Editorial Review

This is the ONLY edition authorized and commissioned by the W. Cleon Skousen Family. Also, no other edition except this one includes the revisions made by the author during the 25 years after the original printing.

NEW in 2009! THE 5000 YEAR LEAP 30 Year Anniversary Edition with Glenn Beck s Foreword! NOW also includes Common Sense by Thomas Paine No other edition offers the revisions and updates of this remarkable book detailing how the Founding Fathers used 28 principles to create a 5000 year leap in freedom, prosperity, and progress; all based upon morality, faith, and ethics.

THIS BONUS EDITION INCLUDES: Common Sense by Thomas Paine, 101 Constitutional Questions To Ask Candidates, The US Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, and Two landmark addresses by author Dr. W. Cleon Skousen never before offered in print.

Revised, 30 Year Anniversary Edition. During the last 26 years of Dr. Skousen's life he continued his extensive study of the constitution and founding values. He kept his original copy of The Five Thousand Year Leap with him and would write notes in the margins and on envelops and note cards of the refinements and updates he wished to add to the book. This new 30 Year Anniversary Edition includes those refinements and updates. Our gratitude goes out to the Skousen family for supplying us with this information to enable us to bring you this new edition.

The 5000 Year Leap will take you by the hand as you discover the ideals of the Founding Fathers and their 28 principles for success. The values explored in detail by Dr. Skousen range from the Founder's prerequisite that the Constitution was designed for a moral people, to a government empowered by the people with checks and balances, along with an understanding of the critical nature of fiscal responsibility and family values. This book sums up the secrets to what James Madison called a miracle. ... Read more

Reviews

The 5,000 Year Leap, April 25, 2009
This book is the quintessential book on understanding the brilliance of our founding fathers. It also shows how the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence are timeless documents. It should be recommended reading in all high school social studies classes. I gained an understanding and appreciation of our freedom given to us via these documents and has woken me up to how our current government is seeking to take power and gradually take away the freedoms granted to the people of the United States. The main reason behind the US Constitution was to limit the oppressive power of government. There are so many things that today's federal government is doing that our forefathers fought to make sure wouldn't happen. I think everyone should read this book to get an idea of just how far over reaching the current federal government is. The amazing thing is that this book was originally written I believe 30 years ago and it's so appropriate to what's happening in the political landscape today. It's almost like Skousen saw our current situation coming.

Should be used in every government and history classroom., October 1, 2009
I hesitated to write this review as I stopped reviewing books on government and politics a couple years ago because of the nasty comments people would make about my conservative and Christian views. A dear friend gave this book to me as a gift and I find it outstanding. Were I still teaching government and history I would be using it in the classroom. Yes, I have checked facts given in this book and have found them 100% correct. I will be buying extra copies to give to friends who are still teaching. I also will not read any comments on my review of this book. I am pleased that the great majority of reviewers seem to feel as I do.

5000 Year Leap, April 15, 2009
Love him or hate him, I saw an interview with Richard Nixon not too long before he passed away. He said his greatest fear is that we are not telling our nation's story over and over, and our children are not being taught in our public schools. I am a retired educator who majored in history and taught American History for several years. I am still an avid student of our history. I can tell you the stuff our kids are being fed is nothing but a bunch of touchy-touchy, feel good, politically correct pile of garbage. For example little emphasis on our Founding Fathers is given in many states and universities. Why? THEY OWNED SLAVES. Yes, they did, but they put together the best system of government the world has ever seen. Revisionist historians want to go back to Jamestown and blame this country for every conceivable ill. Many of these historians such as Michael Bellesiles of Emory University wrote a complete book of lies about the Second Amendment, The Arming of America. He got a Pulitzer for the book. It was discovered that his research was so specious that the prize was withdrawn and he was fired. He was so anti Second Amendment that he was willing to put his career on the line and lie about it. I have an idea this is but the tip of the iceberg. Our students are being fed lies, yes lies, about our history. This is a book that would be required reading in my American History classroom. If there are those who get all chilled by the mention of the Christian faith, then don't read it if it offends you. I taught a month long unit on the US Constitution each year to my 8th graders. They practically had to memorize it. They were tested over and over again and were required to do additional research. That was several years ago, and my former students STILL REMEMBER those precepts. Again, this book needs to be read by every American citizen, liberal or conservative, elephant or donkey. We need a new American Revolution, a patriotic one. Too many people in our country (like leeches) draw from the blessings and benefits of living in this country and wouldn't raise a finger to support or defend her. I honestly believe if we were to face a crisis such as World War II, we would hear a giant sucking sound, the rush of our "citizens" running to Canada and Mexico.

Back to Basics, January 25, 2010
Being British, and involved in politics over here, I was very keen to read this book, to see the ingredients that the founding fathers mixed together to create such an incredible country.

As I have read the book, I have been in awe at the incredible restraint and foresight that these men had. I am sure they were truly inspired, as where the others who contributed - as the Constitution was by no means the work of one man.

I am saddened and worried by the drift from the founding ideal, to policies and politics that have been proven time and time again not to work.

As a friend of mine said, the problem you get with Democracy, is when people realise they can vote themselves money!

It is my hope that the people of America have a "second Revolution", a return to the basics, and the simplicity of the Constitution - because truly it is only this way that America can get itself out of the crippling debt and over regulation it is finding itself in.

This really should be compulsory reading in schools, and colleges - but of course the liberal left would have a heart attack if that was to happen, as the book mentions God!

If you can do it once, you can do it again! So go for it, and get back to the basics that made America Great!

THIS IS THE ONE WITH GLENN'S FOREWORD, March 18, 2009
This is the edition that has Glenn's foreword. This version is the book Glenn gave to all of his studio audience and held up during his "WE SURROUND THEM" event on Friday March 13th. Folks should feel free to buy either edition, but keep in mind if you want Glenn's foreword and the updates for 2009 then you will probably want this one. Its ironic that even though Glenn featured this edition, the old NCCS edition is the one that has shot to #1 on the Amazon best-seller list. Congratulations to NCCS we wish them the very best! Just make sure as a buyer you know which one you are ordering becuase there are two distinct editions (the 30th Anniversay updated edition and the 25-yr-old original) I say get which ever one suits your fancy.

Fantastic smart easy read history, April 28, 2009
Great, accurate, smart, factual, interesting, easy to read and understand history. One of the best I have ever read. I would recommend to any U.S. citizen and anyone wanting to understand how our Government was formed based on freedom, equality, justice and humanity.

