America's Constitution: A Biography

Amar, Akhil Reed

ISBN 10: 1400062624 / ISBN 13: 9781400062621

Published by Random House, Inc., New York, 2005

About this Item

AUTHORITATIVE: ILLUMINATING: INSPIRING: MASTERPIECE: FINE First Edition hardcover (Orig. 2005) Sixth Printing (c. 2007): NEW unclipped mylar-protected jacket showing orig. $29.95 pub. price, IMMACULATE smooth-cut text-block exterior, NEW cover w/ slate-blue paper wrapping spine & extending 1.50" onto front & back panels covered in EXCELLENT cream-tan marbled paper & w/ sharp NEW edges-corners (BUT worn base end-cap) & w/ titles gold-stamped on spine, NEW perfect binding w/ tight signatures, IMPECCABLE cream-white card-stock end-papers, PRISTINE interior printed in Granjon on SUPERB blemish-free archival paper * 6.36" x 9.50" x 1.74", 1.00 kg, xii+660 (672) pp * ABOUT THE BOOK: In "America's Constitution" Yale Law School professor Akhil Reed Amar, one of our era's finest constitutional-law scholars, gives a panoramic account of one of the world's great political texts. Incisive, entertaining, at times controversial, this "biography" of America's framing document reflects the story of America more generally. For example, much of the Constitution, including the glorious-sounding "We the people," was lifted from existing American legal texts, including early state constitutions. In short, the Constitution was as much a product of its environment as it was a product of its individual creators' inspired genius. Despite the Constitution's flaws, its role in guiding our republic has been nothing short of amazing. Skillfully placing the document in the context of late-18th-century American politics, "America's Constitution" explains, for instance, whether there is anything in the Constitution that cannot be amended; why America adopted an Electoral College; why a president must be at least 35-years old & why, for now at least, only those citizens who were born under an American flag can become president. From his unique perspective, Amar also gives us unconventional wisdom about the Constitution & its significance throughout the nation's history. We see that the Constitution has been far more democratic than conventionally understood. Even though the document was drafted by white land-holders, a remarkably broad number of citizens were allowed to vote up or down on it & the document's latter amendments eventually extended the vote to virtually all Americans. We also learn that the Founders' Constitution was far more "slavocratic" than many would acknowledge: the "three fifths" clause gave the South extra political clout for every slave it owned or acquired. As a result, slave-holding Virginians held the presidency all but 4 of the Republic's first 36 years & pro-slavery forces eventually came to dominate much of the Federal government prior to Lincoln's election. Ambitious, evenhanded, eminently accessible & often surprising, "America's Constitution" is an indispensable work, bound to become a standard reference for any student of history & for all citizens of the United States. HIGHEST PRAISE: "I was about to describe "America's Constitution" as the best biography ever written about the U.S. Constitution, until it occurred to me that it's the only real biography of that remarkable document. What David McCullough is to John Adams, what Walter Isaacson is to Benjamin Franklin, Akhil Amar is the Constitution of the United States. Marvelously readable & breathtakingly informative, Amar's biography of our nation's founding document fills a huge void & fills it brilliantly." -Laurence H. Tribe, Harvard Law School * "There is no more inspiring teacher of constitutional law in America than Akhil Amar. It's hard to imagine a more inspiring guide to the text & history of the Constitution than this unique, surprising & illuminating book, a tour de force that should find a wide readership for years to come." -Jeffrey Rosen * SHIPPING: MNEMOSYNE carefully wraps, labels & custom-packages this fine book for FREE domestic shipment via USPS MEDIA MAIL or USPS PRIORITY MAIL for a below-cost additional fee & internationally via USPS FIRST CLASS AIRMAIL.

Seller Inventory # 011579

Bibliographic Details

• Title: America's Constitution: A Biography
• Publisher: Random House, Inc., New York
• Publication Date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1400062624
• ISBN 13: 9781400062621
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 6th Printing
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: New
• Weight: 1 kilogram

About this title

Synopsis

In America’s Constitution, one of this era’s most accomplished constitutional law scholars, Akhil Reed Amar, gives the first comprehensive account of one of the world’s great political texts. Incisive, entertaining, and occasionally controversial, this “biography” of America’s framing document explains not only what the Constitution says but also why the Constitution says it.

We all know this much: the Constitution is neither immutable nor perfect. Amar shows us how the story of this one relatively compact document reflects the story of America more generally. (For example, much of the Constitution, including the glorious-sounding “We the People,” was lifted from existing American legal texts, including early state constitutions.) In short, the Constitution was as much a product of its environment as it was a product of its individual creators’ inspired genius.

Despite the Constitution’s flaws, its role in guiding our republic has been nothing short of amazing. Skillfully placing the document in the context of late-eighteenth-century American politics, America’s Constitution explains, for instance, whether there is anything in the Constitution that is unamendable; the reason America adopted an electoral college; why a president must be at least thirty-five years old; and why–for now, at least–only those citizens who were born under the American flag can become president.

From his unique perspective, Amar also gives us unconventional wisdom about the Constitution and its significance throughout the nation’s history. For one thing, we see that the Constitution has been far more democratic than is conventionally understood. Even though the document was drafted by white landholders, a remarkably large number of citizens (by the standards of 1787) were allowed to vote up or down on it, and the document’s later amendments eventually extended the vote to virtually all Americans.

We also learn that the Founders’ Constitution was far more slavocratic than many would acknowledge: the “three fifths” clause gave the South extra political clout for every slave it owned or acquired. As a result, slaveholding Virginians held the presidency all but four of the Republic’s first thirty-six years, and proslavery forces eventually came to dominate much of the federal government prior to Lincoln’s election.

Ambitious, even-handed, eminently accessible, and often surprising, America’s Constitution is an indispensable work, bound to become a standard reference for any student of history and all citizens of the United States.

About the Author

Akhil Reed Amar graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School, and has been a member of the Yale Law School faculty since 1985. He is the author of The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction and has written widely on constitutional issues for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. He lives in Woodbridge, Connecticut, with his wife and three children.