Customer Reviews

Tribe's American Constitutional Law, 3D (University Textbook Series)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I purchased this book before my first year of law school. I figured that reading this would help me in my constitutional law class. In retrospect, I think that purchasing this book was probably a waste of money and that there were much better constitutional law treatises I could have bought.

Perhaps the biggest problem I had with this treatise is that it is not complete. It is part one of a projected two-part treatise. This frustrated me, as more than half the topics covered in my class were not given treatment in this book. Topics not covered in this volume include: the First Amendment, Equal Protection, the Fifth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment and the Privileges and Immunities Clause.

Even the chapters in this book that overlapped with topics covered in my class were not helpful. This is largely because of Tribe's writing style. He does not devote much space to discussing individual cases. Instead he cites a case to stand for a particular proposition, and then moves on. He may cite the same case several different times, each cite being hundreds of pages apart. The result is that as much time is spent flipping through pages as is spent reading Tribe's analysis of the case in question.

Tribe's style is also very difficult to follow. At times he is prolix, writing about "construction of the constitutional architecture," and "two strands intertwined in a single, grand fabric of law and politics." At other times he covers topics in such micro-detail that one is left wondering if Tribe is showing off. One reader commented on this, saying that the book is worth purchasing for the footnotes alone. I disagree. I do not think that most readers will have time to read Tribe's footnotes--many of which are hundreds of words long--nor will they have time to read the thirty cases mentioned within each footnote, many of which are essential to read if one is to understand the thrust of Tribe's point.

I give this book three stars, a middle-of-the-road rating. I do this because I realize that Tribe's book may be of tremendous utility to a law professor, or to a student who is writing a law review note on a topic of constitutional interest. For first year law students, however, Tribe's book is best avoided. Better resources for the first-year student include: Emanuel's Constitutional Law Outline and Erwin Chemerinksy's "Constitutional Law Principles and Policies." Both of those titles give clearer and more spot-on analysis of topics typically covered in first-year constitutional law courses.

This treatise on Constitutional Law is essential to every law student. I am currently enrolled in first-year Constitutional Law course, and I open up this book at least once everyday. The information contained in the book almost always answers my question, but on the rare occasion it does not the case cites and especially the secondary legal cites are excellent. I have purchased several Constitutional Law hornbooks and study aids, and this book by Professor Tribe easily surpasses the rest. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

In this first volume of the soon to be two volume third edition, Professor Tribe does an excellent job of articulating the most prominent arguments of today, as well as an excellent analysis of all constitutional law topics. After reading any topic in this book it is hard to believe that there is more to know on that issue, but if there is, the place to find it is in the excellent citations this book has to offer. These citations alone would be reason to purchase this book.

As a law student in a first year con law class, my recommendation to every law student is to buy this book, and the second volume when it comes out, as soon as you can, you will not need another hornbook or study aid.

Tribe has a long-existing and well-deserved reputation as one of the country's great Constitutional scholars. This book is thorough, well-thought-out, and provocative. It's not a book for a beginning Constitutional Law student, but it's one that a reader can come back to over the years, over and over,with the goal of better understanding the unity and structure of the Constitutional system. The text is both comprehensive and, at the same time, confrontational: it challenges the reader, it argues, it takes strong positions, and it educates. Argue with it, let it argue with you. You'll come out of the argument with a better sense of Constitutional logic, the dynamic nature of the system of Constitutional government, and of your own views. It's a classic.

If you have not yet had a chance to grace the doors of Harvard Law School, this is your opportunity to experience the wit and wisdom of Professor Laurence Tribe on the subject of constitutional law. The book is an invaluable addition to any federal court litigator's arsenal, and many aspects of it can usefully be referred to by law students as well. The book is especially interesting and informative with respect to the intricate and often quite creative connections it draws between constitutional provisions and doctrines that on their face do not seem particularly interrelated. The historical overviews of the development of key constitutional doctrines are especially riveting, and will likely interest individuals in a broad variety of fields.

I was sad to see some reviewers here give this volume one or two stars based on some imaginary defects with the work -- ie, that this is a revisionist history of the Constitution, that Tribe is anti-natural law, or that Tribe didn't say enough about the Second Amendment (duh! he reserves discussion of that Amendment and all the other rights-creating amendments/provisions for Volume Two!). It's pretty clear that the reviewers who gave this work negative reviews didn't even crack the spine. Give me a break!