Like Updated Version Better, March 24, 2009
I own both the original book and CD, and the updated 30th Anniversary edition available only from PowerThink. I like the additional commentary by Glenn Beck and it's nice to have the Declaration and the Constitution in one place. The artwork on the anniversary edition cover is excellent. I believe that The 5,000 Year Leap should be required reading in America's schools and colleges. Like all of the products I've purchased from PowerThink, this anniverary edition packs more bang for the buck than what you find with other publishers.

a must read for every American, May 2, 2010
This book is clearly written, very practical and informative, and I am now reading it with my 7th grade grandson. Reading this book will provide a clear understanding not only of the founding and the founders of our great nation, but also how unique America is in the entire history of the world. I have always been proud to be an American, but this book educated me, filled in gaps in my knowledge of history that I didn't know were even missing, and reaffirmed my conviction that I must be the best American that I can be; I must be a better patriot today than I was yesterday. It is imperative that my firm convictions be based in truth-- and that I have the courage to stand on those convictions. I must be an educated and faithful voter.... and then stay in touch with those who represent me in my government. I agree with Thomas Jefferson: When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. Amen and amen.

Finally know what it is to be an American, October 7, 2009
I did not learn this in Social Studies. Maybe it should be required reading.
Just getting into the book I am in love with it already. Reading a few pages, and glancing through the book, I find it an easy read. As Americans, we need to understand the Why--why does it work?
If you know the why, then we can not be easily led astray.

It belongs next to The American Patriots Almanac by William Bennett, Rediscovering God in America by Newt Gingrich, Common Sense by Glenn Beck
(I already put Arguing With Idiots on that shelf, there is a space for Becks "An Inconvenient Book" as well)

This book has: the Declaration of Independence, the U. S. Constitution, Common Sense by Thomas Paine, and 101 Constitutional Questions to Ask Candidates.
It states the task set before the Founders, and the 28 principles after that.

Yes, it is WORTH the extra pennies to have all the content. It is a book to be celebrated.

Best read in a long time., April 2, 2010
I remember when schools used to teach civics and US government and at least some history. This book reacquainted me with the founding principles of this country and of the incredible men who dreamed of an entirely new system of government. It also unfortunately pointed out how far we have strayed from those principles. I recommend this book for everyone regardless of political party or ideology. It will make you stop and think. ... Read more

Editorial Review

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Reviews

Good Manners Depend on What Page You're On, February 5, 2010
I got this for historical research. I don't know the exact date of publication, but it is before World War I and probably sometime in the last two decades of the 19th century. An attempt to put the topics in alphabetical order has resulted in massive confusion, and the author repeatedly contradicts himself. For example, on one page he says that it is the task of the bride's maid of honor to prepare the bags of rice to throw and to be the one to throw the slippers at the carriage as it departs on the wedding trip. On another page he says that the best man should throw the slippers, and throwing rice is no longer in fashion. On yet another page he says that it is extremely bad usage to throw slippers at the departing carriage.

He is equally contradictory on several other items. He is, however, quite firm on the topic of how to carry canes and umbrellas: vertically. If you carry them horizontally you might put somebody's eye out.

This is a book worth reading for amusement, but I wouldn't put too much faith in it as I am writing a historical novel. ... Read more

Editorial Review

A tiny, ebullient Jew who started as America's leading liberal and ended as its most famous judicial conservative.A Klansman who became an absolutist advocate of free speech and civil rights.A backcountry lawyer who started off trying cases about cows and went on to conduct the most important international trial ever.A self-invented, tall-tale Westerner who narrowly missed the presidency but expanded individual freedom beyond what anyone before had dreamed.

Four more different men could hardly be imagined.Yet they had certain things in common.Each was a self-made man who came from humble beginnings on the edge of poverty.Each had driving ambition and a will to succeed.Each was, in his own way, a genius.

They began as close allies and friends of FDR, but the quest to shape a new Constitution led them to competition and sometimes outright warfare. SCORPIONStells the story of these four great justices: their relationship with Roosevelt, with each other, and with the turbulent world of the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War.It also serves as a history of the modern Constitution itself.

... Read more

Reviews

Court Battles
The author has cherry-picked the four most interesting Supreme Court justices from the eight men that President Rossevelt appointed to the high bench. This legal account really follows the tenure of Robert Jackson (1941-1954) as he interacts with fellow justices Hugo Black, Felix Frankfurther, and Wiliam Douglas. It is an arbitrary time period chosen by the author, but it is climaxed by the historic Brown vs. Board of Education decision and Justice Jackson's death. The narrative alternates between the constitutional theories of each of the justice's and between their brilliant but competitive minds. The book combines dueling legal arguments, New Deal politics and clashing personalities into an absorbing narrative of the World War Two era and beyond.

I doubt even the author realizes how good this book is - Finest book ever written about the Supreme Court !!!!


By way of disclosure I am a private scholar who has studied the interplay of power among different institutions and entities, whether it is government, corporations, or other power groups. I have been a member of the Supreme Court Historical Society for many of the last 30 years and I have been fortunate to have developed personal relationships with many associate justices and two Chief Justices. Having said that, I am simply amazed at the wonderfully expertly written, fascinating, and breathtaking book that Feldman has written.


His anecdotes and historical references are both brilliant and factual. He has truly captured the essence of the Supreme Court and its stormy relationship with FDR during a critical period of American history. This was during the 1930's and for the next thirty years. This is a book about 5 egos, four of them justices, and one President, and the interplay between them during 3 decades. The first part of the book is devoted to a fast sweeping biography of 4 associate justices all of whom were appointed by the patrician Franklin Roosevelt.


The Players in this book:


Felix Frankfurter

Brilliant beyond anyone's understanding, he was the product of a poor family living in the slums of New York. He went to the City College of New York, and although it is not mentioned in the book, City College at that time was considered better than Harvard because the Ivy League was limiting Jewish enrollment intentionally. This allowed City College at one point to have more Nobel Prize winners than Harvard.

After graduation, Frankfurter put together some money and went on to Harvard Law where he excelled. Ultimately he developed mentors like Henry Stimson, an absolutely legendary power broker in Washington who served several Presidents including FDR as Secretary of War. Frankfurter is without question one of the intellectually most gifted people to ever serve on the Court.


Robert Jackson

Jackson was born dirt poor, so poor in fact, he could not afford an undergraduate education, and so he apprenticed to be a lawyer with a Jamestown New York law office. While working, he decided to pursue a year of formal education at the Albany New York Law School. He was folksy, clever, with a fabulous speaking delivery, exercised common sense and made a fortune before risking it all on a bank during FDR's first days in office.


Hugo Black

Black did a 2 year program at the University Of Alabama School Of Law. He was self-guided, extremely well read and understood that in the 1920's, the power was with the Ku Klux Klan, and so he joined in 1923. It helped him with his rise to power in Alabama and then he abruptly left the organization. It haunted him the rest of his life. He joined the Supreme Court in 1937, and became one of the most outspoken proponents of freedom, and free speech during the century.


William O. Douglas

Raised on the West Coast in Washington, he became a Yale Law School professor in his 20's. Accepted at Harvard Law, he went to Columbia Law instead. This man also knew how to be mentored. He came under the guidance of Robert Maynard Hutchins who graduated Yale Law in 1925 and immediately became a professor of law. Two years later Hutchins becomes dean of the school at 28 years of age. He then brings Douglas to Yale to be right in the center of things. Douglas would then be mentored by Joe Kennedy, JFK's father. Joe Kennedy would introduce Douglas to FDR, and thus a rocket ship ascent began for the future associate justice.


