Customer Reviews

Quarrels That Have Shaped the Constitution

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This series of essays will serve as an elementary introduction to rulings of the United States Supreme Court. The essays are more descriptive than analytic, so anyone interested in one of the few landmarks herein would do well to use this volume only as the start of research. Some essays are somewhat critical, but most are more about context than about correction. The landmark cases are "humanized" in a way that should interest laypersons who want to learn more (but not a lot more!) about their constitutional history.

This is one of my favorite history books, and perhaps my favorite on legal history. The author provides a good, basic description of some of the most notable Supreme Court decisions that have affected the Constitution and the direction of the U.S. legal system. You also get some of the personal details of the parties involved, etc. so the book has a nice human element.

I first read this book in law school, but I'd particularly recommend it for people with no legal background and little or no understanding of Supreme Court jurisprudence. I think it'll give you a much better sense of both the role of the Court and how the Court's decisions shape our society.

This series of essays will serve as an elementary introduction to rulings of the United States Supreme Court. The essays are more descriptive than analytic, so anyone interested in one of the few landmarks herein would do well to use this volume only as the start of research. Some essays are somewhat critical, but most are more about context than about correction. The landmark cases are "humanized" in a way that should interest laypersons who want to learn more (but not a lot more!) about their constitutional history.

This book does something not terribly original, but still intruiging. It presents detailed social, historical and personal context for various constitutional disputes, most of which appear to have far exceeded their ostensibly limited origin and scope. Hence, seemingly minor tiffs have resulted in sharp changes in direction in Constitutional Law, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, in a manner which may well violate the spirit of the Constitution as originally drafted by the founding fathers.