- ISBN13: 9780465018581
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Pocket versions of the Constitution of the United States of America abound, as do multi-volume commentaries, scholarly histories of its writing, and political posturings of various clauses. But what if you want a delightfully quick, witty, and readable reference that, in one compact volume, places the document and its clauses into context? You’re out of luck—until now. Written by Seth Lipsky, described in the Boston Globe as “a legendary figure in contemporary… More >>
Was not happy with the file. Not what I would call “accordian” as it barely opened 4 1/2″, so was very hard to get hand into each division. I opened one & ripped it in trying to open a division. Sent the other 2 I ordered back.
Rating: 1 / 5
This book, CITIZENS CONSTITUTION, is very informative.
We recommend it very highly.
Because of delivery problems we never did get this book from Amazon.
We got it from WalMart for less money and the delivery was fantastic.
Rating: 4 / 5
A good informative document. I had not possessed one of these previously but am glad I ordered this one from Amazon.
Rating: 5 / 5
I was very excited to start this book because I teach my students about the U.S. Constitution by breaking it down and having pairs of students explain their small piece to the rest of the class. I hate to say it but my sixth graders make the Constitution more accessible than this book. References to many cases (many obscure) do little to add to understanding, and the language of the lawsuits are often quoted in the same complex wording of the Constitution itself.
I also disliked how the Constitution was broken into pieces where you had to flip back and forth to retain the continuity of the original document.
I would say this is too simple for a legal scholar and still too complex for the average citizen.
Rating: 2 / 5
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.
Rating: 4 / 5