The Constitution Today

Timeless Lessons for the Issues of Our Era

De: Akhil Reed Amar

Narrado por: Mike Chamberlain

When the stories that lead our daily news involve momentous constitutional questions, present-minded journalists and busy citizens cannot always see the stakes clearly. In The Constitution Today, Akhil Reed Amar, America's preeminent constitutional scholar, considers the biggest and most bitterly contested debates of the last two decades - 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.

Leading listeners through the particular constitutional questions at stake in each episode while outlining his abiding views regarding the Constitution's letter, its spirit, and the direction constitutional law must go, Amar offers an essential guide for anyone seeking to understand America's Constitution and its relevance today.

©2016 Akhil Reed Amar (P)2016 Tantor

A little too much 'Akhil Reed Amar today'

The title is misleading. Yes, there is content relating to the title, but this, unlike the other books by Amar I have read and enjoyed, which dug well into history and scholarly context, is far more personalized and journalistic. It is apparently compiled from more journalistic writings. And there is far too much Amar here, emerging from the background in a way I have no desire to contemplate. Dude, I'm interested in the Constitution, that's what I'm here for, and not your ephemeral image and feelings and experiences and political opinions.
Your personal trivia is sub-zero interesting. You are another bland nerd, OK? I'll follow through and complete this, but I am in no hurry.

Fantastic

Learned a lot about the constitution that I didn’t know. I’m not a lawyer so it needed to avoid technical jargon, and it did. It also changed my mind about a few things I thought was fact.

Practical Advice on Understanding the Constitution

I’ve read the Constitution over the years more than a few times. His book and writings helped me to understand how little I actually understood it vs how much I thought I did vs how much I actually do.

I appreciated his step-by-step analysis in helping a layperson understand and interpret the issues as they apply to actual issues we’re all familiar with in recent memory. It’s highly likely I will order and read his latest book, and I’ve already searched out and read several of his recent articles. The author is a resource well beyond the hallowed halls of Yale Law School. I very much enjoy learning from him and hearing his views …perhaps especially when I don’t agree.

Amar is a Brilliant Arguer

Anyone interested in a careful scholar's view of the Constitution's relevance to modern life should read this book. I admit agreeing with the author more than not, but his careful scholarship and Constitutional analysis, demands respect.

The book will not engage true constitutional scholars, or so I suspect (their loss). Professor Amar writes with the informed and interested citizen in mind. But a political polemic it is not. Amar explains his understanding of Constitutional reasoning and in a series of overviews to previously published articles (and those articles), shows how ordinary voters can be taught constitutional concepts. He also does not take the easy out -- saying that all controversies have two equal or nearly equal constitutional arguments. For example, Dred Scott was wrong. While people defend positions and their arguments should be addressed respectfully and defeated decisively.

As a reader, there will likely be moments when you want to say "I don't think so" to what you are reading. Some of the arguments and analysis here raised my eyebrows or furrowed my brow. But on the whole, just about all of us can profit from reading this book.

Waste of time.

What disappointed you about The Constitution Today?

I listened as long as I could without throwing my phone out the window. This guy has such a distorted view of the constitution that I actually feel kind of bad for him. Add to that an embarrassing lack of knowledge of this subject and you have to endure a bias for his own misguided beliefs based on poor understanding of the subject. This book will leave any listener with a poorer understanding of American constitutional law than if they had just remained totally ignorant of it. I will be returning this piece of trash immediately.

Would you ever listen to anything by Akhil Reed Amar again?

No way.

How could the performance have been better?

The only improvement would be to delete the entire book.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Constitution Today?

I couldn’t stand to listen to this nut job long enough to make that determination.

Any additional comments?

Unless the listener is interested in reinforcing his or her own misguided and poorly researched beliefs on the constitution, I suggest staying away from this author.