book!
You have to buy this book! To explain it would only to be to rewrite it. You must experience this for yourself.Looking for an existential explanation of how you participate within communities, make decisions and share the bond with so many others, those that you will never meet?This is the explanation.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1903-1950    2. American and Russian    3. American fiction    4. General    5. History and criticism    6. Literary Criticism    7. Literature - Classics / Criticism    8. Literature, Comparative    9. Literature: Classics    10. Orwell, George,    11. Utopias in literature    12. Constitution: government & the state    13. Literary Criticism & Collections / General    14. Literary studies: general    15. Literary theory    16. Political science & theory    17. Social & political philosophy   

Reviews (1)

The United States Constitution Study Guide
I found this guide very informative and thought provoking. After 35 years since graduation looking at this document clearly provided new insight and better understanding on it's importance in our daily life. I would recommend it to everyone. We should all know what our Constitution really says about our rights and freedoms. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Constitutional    2. Constitutional history    3. Constitutions    4. General    5. Law    6. Law / Constitutional    7. Political Science    8. Political Science / Constitutions    9. Study Aids    10. Study Aids / General    11. United States   

Reviews (2)

Cohered by a Disengagement with Citizenship and Sovereignty
Jeffery M. Berry's study makes the case that congressional policy has shifted from responding to material concerns of economic equality to responding to "postmaterial" or what he calls "quality-of-life" concerns. He traces the path of legislative initiatives in congress during sessions coinciding with the years 1963, 1979, and 1991. He attributes the rise of postmaterialism as a policy motive to the actions of what he calls "citizen groups." He claims that the investigative value of postmaterialism is that it "challenges our common notions of liberal and conservative. [49]" Liberalism, of which a "new" incarnation lends the titular impetus to Berry's work, is seldom defined directly. Rather it is reified in absentia, as the definitional agency behind the result of Berry's study. By exploring another curiously ill-defined term, that of the "citizen group," as a "lobbying organization," I hope to arrive at a clearer understanding of the author's deployment of liberalism.
An Important Work On The Influence Of Grassroots Groups
Jeffrey Berry shows why reports of the demise of the progressive wing of the political Left are greatly exaggerated. In this book, he explains how an expanding coalition of grassroots-oriented activist groups is building steam and coming to dominate debates about regulatory issues in Washington. He also addresses reasons why conservative groups encounter difficulty when attempting to address this phenomenon.Read more

Subjects:  1. American    2. Civics & Citizenship    3. Current Affairs    4. Lobbying    5. Political    6. Political Process - General    7. Political participation    8. Political planning    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Politics/International Relations    11. Pressure groups    12. U.S. Lobbies And Interest Groups    13. United States    14. Constitution: government & the state    15. Human rights    16. Liberalism & centre democratic ideologies    17. Pressure groups & lobbying    18. USA   

Editorial Review

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. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

A wealth of information, presented badly, bound by a poisonous idea
Jack 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.
Excellent book but not for everyone
This is an excellent book if you really want to understand the Constitution in extreme detail.I did and I enjoyed the book although the writing style is very wordy and long winded at times.This is not a good book for the general public but it was never intended as such.

Reply to "A Reader"
"A Reader" has probably not read Wittgenstein.If he has, he certainly doesn't understand him.No other explanation explains his reference to a brilliant, but completely apolitical, philosopher.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Civil Procedure    2. Constitutional history    3. Constitutional law    4. General    5. History    6. History: American    7. Interpretation and construction    8. Politics / Current Events    9. United States    10. United States - 19th Century    11. United States - General    12. Constitution: government & the state    13. History / United States / General    14. USA   

Editorial Review

Like many of his Scots-Irish contemporaries on the western frontier ofthe early United States, Andrew Jackson grew up despising and fearing his Indian neighbors. He proved to be a formidable enemy, campaigning against the Cherokee, Creeks, Chickasaws, and other peoples, some of them former allies against England in the Revolution and the War of 1812. In doing so, he established precedents that his compatriots would follow for the rest of the 19th century.Read more

Reviews (13)

Biography at its best
This is a magnificent look at Andrew Jackson's war with the Native Americans. So many biographers bury their subject and forget that most readers what to know who their subject *was*, not merely what they *did.* Remini doesn't fall into this trap. He gives the reader a well-grounded and detailed look at Andrew Jackson as a man: his foibles, passions and prejudices, as well as his extreme ambition and vacillating brilliance. sad story
After reading this book, I suddenly understood why so many Indians today believed that there was some sort of genocide being worked against them. This book covered a very unglorious period of our nation's history and how our nation grew. The author proves to be quite informative in his study and tried to take everything within the context of the period. Was the Indians in the east coast doomed as Jackson believed? The book make it very plain that they were doom because of people like Jackson. If the whites were honorable and true, most of these Indian nations would have survived easily but since the whites were not, the Indians were doomed as Jackson stated and wanted. Its almost amazing how treaties were made and thrown away like toliet paper. After reading a book like this, it really hard for our nation to stand so tall morally. Yes, all this took place a long time ago but we still whine about Pearl Harbor and the Alamo like yesterday. Our nation commited thousands of Pearl Harbor and Alamo on the American Indians as this book tell us so I think for that, it worth a read.

