How to Read the Constitution - and Why

By: Kim Wehle

Narrated by: Kim Wehle

Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

"A must-read for this era." (Jake Tapper, CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent)

An insightful, urgent, and perennially relevant handbook that lays out in common-sense language how the United States Constitution works, and how its protections are eroding before our eyes - essential listening for anyone who wants to understand and parse the constantly breaking news about the backbone of American government.

The Constitution is the most significant document in America. But do you fully understand what this valuable document means to you? In How to Read the Constitution - and Why, legal expert and educator Kimberly Wehle spells out in clear, simple, and common-sense terms what is in the Constitution and most importantly, what it means. In compelling terms and including text from the United States Constitution, she describes how the Constitution’s protections are eroding - not only in express terms but by virtue of the many legal and social norms that no longer shore up its legitimacy - and why every American needs to heed to this "red flag" moment in our democracy.

This invaluable - and timely - resource includes the Constitution in its entirety and covers nearly every significant aspect of the text, from the powers of the president and how the three branches of government are designed to hold each other accountable, to what it means to have individual rights - including free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right to an abortion. Finally, the audiobook explains why it has never been more important than now for all Americans to know how our Constitution works - and why, if we don’t step in to protect it now, we could lose its protections forever.

How to Read the Constitution - and Why is essential listening for anyone who cares about maintaining an accountable government and the individual freedoms that the Constitution enshrines for everyone in America - regardless of political party.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio. 

©2019 Kim Wehle (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

very biased

Most of the content was informative, however, it was all said from an anti-Trump perspective. So if you're looking for a non biased, informative book on the facts of the constitution this is not your book. Also the author all but skipped the 2nd amendment, and what she did cover she did so from an obvious anti-gun point of view.

A wonderful overview of how a leftist sees the Constitution

Could have done without the bias, but I guess objective writing is a lost are these days.

Even still, I learned a few things... and now I’ll go find a book from a conservative viewpoint to balance my knowledge out!

A good perspective on the Constitution

I enjoyed this book/audiobook.

While some could probably pinpoint some bias here and there in the book, the author pointed out where both sides of the political spectrum use their believed intent of the Constitution or the literal wording of it to favor themselves or sway people away from the other side’s influence.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants more information on civics in our great country.

Too opinionated. Paul Skousen book much better.

Author tries to make decisions for the readers. Often reaches conclusion without regard to original intent

Great book and author is amazing!

Loved it! Great comintary and fun to listen to. I learned a lot and will be listening to it again.

Required reading

I so enjoyed this book and the author’s reading of it. It has been too many years since I took Civics in high school, but I believe that my understanding of the constitution was never this detailed, nor did it matter to me sufficiently at the time. Her examples of the importance of almost every aspect of how it works to protects us all amazes me.

Good start to understanding the US Constitution

was on the fence about this one because of all of the negative reviews about bias, but believe this is an informative read on the US Constitution. Of course those that would seek to diminish democracy would not want to hear what's in this text.

These things matter. Today.

This is yet another book that will reveal how much they did not teach us in school (that's not a criticism of our teachers, many of whom I recall with genuine childhood affection, but instead a criticism of our culture in general and the system behind it that needs the current unfounded myths to remain in power). Kimberly Wehle provides essential background for lay people to comprehend the meaning and decipher the nuances of the US Constitution. One does not need to be a lawyer plowing through endless examples of case law to have a firm grasp of the basic structure of the US government, and how you can influence it. High school essential curricula should include understanding of the reasoning in the Federalist Papers, and the societal context of world history at the time the original Constitution was debated. The author parses critical clauses in the Constitution to reveal it as a truly living document. These things matter. Today.

The material in this book is not dry in this author's hands, and reading it will likely motivate you to be politically active at every level of government—I certainly hope so!

could have been great

So much information and insight... could have been percieved to be educational up until the author's disdain for the president became evident at the very end of the book. Once the author revealed her bias all prior information seemed to be overshadowed, truly unfortunate.

Thoughtful

Good discussion but overuse of the phrase "to be sure" is distracting to be sure.