The Constitution Today: Timeless Lessons for the Issues of Our Era

In this “desperately needed” (Time.com) book, a leading legal scholar addresses the most important constitutional controversies of the twenty-first century and illuminates the Constitution's ongoing relevance

In The Constitution Today, Akhil Reed Amar, America’s preeminent constitutional scholar, considers the biggest and most bitterly contested debates of the twenty-first century—from gun control to gay marriage, affirmative action to criminal procedure, presidential dynasties to congressional dysfunction, Bill Clinton’s impeachment to Obamacare. He shows how the Constitution’s text, history, and structure are a crucial repository of collective wisdom, providing specific rules and grand themes relevant to every organ of the American body politic.

With accessible prose and expert insights, Amar leads readers through the most important constitutional questions while explaining the direction constitutional law must go, offering an essential guide for anyone seeking to understand America’s Constitution and its relevance today. 

Akhil Reed Amar is the Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University and the author of several books on constitutional law and history, including America's Constitution: A Biography and The Words That Made Us. He lives in Woodbridge, Connecticut.