Disappointing, especially from such a renowned scholar
Let me start with a disclaimer:Prof. Remini was both my instructor in a history course and my Master's seminar advisor when he was a visiting professor at Columbia in 1959-'60. He approved my Master's Essay; I received my M.A. that year. Read more

Subjects:  1. 1767-1845    2. 1789-1869    3. 1815-1875    4. Government relations    5. History    6. History - Military / War    7. History: American    8. Indians of North America    9. Jackson, Andrew,    10. Military - United States    11. Native American    12. Native Americans    13. Relations with Indians    14. Relocation    15. U.S. History - Constitutional Period To Civil War (1789-1860)    16. United States - 19th Century    17. Wars    18. History / General    19. Jackson, Andrew   

Reviews (2)

Clueless in the Capitol
For those fascinated by the political process, Labored Relations may become the top comedy pick of the year.Prof. Gould, a fine labor law professor who has dedicated his life to showing unions, companies and workers what he believes to be a better way, consistently rejected the sincere attempts by all those around him who tried to show him a better way to move past the traps that bedevil anyone who decides to play Washington's political game.The book begins with a musing by Professor Gould as to why, as Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, he was being taken to task yet again by both liberals and conservatives during one of his many troubled appropriations hearings on Capitol Hill.But after 475 pages of labored musings, the reader will be even more amused to discover that the professor never does figure out the proper role of a member of the NLRB in our society.At one point he even asks himself what he likes least about being a professor and an NLRB member.Grading papers and dealing with his fellow NLRB members, he writes.Both tasks require a willingness to genuinely consider a point of view other than one's own, something the professor seldom does in his labored days in Washington.If you are interested in obtaining a political appointment in the next administration and want advice on how to make nearly every mistake possible during your tenure (including meticulously documenting your foibles in a memoir), be sure to buy this book.

mr. smith goes to washington
it seems to me that chairman Gould didn't get as much adulation and power as he thought he deserved. Perhaps the reason that he didn't get along with anyone, including his democratic friends in congress, the white house and the Board itself, says more about his style than theirs. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. General    3. Labor    4. Labor & Employment    5. Labor & Industrial Relations - General    6. Political Science    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Business & Economics / Labor    9. Constitution: government & the state    10. Employment & labour law    11. History of specific subjects    12. Labour economics    13. USA   

Subjects:  1. International Relations - General    2. Political Science    3. Politics / Current Events    4. Politics/International Relations    5. Sovereignty    6. Constitution: government & the state    7. International relations    8. Political Science / International Relations   

Subjects:  1. Constitutional    2. Constitutional History    3. Constitutions    4. History - U.S.    5. History: American    6. Political History    7. Political Science    8. United States    9. United States - General    10. American history    11. Constitution: government & the state    12. Constitutional & administrative law    13. Political Science / General    14. USA   

Subjects:  1. Autonomy (Philosophy)    2. General    3. History    4. Mind & Body    5. Philosophy    6. Constitution: government & the state    7. Philosophy / General    8. Social & political philosophy   

Reviews (9)

Wrong Interpretation
Beard is known as a "progressive historian."You should know that before reading this book.As such, his interpretation is ... interesting but flawed.Beard's main point is that the Founding Fathers wanted to protect their economic interests.They wanted tokeep the common folk out of the political process and safeguard slavery.What Beard fails to note, and there is evidence that he was aware of these next points, is the following:
Just because you're paranoid....
A noted historian of the early twentieth century, Charles Beard was notorious for his non-traditional interpretations of economics as the driving force behind major historical events. In 1913, at the time of the original publication of this book, he was even considered to be a bit radical. Certainly, the main thrust of his monograph ruffled a few feathers, as it called into question the motives of our founding fathers, placing their feet firmly on mortal, fallible, self-interested grounds, as opposed to the lofty pedestals where they were usually enshrined.
A Good Place to Begin Thinking About What it Means to be an American
Jumping to the end of Charles Beard's book, his conclusions state the following:
Read more

Subjects:  1. Constitutional    2. Constitutional history    3. Constitutions    4. Economic conditions    5. History & Theory - General    6. History - U.S.    7. Political Science    8. Politics/International Relations    9. To 1865    10. United States    11. United States - General    12. Economic theory & philosophy    13. Political Science / General    14. USA   

Reviews (29)

And Justice For All

Probably the best Republic around.

Bloom's "Republic"
Strauss and his followers, of whom Bloom is one of the most famous, have been criticized for taking Plato ironically, that is, interpreting Plato to mean something other than what he said. As a complete amateur in this discussion, it seems to me that before you can understand what Plato meant you have to understand what Plato said, and there's the problem:What did Plato actually say?