You need to understand who these players were to determine if you want to read this book. What the author clearly demonstrates is how these four individuals who on and off for thirty years would be friends and enemies would go on to reshape our modern interpretation of the Constitution, and the laws under which we live. Every major law and judicial event of the 20th century came through their hands for interpretation and lawfulness.


Their joint influence is not exceeded by anyone including Presidents. Just look at a short list of some of the seminal events they were involved in:


* The concept of Judicial Restraint

* Clear and Present Danger Case

* Dennis v. United States - The right or non-right to advocate the overthrow of the United States

* Judgment at Nuremburg - The right of the world to judge the implementers of Hitler's final solution. Associate Justice Robert Jackson presided.

* Brown v. Board of Education - Outlawing the separate but equal doctrine created by the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. Justice Jackson went through four different drafts of this new interpretation. While very ill at the time, Justice Jackson found it excruciatingly difficult to render a unanimous opinion. He went directly to the Court from a hospital bed to render support for the earthshaking decision the Court published.

* The Rosenberg Case



What you will gain from reading this book:


You will understand our country, and more importantly the true genius of the founding fathers in creating an independent Supreme Court. You will be awed by the intellectual genius of some of America's greatest minds dedicated to an interpretation of our laws. Even when you disagree with them, you will be struck by the quality of their thinking.


This is not about liberal versus conservative, which is what we see today. I have known many of the great liberals as well as the conservatives on the Court, and I am impressed by both types. My own personal demand on sitting justices is that they are people of absolute integrity, and extraordinary intellects, and for the most part we have been blessed by both from the right and the left.


Author Noah Feldman has given us a rare glimpse into some of the most interesting personalities of the 20th century. You will also get to know Tommy the Cork Corcoran, one of the most powerful legal players in the 20th century. You will meet Abe Fortas, perhaps the most influential associate justice of the 20 century. This is a man who sat in Lyndon Johnson's cabinet meetings, not at the table, but back several feet by the window. He would take it all in, and then when alone with the President dissect the whole meeting, and tell President Johnson what to do. I doubt LBJ could have remained in office through 1968 without the solid advice rendered by Abe Fortas.


In summary, if you have any interest in the Supreme Court at all, or how government works, this book should be at the top of your list. I simply could not put it down, and thank you for reading this review.


Richard C. Stoyeck

Conflict on the FDR Supreme Court
There are a number of books and articles that discuss conflict between Supreme Court Justices, including the four Justices at the center of this fine study: Felix Frankfurter (1882-1965); Robert Jackson (1892-1954); Hugo Black (1886-1971); and William O. Douglas (1898-1975). Collectively, these Justices served between 1939 and 1975. However this book is unique in several ways that advance our understanding of the Court during this period. At about 500 pages, the author is able to paint a more complete picture of the Justices and their Court interaction than shorter studies. Each Justice is introduced, in terms both of his pre-Court career and his relationship with FDR. So by the time the author discusses their Court interaction, the reader has a particularly good feel for each Justice as an individual. Unlike most other studies, the author devotes probably most attention to Robert Jackson, an almost forgotten figure today who is soon to be the subject of a major biography by Professor John Q. Barrett. This focus on Jackson, former Attorney General, whom Justice Brandeis considered the finest Solicitor General he had seen, who later served as lead American prosecutor at Nuremberg, and who wrote some of the finest opinions in the Court's history, enhances the study enormously.

The book also sheds light on the other three Justices as well. The much criticized Frankfurter, who went from being the leading Court liberal to outright conservative, is assessed in ways that allow the reader to understand why the shift to an activist Court left Frankfurter behind, rather than a shift in his own judicial restrainist philosophy. A perceptive discussion of Black and the development of his incorporation and textual philosophy of interpretation helps fill out an understanding of this key Justice. Equally important as his revival of Jackson is the author's rehabilitative portrait of Douglas, driven by political ambitions until 1948, when he emerges as a "great justice" and theoretician of new constitutional rights (such as privacy) and opponent of the Vietnam war. As a corrective to the "Wild Bill" approach to Douglas, the author's analysis is most welcome. We are reminded of why Douglas was so vital a Justice during his tenure in dealing with issues such as the flag salute cases, Japanese relocation, the HCUA, and the Rosenbergs.

On top of all this, the book is a solid analysis of some of the leading cases in our constitutional history during this period. The discussions of "Brown," the Steel Seizure and "Dennis" cases are particularly perceptive. Another focus is the intellectual approach to judging each man employed. Some issues of judicial philosophy are raised, for example Jackson's pragmatic approach (promoting the effective functioning of the government) and Alexander Bickel's "counter-majoritarian difficulty." The bizarre Black-Jackson feud that erupts while Jackson is at Nuremberg is skillfully dissected and explained. There is much more of marked value in the book, supported by 46 pages of helpful endnotes, a 12 page bibliography, and some useful photographs. While one can quibble with the author's perhaps excessive opinions of Douglas and Jackson, and some of his other judgments, in the process one can learn a tremendous amount about these four unique individuals, the Court they made, and our constitutional history.

A Great Book about the mid-20th century Supreme Court
FDR appointed nine Supreme Court justices including the elevation of Harlan Fiske Stone to Chief Justice. The collection of individuals who orbited around FDR during the New Deal and World War II and those who appointed to the Court are an amazing list of influential, intelligent, and inspiring people who helped shape America. This book focuses on four of FDR's Supreme Court nominees: Hugo Black, an Alabama Senator; Felix Frankfurter, one of the nation's foremost authorities on the Court who knew FDR from the Wilson Administration; William Douglas, the SEc Chairman who could never truly end his love affair with presidential politics; Robert Jackson, the fast rising Solicitor General, Attorney General, and prosecutor and Nuremberg.

Noah Feldman traces the rise of FDR as well as these four individuals. The author tells us of their careers, beliefs, and interaction prior to their court confirmations and then their struggles once there. It is a political, constitutional, and personal history of the United States largely between the 1930s and 1960s. You will learn about the wheeling and dealing behind presidential and vice-presidential nominations, the constitutional history of many monumental Supreme Court decisions largely culminating in Brown v. Board of Education, and the personal friendships, rivalries, and outright conflicts at play.

In addition to the main cast of four justices and FDR, major players include political insider and New Dealer Tommy "The Cork" Corcoran, short term Supreme Court Justice James Byrnes, Attorney General Francis Biddle, Democratic insider Robert Hannegan, and many others who colored our country's history.

Despite having read a fair amount about the Supreme Court during these times and even some biographies of the nominees, I learned a great deal from reading this book. Unlike other treatments, the author really gives Douglas his due as an important thinker on the court. Many other books dismiss Frankfurter as a liberal who shifted right on the court, but that is really only a small part of his story told here. Jackson's pragmatism made him harder to pigeonhole and his ambition always left him wanting something else such as the position of Chief Justice or the presidency. Hugo Black invented modern day originalism, though of course he bent over backwards for certain decisions, such as Brown v. BOE, to meet it.

