Customer Reviews

The Citizen's Constitution: An Annotated Guide

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4 star:		(2)
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2 star:		(1)
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This is a wonderfully insightful and engaging book on our Constitution by an author who is not a professor of law or even a lawyer, but rather a distinguished journalist. In this volume Seth Lipsky, a former editor of The Wall Street Journal and founder of the New York Sun, deciphers the Constitution clause by clause and renders it accessible, comprehensible and relevant to all of us who are not constitutional scholars. He does so with highly readable and often witty footnotes that relate each clause not only to historical events that shaped the Constitution, but also to the way the Constitution shapes our contemporary society and culture. It seems to me this book ought to be required reading at every level from high school civics classes to law school courses. And those required to read it will wind up enjoying it, as I did, not just learning from it. Full disclosure leads to me to say I am a former newspaper colleague and still friend of Seth Lipsky, but I have many other friends who have written bad books as well as good ones. This book is terrific.

I think that this book is a must read for all US citizens. It lays out our Constitution, article by article, phrase by phrase, and includes the Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments) and all the remaining amendments to the Constitution through today. On top of that, it highlights the key Supreme Court decisions tied to each article of the Constitution and Amendment, including Roe vs. Wade, Dred Scott, Miranda (very interesting one) and others. Through the reading of this book, I became enlightened to what an important document our Constitution actually is, and the importance of each clause. One clause that is currently getting a lot of play (due the health care debate) is the so-called "commerce clause" and it is clear that this clause is not very clear providing lots of opportunities for the Congress to pass laws that probably were not expected when this clause was written. In fact, throughout the reading of this book, the author highlights that many of the clauses were probably not written with the expectation that the Congress would write the law that they did, and in some instances, the law was overturned including one Amendment (the one that banned alcohol).
Again, I highly recommend this book to any citizen - and it is a must read for all citizens to understand our constitution especially in this period of time when we have a very active federal government who may trample on our rights.

When I was a lowly college freshman at the University of Oregon, my Poli Sci professor pulled a copy of the Constitution out of his pocket during one of his first lectures and ask the class, "You know why i carry this around?"

I thought to myself, "Because you teach a course called The American Constitution." Happily, I didn't raise my voice or my hand.

Professor Jim Klonski gripped his pocket-sized Constitution and told the class, "There won't be a day in your lives that somebody isn't going to try and tell you what this means. It's written in simple English. I carry it around so I can figure out what it says on my own."

I'm guessing Professor Klonoski is no longer with us. But the pocket Constitution I bought later that day in the early 90s is still with me.

Seth Lipsky's book is a fascinating examination of the ideas behind the simple, deliberate language of our Constitution. Professor Klonoski was right, every day we hear people telling us what's in the Constitution. From the Tea Parties to the talking heads on MSNBC, the range of interpretation expands seemingly without restraint. The Citizen's Constitution helps put a fence around the document's possible meanings by citing the historical records of the time.

The book is challenged only by it's structure. It was tough to read straight through. But it has proven to be invaluable as a desktop reference book, so when somebody tries to tell me what the Constitution means, I can tell them what I think it means and tell them what the people who wrote it thought it means.

I purchased several copies of this book as Christmas presents and finally got around to reading my own copy. Its a fascinating read and Seth does a great job of weaving historical background and legal opinions together to provide a "flavor" of the background of each part of the Constitution. The author is a political conservative, but I found the book unbiased and quite factual.

There are a few typos, the most humorous appears on page 150, where Seth quotes the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 and notes, "...willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse...". As far as I know the US didn't have much of an Air Force in 1878, but Seth does go on later to describe how the Air Force was formed out of the Army, as the Constitution only provides for an Army and Navy. I tried to contact Seth (and the publisher) to point out the typos, but found no way to contact them.

In addition to being a full copy of the Constitution and its Amendments (worth having in your library) the background information is invaluable in helping to piece together how the founders were influenced by the events of their times. In finishing the book I was overwhelmed at how much time, effort and resources our Nation devoted/wasted to maintaining slavery - ostensibly as concessions to the South in order to keep the Union together. Mississippi didn't finally ratify the XIII Amendment (abolishing slavery) until 1995!!!

An interesting read and an excellent resource for those interested in the Constitution (which should be ALL Americans).

A unique and worthwhile addition to all the books about our constitution. It provides a view of our contract with the federal government as seen by those who crafted it and by those who, for good or ill, interpreted it. All of us should become more familiar with that wonderful document which has so sufferd from ignorance, abuse, and neglect.

A very well done and very much needed work on a subject that all citizens should, and can, have a working knowledge.

I saw the author speak at an event, where my friends got this book immediately, & read it at once. It's like a mini-series of the Constitution ~ with back stories, digressions, context, & mise-en-scene. It's a great gift, because absolutely everyone can learn from it & enjoy it, & most people really need to read it.

Every politician should be required to read this and pass a proficiency test on it prior to being sworn into office! For that matter, it should be used as a textbook in our high schools so that both the teachers and the students would be familiar with and well-grounded in the Constitution!

I recived my book... "The Citizen's Constitution.. an annotated Guide" in perfect condition... and in record time... It is a treasure of information and I will be happy to use it for many years!! Thank You for this wonderful service..

I did not think that this would be an entertaining read, and it wasn't, really. While it was easy to put down, I kept going back to it because it isn't boring, and I wanted to absorb the material. I've lent it to a few friends, who also read the whole thing. So, not just a small reference, but also a book that you can read all the way through.