Short but layered. [The Constitution] displays a professor's insights and a recent college graduate's sense for the lay reader's needs. It tells good stories at a fast clip in limpid prose...the book's greatest achievement is preternaturally good discretion in distilling hundreds of cases and copious scholarship and centuries of good stories to tell. [This] isn't just our Constitution's best short introduction; it might help make our civic culture at once more sober and more hopeful.”
First Things
“A clear, concise reader-friendly book.... A fascinating journey through American history.”
Roanoke Times
“An uncomplicated but sophisticated primer.... [Paulsen and Paulsen] cover the basics well, with thoughtful interpretations of groundbreaking opinions on the free speech guarantee of the First Amendment, the abortion rights case Roe v. Wade, and the 14th Amendment.... This is a useful, accessible, and pertinent overview that is well seasoned with opinion.”
Publishers Weekly
“A highly accessible and scholarly but lively look at the nation's guiding document.”
Booklist
“A sharp, efficient guide to the creation, content, and construction of the supreme law of the land. A well-conceived, well-executed primer.”
Kirkus Reviews
“This readable history of the Constitution as it has evolved over more than two centuries corrects many false beliefs about that document and its applicability to every corner of American life. Written in a style that makes it accessible to readers at several levels, this book tells the human story of the ways in which the world's oldest written constitution has shaped our experience.”
James M. McPherson, Professor of History Emeritus, Princeton University, and Pulitzer Prizewinning author of Battle Cry of Freedom
“The Constitution: An Introduction is packed both with essential information and discerning analysis. More than that, it reads like a novel-adventure story. It will make a great text in any number of classes.”
Stanley Fish, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Yeshiva University
“Michael and Luke Paulsen have written the most readable and insightful introduction to the U.S. Constitution since the days of Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, in 1840. This book is a must read for anyone trying to learn about the U.S. Constitution.”
Steven G. Calabresi, Clayton and Henry Barber Professor of Law, Northwestern University
“This impressive book by the father-son duo of Michael Stokes Paulsen and Luke Paulsen
is in its own way an eloquent testament to the Constitution as a covenant across generations. The Paulsens provide a lively and informed overview of how the Constitution has played out over our nation's history. They take positions—often firmly, sometimes less so—on a host of constitutional cases and questions. But [they] seek to spur conversations about the Constitution, not to end them.”
National Review
“A solid, intelligent, reliable, and interesting look at the origins of the Constitution, its basic structure, and its interpretation over the course of our country's history. The Paulsens' book does not tell Americans what to think, but it provides invaluable help as they think for themselves.”
Justice Samuel Alito, Engage
“A splendid introduction to the Constitutionone that takes the text of our nation's charter seriously and provides illuminating explanations of why its drafters chose the principles, concepts, and language they did for their ‘great experiment' in republican government and ordered liberty. The Constitution: An Introduction strips away the layers of interpretation that obscure the Constitution's meaning, enabling readers to encounter the Constitution itself.”
Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University
“This wonderful work is the best introduction to the United States Constitution available. It does a brilliant job reviewing two-and-one-quarter centuries of American experience. Essential reading for those who still believe in ordered liberty and self-government.”
Stephen B. Presser, Raoul Berger Professor of Legal History, Northwestern University, and author of Recapturing the Constitution
2015-02-24
A sharp, efficient guide to the creation, content, and construction of the supreme law of the land.Michael Stokes Paulsen (Law/Univ. of St. Thomas), author of casebooks and numerous articles, brings the legal chops, and son Luke, a Princeton graduate, contributes the sidebars. These thumbnail sketches of important constitutional players and capsule commentaries on important cases add color to the main text. Both authors are committed to jargon-free, comprehensible prose. They begin by setting out the document's framework and comment incisively on the novel concept of a written constitution deriving its authority from the people, ensuring checks and balances by separating power among the federal branches, while at the same time preserving state prerogatives. They move on to a careful, Article-by-Article explication of the respective powers of the federal government's three branches and a detailed treatment of the Bill of Rights, "practically a second Constitution." For the most part, the Paulsens praise the framers' handiwork, even as they acknowledge the morally deficient protections for slavery contained in various Constitutional provisions. They devote the bulk of their narrative to a compressed, evenhanded history of the Constitution's interpretation and the ongoing struggle to wrestle meaning from the words at the heart of our democracy. No important case goes unmentioned, no significant crisis or controversy unexplored. Some readers will quarrel with the authors' insistence on the immutability of the Constitution's words or perhaps with their commentary on particular cases, especially Roe v. Wade, Marbury v. Madison, and United States v. Nixon. Many will be surprised at their insistence that constitutional interpretation is not solely the province of the courts. All will appreciate the modesty and clarity they bring to this hugely complex subject. The Paulsens urge readers on to further reading and study, but they accomplish precisely what they set out to do. A well-conceived, well-executed primer, ideal for a bright high schooler, a college student, or even the odd professor who requires a brush up on the Constitution.