FDR's years as president were impactful enough. But Noah Feldman shows that they were even farther reaching than we thought, coloring the Warren Court, Justice Brennan's liberal jurisprudence, and many of the constitutional questions the Court is still dealing with today involving privacy and the Bill of Rights as it affects the states.

Spectacular Readable Legal History!
Feldman has written a spectacularly excellent history of the Supreme Court FDR made, the Supreme Court that transformed American jurisprudence and shaped it into what it is today. Feldman writes a kind of history that is all too rare -- addictively readable stories of real human beings who shape Constitutional doctrine and made history in the process. Frankfurter, Douglas, Black, and Jackson fought with one another, an opinion at a time, a personal affront at a time, and gave us all the Constitution that now protects free speech, the rights of minorities, and counts the Bill of Rights as the center of the Constitution rather than an appendage, the Constitution that grows, developes, is anything but static. Others will write in detail about the contents of this book, I won't. I will simply say that for anyone who is even mildly interested in Constitutional law in our time, this is a wonderful read for the lay person, the law student, or the skilled practitioner -- a wonderful reminder that although we say we are a nation of laws, not men, it is men who make the laws we live by, and fallible all too human men who interpret and apply it.

The origins of modern constitutional law
It seems as if there's a veritable slew of good books about Supreme Court justices this year. The latest, Noah Feldman's Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR's Great Supreme Court Justices, focuses on four of Franklin Roosevelt's appointees: Felix Frankfurter, Hugo Black, Robert Jackson, and William O. Douglas.

Each of these justices is fascinating and could merit an individual biography (and there are biographies on each). By writing a joint biography, however, Feldman is really able to compare and contrast these men and their jurisprudence. Frankfurter was the activist law professor who was reluctant to exercise judicial review. Hugo Black, a former KKK member, became a noted civil libertarian and read the constitution literally. Robert Jackson, a small-town lawyer and later Nuremberg prosecutor, usually judged cases with an eye towards pragmatic policy solutions. William O. Douglas pined for political office but settled for preaching liberal values. Together, these men developed or promoted the modern constitutional doctrines of judicial restraint, originalism, pragmatism, and liberalism.

Outside the legal realm, these four justices often fought and bickered to a degree startling for four liberals appointed by the same president. Robert Jackson, who at law schools is portrayed as a reverential figure, got into a petty argument with Black over whether the latter should recuse himself in a case involving a former lawyer partner. Jackson even took his dispute public, sending cables from Nuremberg to impugn his colleague. Frankfurter viewed Black as an intellectual lightweight and relied on a network of mentees to conduct historical research against Black's legal philosophy. Douglas comes off as boorish, especially to his law clerks. However, there are some heartening moments too, such as when Frankfurter defends Jackson against the latter's former ungrateful law clerk, William Rehnquist.

I haven't been a fan of Feldman's past work, particularly the lightweight The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State (Council on Foreign Relations Book). However, I think he gets Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR's Great Supreme Court Justices just about right. For law students like me, I can recognize some of the cases and legal debates to which the book refers. It certainly furthered my understanding of these cases. Perhaps best of all, having a passing familiarity with these justices, I was still genuinely shocked by some of the book's anecdotes (particularly the petty fueds). However, it's generally accessible enough for any reader interested in American history to understand and enjoy.

My only "criticism" of Scorpions is that it's not long enough to do the subject full justice. I know, that's a common faux criticism. The main narrative essentially ends with Jackson's death in 1954, after Brown v. Board. However, Feldman alludes to tantalizing hints of how the other justices behaved afterwards. For example, Black and Douglas, despite being ideological allies during the 1950s, stopped speaking to each other in the late 1960s. Yet, Feldman doesn't really explain why. I felt like the book could really have benefitted from just a few more pages.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this for readers interested in the Supreme Court in particular, or just U.S. history generally. I'd also recommend Jeff Shesol's Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court, which covers FDR's court-packing scheme and acts as a nice prequel to Scorpions.

IMOPORTANT SUPREME COURT HISTORY
Harvard Professor Noah Feldman's book SCORPIONS maybe one of the best books available on the history of the Supreme Court. This amazing book deals with the backgrounds and histories of and the terms of four FDR appointees, brilliant men, Felix Frankfurter, Hugo Black, Robert JaCkson, and William O. Douglas. Any reader of legal studies, histories, or educated read would easily recognize these gentlemen as giants of the Court. The book is rich with history and legal issues done in detail yet easy to read. HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Excellent Legal and Political History
Noah Feldman's Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR's Great Supreme Court Justices is a superb piece of historical, political, and legal scholarship. I was made aware of the book by reviews in The Atlantic and The Economist, both of which praised the work. I concur wholeheartedly in their praise.

I've often wondered how human emotions and idiosyncrasies play into Supreme Court rulings. This book gives you examples from the mid twentieth century about how these impacted some of the most significant Supreme Court rulings in the history of the United States. That doesn't sound like a good thing on the surface, but the author explores how those emotions and idiosyncrasies opened the minds of these justices to create and compile some of the most significant theories of American constitutional law. These guys could be petty, vindictive, vengeful, rude, and maniacally egotistical, more often than not with each other, but they were also bright individuals who made positive contributions to American law and society. I don't always agree politically with all the contributions they made, but one cannot argue with the monumental impact of their decisions and opinions, even some of their dissents that did not ultimately become law.

If you have even a remote interest in America political history or American constitutional law, read this book. You will not be disappointed.

Keith ... Read more

Editorial Review

The Supreme Court is one of the most extraordinary institutions in our system of government. Charged with the responsibility of interpreting the Constitution, the nine unelected justices of the Court have the awesome power to strike down laws enacted by our elected representatives. Why does the public accept the Court’s decisions as legitimate and follow them, even when those decisions are highly unpopular? What must the Court do to maintain the public’s faith? How can the Court help make our democracy work? These are the questions that Justice Stephen Breyer tackles in this groundbreaking book.

Today we assume that when the Court rules, the public will obey. But Breyer declares that we cannot take the public’s confidence in the Court for granted. He reminds us that at various moments in our history, the Court’s decisions were disobeyed or ignored. And through investigations of past cases, concerning the Cherokee Indians, slavery, and Brown v. Board of Education, he brilliantly captures the steps—and the missteps—the Court took on the road to establishing its legitimacy as the guardian of the Constitution.

Justice Breyer discusses what the Court must do going forward to maintain that public confidence and argues for interpreting the Constitution in a way that works in practice. He forcefully rejects competing approaches that look exclusively to the Constitution’s text or to the eighteenth-century views of the framers. Instead, he advocates a pragmatic approach that applies unchanging constitutional values to ever-changing circumstances—an approach that will best demonstrate to the public that the Constitution continues to serve us well. The Court, he believes, must also respect the roles that other actors—such as the president, Congress, administrative agencies, and the states—play in our democracy, and he emphasizes the Court’s obligation to build cooperative relationships with them.