The fact is that this volume is extremely well-written and meticulously researched. Plus it's written by THE preeminent con law scholar, somebody Supreme Court justices read on a regular basis (and hear regularly at various oral arguments). If you don't agree with Tribe's conclusions on a particular issue, well, he's given you plenty of other scholarship and caselaw to go look at. I turn to this volume quite a bit in my practice to get an overview of constitutional issues. My only regret is that Volume Two is not yet available. Come on Larry!

I don't know how anybody can give this book less than 5 stars unless you prefer easier reading and mini briefs the Nowak Rotunda book is guilty of. The Nowak book is however, a very strong treatise but Tribe's is the definitive work. It is the most cited source in Supreme Court arguments and recommended by professors. How anybody can think that it is revisionist or naturalist inclined is riduculous. It's hard to do that when you've got the con law community expecting the most demanding legal standards and several contributors (see the preface you might recognize the names) working on it.

Professor Tribe's treatise on Constitutional Law is a remarkable achievement. It is extremely authoritative, thoughtful, and comprehensive. Most reviewers fault the book for remaining incomplete. This is regrettable, to be sure, but we have to be grateful for what has been published. Other reviewers note that it is not a good resource for students. I agree that this is also true to some extent. Professor Tribe engages in thoughtful commentary on the implications and meaning of constitutional jurisprudence, subjects that are singularly inappropriate for law school exams. But as far as "understanding" constitutional law is concerned, I can think of no better resource for interested legal thinkers. Professor Tribe's ability to exhaustively explore and examine the contours of constitutional jurisprudence is truly remarkable; it is a real pleasure reading him. And he is also extremely fair. He credits Justice Scalia, for example, when credit is due, even though he has a reputation for championing traditionally progressive causes.

So students should keep in mind that this is more than a hornbook, and in that sense might be a bit unwieldy as a resource for exam preparation. But those interested in insightful commentary should give this book a careful reading. Reading Professor Tribe allows you to see and appreciate the complexities involved in legal thought.

I am just a simple country lawyer. I never went to Harvard.

I glanced at some of the reviews of Tribe's treatise, particularly from the 1Ls, and began chuckling to myself. Age gives one the privilege of being amused by the struggles of the young.

Every serious law student and lawyer should have Tribe's book. If money matters now, and if you can find an older edition, cheaper, then do so. Or buy a used one if you must. As the years go by, you will not remember whether it is your underline or your predecessor owner's.

Few of us have the privilege of practicing constitutional law to any great extent. I have not. And yet over the years I return to Tribe's book time and again, as I did just this weekend. It has probably been four years since I reached for it on the shelf. It is like an old friend one forgets to call often enough.

But when I look at my bookshelf, Tribe is the last survivor from law school.

There's a reason for that, which I certainly did not appreciate when I (painfully) paid the few dollars it cost years ago to buy it on the authority of my ConLaw instructor.

If you practice and think about the law, you will never regret owning this book, nor begrudge the pittance it cost, nor the hours reading its pages. American Democracy is a magnificent thing. The Constitution is its foundation, and, occasionally, its sorrow. Tribe's book will tell you why, if you've the time.

Tribe's treatise (Volume I) on U.S. Constitutional Law is worth a look.

During my semester studying U.S. Constitutional Law, I looked at some hornbooks and then, after some disappointment, specially ordered Tribe's book.

I found the Treatise to be enlightening in many areas of Constitutional Law, inlcluding the levels of U.S. Supreme Court review, and others. In my opinion Professor Tribe brings a refreshing, different perspective to the issues that appeal to many students, although perhaps not to all.

The price may be prohibitive for some, but for the Law Student employed full time, along with many other responsibilities, this may be the break you have been looking for. This is especially true when you are dealing with professors who love to "hide the ball!"

Considering the high cost of your legal education, I feel this book is well worth the money and would be a welcome addition to any law library. As an aside, after my Con-Law course was completed and my required paper was submitted (rife with Tribe footnotes of course), miraculously, the Law School bookstore began carrying this book at the professor's request!

This book comes highly recommended!