Finally, Justice Breyer examines the Court’s recent decisions concerning the detainees held at Guantánamo Bay, contrasting these decisions with rulings concerning the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. He uses these cases to show how the Court can promote workable government by respecting the roles of other constitutional actors without compromising constitutional principles.

Making Our Democracy Work is a tour de force of history and philosophy, offering an original approach to interpreting the Constitution that judges, lawyers, and scholars will look to for many years to come. And it further establishes Justice Breyer as one of the Court’s greatest intellectuals and a leading legal voice of our time. ... Read more

Reviews

Further Views on the Proper Role for the Supreme Court, September 21, 2010
This book is a continuation of the dialogue Justice Breyer began in his previous work "Active Liberty." There, he argued that the Court should implement greater participation of citizens in their government. Although he touched at points upon the originalist/literalist approach to interpretation favored by Justices Scalia and Thomas, in his typical polite and reasonable fashion he preferred to explain his approach rather than lob grenades at their dedication to text and originalism. This book too is polite and reasonable, but aims to look at a wider and more fundamental issue--how can the Court contribute to making a "workable democracy" by applying enduring constitutional values to ever-changing circumstances. The short answer in this pragmatic-oriented book, is for the Court to build productive relationships with other governing institutions, as it protects individual rights and searches for the values underlying the Constitution. In short, Breyer is again arguing for what might be termed a greater degree of "judicial modesty" which facilitates better governance.

Breyer first discusses the concept of judicial review, where it came from in Marbury v. Madison, and how history demonstrates (in the Cherokee removal, Dred Scott, and the Little Rock desegregation cases) how dependent the Court is upon ephemeral public support. Breyer is unique in his ability to explain historical and legal concepts in terms that the general reader can assimilate--a rare talent indeed. Basically, Bryer concludes, as long as the Court's opinions are "principled, reasoned, transparent and informative" it will hold public support. Once again, I was disappointed that his discussion of the Bush v. Gore case is highly polite and reasonable and does not, I am sure, reflect the intra-Court dynamics involved in that sad episode.

One of the most masterful sections of the book is where the Justice discusses why he thinks originalism, reliance upon text, and founders' history are not determinative in interpreting the Constitution or statutes. As usual, he is polite and positive, but he makes his point well. Rather, reliance upon purpose and consequences constitute a superior approach.

So, how should the Court proceed to build cooperative relationships? Breyer devotes individual chapters to answering this question as relates to Congress and statutes ("reasonable" interpretation), the executive branch and administrative agencies (recognize its greater expertise than courts), and the states and federalism (like Justice Brandeis, recognize the benefits of state and local experimentation and defer strongly). Two the best chapters in the book, for both the general reader and those better versed in the issues, address how the Court should deal with lower federal courts, and why precedent is important and when it should be followed (the current Court majority might find this discussion particularly illuminating).

The final section of the book deals with concepts such as permanent values, proportionality, "core elements," and "workable reality." These are somewhat intangible concepts, and Breyer's discussion may encourage some to embrace originalism, history and text as somewhat more substantial interpretative guidelines. He uses the Court's recent decisions in the Second Amendment and Guantanamo prison cases, as well as the 1940's Japanese relocation cases, to explore these concepts. It is quite interesting to peek into the mind of a sitting Justice (as it was with "Active Liberty") to see how he perceives the Court's role. This dimension is as helpful to the experienced student of the Court as it is to the average citizen.

The book runs some 254 pages including notes, and contains some illustrations and an appendix designed to quickly educate the general reader about the Court and how it works. Although sometimes Breyer seems to be "up in the clouds" as he tackles ephemeral concepts, there is no question that this is one of the rare books that really opens up the reader's mind to new concepts and considerations.

Enjoyable and insightful, September 24, 2010
I liked this book for many reasons, but two stand out. First, it is an interesting contextualization of the path our country has taken starting out from the basic "idea" of the role of the Supreme Court in the American political system as envisioned by the Founders, to the current manifestation of that role, replete with twists and turns along the way. Second, and very much in the intellectual spirit of his previous book (which I also really liked), it is a reminder that our government is only as good as we, its citizens, are: active, educated and engaged participants allow the engine to function as it should, with the Court serving in its role as, in Justice Breyer's words, the border patrol that makes sure nothing enacted by Congress violates the basic precepts forth by the framers. I enjoyed Justice Breyer's prose style and also found the individual cases he discusses, and his take on them, incredibly interesting in their own right. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, left right and center, who has a pulse and cares about our country ... how a series of ideas set forth a couple hundred years ago are being manifest in contemporary American society. An important book that I suspect history will look on kindly.

How government works, September 27, 2010
First, I think it's important to state that I don't think Breyer wrote this book to promote a political point of view. Quite the opposite: he shows remarkable restraint and a willingness to try and explain fairly the basis for differing opinions held on important cases.

His reason for writing this book was to educate U.S. citizens how government works and the principles that judges and justices try to follow in deciding cases. He explained his hope that, if we better understand these things, we'll have more confidence in our government and be actively interested in how our government works. Better citizens, in other words.

I'd say that there is one subject that gets Breyer up on his soapbox: he firmly believes that the courts can produce the best results in support of a workable democracy by applying a practical consideration of legislative intent, values, subsidiarity, specialization, appropriate deference to expertise and several other concepts. He makes a pretty good case for this approach. Each additional layer of guiding principles, taken by itself, seems reasonable enough, but when he guides the reader through the balancing act that judges have to go through in selecting and applying the relevant principles in appropriate proportion to a particular case, it really gave me an appreciation for how difficult and complex this can be.

I especially enjoyed his review of a number of landmark cases, including Marbury vs Madison, Dred Scott, Brown vs Board of Education, a couple of cases regarding Japanese internment during WWII and four cases involving Guantanamo detainees. Very informative.

Breyer's writing style is clear, easy to follow, and a pleasure to read. I highly recommend this book.

Aimed at non-lawyers, but lawyers who want to know how judges think will be fascinated., October 6, 2010
Any book by a Supreme Court justice is worth reading, this book is not an exception. The case discussions are at a law school constitutional law class level. In this sense, this part of the book is not new for lawyers, but non-lawyers will find it enlightening.

Where the book excels is the rich detail that surrounds cases. That detail helps to understand what justices who employed the pragmatic approach would have considered.

After reading sections such as the pragmatic approach vs. the originalism approach, I felt the book was incomplete; I needed to get a more complete view. The book's last paragraph suggests that was Justice Breyer's intent when it states "The stories this book sets forth are told from the point of view of one judge", "I hope they lead others to study and ponder their lessons about our constitutional history."

If the book gave a more balanced view, not necessitating further research on my part, I would have given it another star, perhaps I am being too grudging with the 5th star.

Suggestion for reading this book. Look over the appendices first, because:
* The text of the book doesn't mention there are photos in the back.
* The back contains a well written explanation of how the Supreme Court works.
* All the footnotes, really endnotes, are in the back of the book; in legal writing much can be gained by reading the footnotes.

A sober and thoughtful analysis of the role of the judiciary, October 4, 2010
The negative reviews of this book treat it as just another radical liberal screed. Those reviewers either have not read the book or have a huge political chip on their shoulders. Thoughtful, reasoned and sober are the adjectives that first come to my mind. If you are interested in an enlightened exposition of the proper balance between the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government this is a great place to start.

An important book for our times, September 23, 2010
This book is a page turner and highlights the hallmarks of Justice Breyer: wisdom, insight, modesty and a deep belief in the US system of government.

The first part of the book highlights the Court's role in the suppression and later provision of Civil Rights for minorities in the US. Justice Breyer's storytelling is very moving and shows his depth of knowledge and understanding of the constitutional issues.

The rest of the book deals with the art of judging and duties and obligations of the Court.

This is a highly stimulating and well written book. More importantly, I believe it is an important book for our times. I highly recommend it.

Great for the laity, November 27, 2010
Justice Breyer lays out, in a clear and easy-to-follow yet convincing manner how and why "we the people" have come to regard the Supreme Court throughout the ages. By tracing the Court's origins in decisions like Marbury v. Madison all the way to the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, Breyer shows us how the public's reaction to the court evolves over time and becomes the Court our forefathers envisioned.

Not only that, but he makes a compelling case for his methods of interpreting the Constitution and anyone, even those side more with Justice Scalia's methods, would be well advised to pick up this book if for no other reason than to get a better idea of his methodologies.

Thoughtful and interesting, November 5, 2010
In "Making our Democracy Work," Justice Breyer expands upon his treatise "Active Liberty" with several interesting examples of how the Judiciary established its role, and how it needs to act to maintain credibility as the guarantor of liberties established in the Constitution. Justice Breyer's uses counter examples, such as Dred Scott, showing the Court doesn't always get it right (and history may hold one of the negative reviews here correct with a couple more counter examples).

I had hoped this work would expand a bit more on the role of the citizen in making our democracy work, but Justice Breyer really only pays lip service to this in the Conclusion. Still, illuminating the role of the weakest branch of government through the lens of some of our history's most important and controversial cases provides a fascinating peek into the function of the court.

The thoughtfulness that goes into deciding cases should make us all thankful that the Founding Fathers had the foresight to implement independent checks and balances in the American form of government.

Making Our Democracy Work, October 19, 2010
Stephen Breyer presents a comprehensive history of the Constitution and beginning of our nation with the debates surrounding some of the elements of the Constitution by our founding fathers during the administration of President Washington through to today. He describes how the importance of the court system evolved over time, especially the unique role of the Supreme Court.

The areas of law that the Supreme Court reviews are outlined with different chapters discussing each area, provides examples and reasoning behind both the majority decision and dissenting viewpoint giving validity to both. It is highly readable with explanations provided in layman's terms. A must read for all who are interested or desire to learn the importance and workings of our highest court.

Trust, December 11, 2010
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer's new book, Making Our Democracy Work, presents a civics primer about how the court fits into our society and government. This practical book is accessible to all readers and can provide insight into the context in which the court operates, and the historical and current importance of securing and maintaining public trust. An ongoing question is whether or not the public will follow the court's decisions, and Breyer sees an important role of the court in helping laws work well in practice. He provides a perspective on past and current cases that is both readable and interesting for any citizen.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)
... Read more

Editorial Review

Jarvious Cotton's great-great-grandfather could not vote as a slave. His great-grandfather was beaten to death by the Klu Klux Klan for attempting to vote. His grandfather was prevented from voting by Klan intimidation; his father was barred by poll taxes and literacy tests. Today, Cotton cannot vote because he, like many black men in the United States, has been labeled a felon and is currently on parole.
--FROM THE NEW JIM CROW

As the United States celebrates the nation's "triumph over race" with the election of Barack Obama, the majority of young black men in major American cities are locked behind bars or have been labeled felons for life. Although Jim Crow laws have been wiped off the books, an astounding percentage of the African American community remains trapped in a subordinate status--much like their grandparents before them.

In this incisive critique, former litigator-turned-legal-scholar Michelle Alexander provocatively argues that we have not ended racial caste in America: we have simply redesigned it. Alexander shows that, by targeting black men and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control, even as it formally adheres to the principle of color blindness. The New Jim Crow challenges the civil rights community--and all of us--to place mass incarceration at the forefront of a new movement for racial justice in America. ... Read more

Reviews

Important, Eye Opening Work, February 14, 2010
Thirty years ago, fewer than 350,000 people were held in prisons and jails in the United States. Today, the number of inmates in the United States exceeds 2,000,000. In this book, Alexander argues that this system of mass incarceration "operates as a tightly networked system of laws, policies, customs, and institutions that operate collectively to ensure the subordinate status of a group defined largely by race." The War on Drugs, the book contends, has created "a lower caste of individuals who are permanently barred by law and custom from mainstream society." Mass incarceration, and the disabilities that come with the label "felon," serve, metaphorically, as the new Jim Crow.

The book develops this argument with systematic care. The first chapter provides context with a brief history of the rise, fall and interrelation of the first two racial caste systems in the United States, slavery and Jim Crow. Subsequent chapters provide close scrutiny of the system of mass incarceration that has arisen over the past thirty years, examining each stage of the process (e.g., criminalization, investigation, prosecution, sentencing) and the many collateral consequences of a felony conviction (entirely apart from any prison time) and how and why each of these has operated to the detriment of African-Americans. The book also explores how the caste system Alexander identifies is different and not-so-different from Jim Crow, the many political and economic forces now invested in sustaining it, and how it has been rendered virtually immune to challenge through litigation. The book concludes with an argument that while many particular reforms will be needed to change this system, nothing short of a social movement that changes public acceptance of the current system can solve this problem and offers critiques and proposals for the civil rights movement based on this analysis. Everyone who reads this book will come away seeing the War on Drugs and mass incarceration in a new light.

MUST READ: A powerful book!, January 5, 2010
Law Professor Michelle Alexander's long-anticipated debut puts a bright light directly on what is perhaps our greatest national shame: the extraordinary rates of incarceration for people of color in the United States.

Her writing is lucid and gripping; her arguments are clear and concise; her conclusions often are inescapable. She powerfully makes the case that the incarceration industry has become to the 21st Century what Jim Crow segregation was to the 20th: a system that undermines American ideals of justice, while reinforcing social inequality.

In what many hope will be a "post-racial" era, Ms. Alexander's voice is a courageous one. Even as she rightfully celebrates progress at many levels, she refuses to let our society ignore the fact that a million or more people of color are imprisoned today (out of all proportion to their numbers in the population AND even out of all proportion to their rate of criminal offenses, as documented by the government).

More importantly, she dares to ask (and attempts to answer) the simple question: how can this be happening in our country today?

Impeccably well-argued, "The New Jim Crow" is an inspired work - representing the debut of a bright, new and important voice in American life and letters.

COMPELLING AND CONVINCING, February 5, 2010
Michelle Alexander has the ability to see far beyond conventinonal wisdom and understanding. Her intellect is exceptional and her logic captivating. Her compelling and convincing book leaves no doubt about the wrongness of the War on Drugs. Highly educational and informative as well as thought provoking.

Can we start talking about race?, May 3, 2010
I'm a white man and I carry with me the cultural legacy of racism. I know I'm not alone but I don't find many other white people who are willing to venture into this uncomfortable territory and own up to our own racism. And while I've had a few conversations about race with black men, I must say I feel like I'm venturing into dangerous territory - how do I transcend the privilege I've had as an socio-econonmically advantaged white man to connect to those who rightly see me and my kind as an oppressor?

This was a hard book to read. I said that about "Slavery by Another Name" as well which is the companion book to this one as they both address a white power structure that uses prisons to humiliate, degrade, diminish and control black people. "Slavery by Another Name" addresses this phenomenon during Jim Crow and "The New Jim Crow" addresses how we've been doing this for the past thirty years.

To the extent white people and non-black minorities I know talk about race, its about why blacks continue to languish at the bottom of the American barrel. If other ethnic groups that have experienced discrimination manage to overcome it and prosper as Americans, what is wrong with blacks? I've always said it was slavery and its legacy, the Jim Crow era and its deprivations but now I realize that the story is even more complex, black men have been disproportionately single out for prison time, causing entire families to suffer the economic loss, the social stigma and family shame that accompanies such imprisonment.

I remember the O.J. trial and how whites were "shocked" that blacks had such a different take on the police and criminal justice. At the time, there was discussion about how black men were singled out for police harassment and arrest but I don't remember a discussion about why so many black men were imprisoned. In 1995, the impact of the drug wars wasn't fully appreciated but 15 years later with an even larger prison population, it is. The other thing about the O.J. trial that made it complicated was his role as a rich celebrity. In that regard, he took on the power and privilege of a white man and there was a sense that in his marriage to a white woman and in his lifestyle he had been escaping from his black upringing, betraying blacks. But when he stood trial, blacks hurried to support him against the white power structure.

This goes to the other argument the book makes which is the way black exceptionalism, the O.Js, the Oprahs, the Michael Jackson, Tiger Woods and Obamas allow whites to believe that racism is dead, that blacks are making it, a sign that our color-blind society has triumphed. This exceptionalism hides or excuses the results of a drug war aimed directly at the black underclass and which has snatched so many black men from their families and putting them at even greater disadvantage. After prison they are marked men, making employment very difficult, voting often impossible and public housing unlikely.

Class is not the subject of this book but I do think it is also at play both in terms of preserving the tense wariness poor whites feel towards any sign of "special favors" for blacks and as the lesser evil to that of racism but which has defined American life for so long and made everyone - rich and poor - look to the wealthy as successful and the poor as shameful losers.

Inconvenient Truths, March 26, 2010
This is an explosive book. We've all read the statistics about racial disparity in criminal justice, but Michelle Alexander brings it all together in this sweeping analysis of our dysfunctional legal system and the persistence of de jure discrimination in the Age of Obama. Clearly written and vigorously argued, The New Jim Crow makes plain that we haven't come as far as we think and that there is still much to be done. The ghosts of slavery are alive and well.

Powerful, Informative, and Mind-Opening, April 26, 2010
I have just put down Michelle Alexander's book after reading the very last word and I don't know what to say. I am literally so in awe, so grateful for her work, so amazed at her talent and gifts that I am truly without words to describe how I feel or what I think.

I am normally a very quick read but her book forced me to slow down. Not a word or sentence was unnecessary but rather so incredibly meaningful, meaty, and educational that I found myself only being able to read when I was well-rested and undisturbed. I am amazed at how effectively and clearly she informed the reader, me, about the current state of our justice system, the experience of police encounters (which was infuriating and would fill me with rage), and how the laws serve to disempower people and make them disappear. How she moved from data-driven, legal, educational, & rational arguments to a passionate appeal for change and a sharing of a real vision is astonishing.

I love how she writes, so clear and with a crescendo of support for her thesis, and what she wrote about. I'm truly grateful for this piece of work. The book is truly inspiring as it is mystifying that we are where we are. I haven't been able to stop telling people about her book but sadly am not nearly as eloquent and struggle to explain concisely the arguments.

I wish everyone would read this body of work. Well done!

Well Researched -- Well Done! Necessary reading, April 5, 2010
Painful to read, but necessary. Author did a great job. Well researched and thoughtful. The type of information you DO NOT receive from Mainstream Media. What a disgrace our system is, in this area, how cleverly disguised this form of social control is. If you have any interest in human rights and fairness, run out and get this book. (or order online here) Kudos to the author.

Your view of our Criminal Justice System will change forever, July 6, 2010
Earlier I reviewed Texas Tough and suggested questions it should raise in your mind. Now I have read The New Jim Crow and am flabbergasted at my ignorance. I had thought I knew much about our Criminal Justice System (having studied and taught about it for years) but now realize how narrow and restricted my understanding had been. A MUST read.
Texas Tough tells us WHAT; The New Jim Crow tells us WHY! Michelle Alexander has done an outstanding job of filling in many blanks in our knowledge and correcting our typical perceptions of the criminals and prisons and ex-offenders.
Readers who are serious about understanding the plight of Black Men and the War on Drugs, and are willing to learn from an intelligent and experienced Black female ACLU attorney, will learn about a whole new world not seen by White's.
I used the Kindle edition which works well since the text contains no graphs or pictures. A straight, honest read. Captivating!
My four stars instead of five is due to the repetitive nature of some information and some digression into a preaching rather than a strict information style. She may embellish the significance of some of the facts, but it doesn't diminish the message.

Powerful and informative--a must read for all interested in social justice, June 14, 2010
This is an amazing book told from the unique standpoint of a lawyer and a woman of color. Michelle Alexander's "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" exposes the truth about the U.S. Prison Industrial Complex and it's true role as a mechanism for the criminalization and oppression of the non-white and poor of all colors.

Alexander presents example after example of years of targeting the poor for such things as drug use or possession--which are used equally among people of all colors and economic standing--yet only the poor are targeted for punishment, stop and search, police occupation of their communities and schools creating a mythology of the "criminal poor."

Those who have been incarcerated are forever marked as second-class citizens unable to participate fully in our so-called democratic society--unable to vote, to hold office, to get financial aid to go to college, to receive social services, and much more.

I recommend this book especially to the youth. This is their new reality now. The truth that can be gained from reading this book can make them free.

Thank you Michelle Alexander.

Sincerel,

Bonnie Weinstein

The most important book written this year, and maybe century!, June 5, 2010
MIchelle Alexander's book is a judgment on what America has become -- a racist prison state. "The New Jim Crow" is tightly researched and stand as an indictment of our nation. Read it and weep! Say, with Alan Paton, Cry, the Beloved Country.
I was one of the early white civil rights demonstrators, then battled HUAC in the streets of Chicago, then led the Peace movement in Boston, brought a winning contingent into the runoff for Senate in Massachusetts, electing Ed Brooke the first Black Senator in the US ever, then was the Exec Dir of Alabama's :freedom democrats," electing the first blacks to office in Alabama since Reconstruction, then working in Congress for Earl Hilliard, Alabama's first black member of Congress and Vice Chair of the Progressive Caucus there, and organized the movement which brought unions into the halls of Congress to organize Congressional workers. And I ain't quit yet!
But through it all, I see with old, experienced eyes what the young eyes of Michelle Alexander see -- a police state America -- a racist prison state. Read the book! Look at the evidence! Then start working to save what little is left, if anything, of the real America so many of us dreamed. ... Read more

Editorial Review

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Reviews

Okay collection of 10 stories, September 30, 2009
The title page says this is one volume of a six-volume collection of 101 stories, published in 1907 and edited by Julian Hawthorne. From the author dates I'm guessing this is volume 1.

This collection contains 13 stories:

The Necklace (Guy de Maupassant)
The Miracle of Zobeide (Pierre Mille)
The Torture of Hope (Villiers de L'Isle Adam)
The Owl's Ear, The Invisible Eye, The Water of Death (Erckmann-Chatrain)
Melmoth Reconciled, The Conscript (Balzac)
Zadig the Babylonian (Voltaire)
The Nail (Perdo de Alarcon)
The Desposition (Luigi Capuana)
The Adventure of the Three Robbers (Lucius Apuleius)
Letter to Sura (Pliny the Younger)

The kindle edition hase no active table of contents, no navigation at all. It is 3790 "locations" long. The formatting of the text itself seems okay, italics where italics belong, but sometimes it's not always easy to tell when a story ends and commentary for the next begins.

The stories are mostly 18th- & 19th-century European. If you like that sort of stuff. They do not strike me as mystery stories I know. These seem story first, mystery second.

Good read., July 18, 2010
I enjoyed reading this book, but was a little disappointed to find that most of the stories are not Mysteries and that was really what I wanted. The book is a good read, has wonderful stories just hardly any mysteries.

It's an old book ....., November 10, 2010
This book is dated, in both plots and writing style. Not that it's uninteresting, but the words of a modern author and one of a century ago aren't the same.

This book is priced right, and will provide some few hours of interesting reading if you don't get bogged down in the style. ... Read more

Editorial Review

A compilation of important American government documents including the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States of America, the Bill of Rights and all amendments to the United States Constitution. An excellent educational reference tool to have on hand.

This is a DRM FREE digital edition (NO Digital Rights Management!), with linked Table of Contents. ... Read more

Reviews

A Must-Read For Every American To Ensure Its Survival, October 16, 2008
Recently, I purchased this wonderful offering at the listed bargain-basement price from Amazon.com - and thank goodness Amazon understands the singular necessity for providing these documents that form what all Americans have believed is our We-The-People Consitutional Democracy. My concern, however, is just how many Americans today have read this - and if not, why? It is astonishing to read even one sentence of the US Constitution for example and, given our dire national events in play, realize for perhaps a frightening instant that an issue for any state or federal appellate court might be: Does the US Consitution apply in any respect, anymore, to the way our three branches of government (the judiciary, the legislative and executive branches) work today? Or put another way, has the US Consitution become, in effect, null and void?! I cannot answer this question for anyone else - but if you care about America - please buy and read this small book...and then tell a friend who will tell another. Perhaps, one day enough Americans will have read it as a start to making it a reality as a matter of our everyday lives once again....

Durable Desk-top Edition, April 13, 2010
As for the content, what can anyone say about the Founding Fathers than what the Constitution they wrote and enacted ensured for us!

The book itself is the desk-top version of a pocket edition except built for page turning and margin notes. I penciled in the content at the top of each page to quicken my research.

Buy it.

Woody

Familiarizing Myself Again, September 27, 2009
I have recently left the Republican party and joined the Constitutional Party in hopes that a better tomorrow can be found for our government. I needed to remember "whereof I speak" so purchased this very good, concise issue that fits well into my briefcase. As a middle school teacher, I want to be ready with the truth, and not the tripe printed in the textbooks.

Very nice piece, November 16, 2010
Very happy with the overall presentation. No anti-american discalimer. The only thing I wish they had done, is put a heading over the pages to show when you were looking at the constitution, declaration, resolutions, etc. This would allow you to find these other works faster.

a-must-have, May 1, 2010
A document every American should have and understand. Also, should be required reading in our school systems.

Everyone should own a copy, April 10, 2010
Everyone should own a copy of our Constitution and READ IT! We have rights you wouldn't believe and the government is trying to take rights that are in the constitution! Every American should carry a copy.

Our Secular Bible, July 22, 2008
I decided to read this book because to me it is the best secular bible for Americans. It should be read by every secular American in the same way that the religious read the bible. I had lost my copies and this book includes them in one copy.

Next best book after the Bible., September 2, 2010
We need to know the details of our Constitution and what made America great. Especially when our freedoms are in jeopardy. ... Read more

Editorial Review

“Over the past four decades no reporter has critiqued the American South with such evocative sensitivity and bedrock honesty as Curtis Wilkie.”
—Douglas Brinkley
 
The Fall of the House of Zeus tells the story of Dickie Scruggs, arguably the most successful plaintiff's lawyer in America. A brother-in-law of Trent Lott, the former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, Scruggs made a fortune taking on mass tort lawsuits against “Big Tobacco” and the asbestos industries. He was hailed by Newsweek as a latter day Robin Hood, and portrayed in the movie, The Insider, as a dapper aviator-lawyer. Scruggs’ legal triumphs rewarded him lavishly, and his success emboldened both his career maneuvering and his influence in Southern politics--but at a terrible cost, culminating in his spectacular fall, when he was convicted for conspiring to bribe a Mississippi state judge. 
 
Here Mississippi is emblematic of the modern South, with its influx of new money and its rising professional class, including lawyers such as Scruggs, whose interests became inextricably entwined with state and national politics.
 
Based on extensive interviews, transcripts, and FBI recordings never made public, The Fall of the House of Zeus exposes the dark side of Southern and Washington legal games and power politics: the swirl of fixed cases, blocked investigations, judicial tampering, and a zealous prosecution that would eventually ensnare not only Scruggs but his own son, Zach, in the midst of their struggle with insurance companies over Hurricane Katrina damages. In gripping detail, Curtis Wilkie crafts an authentic legal thriller propelled by a “welter of betrayals and personal hatreds,” providing large supporting parts for Trent Lott and Jim Biden, brother of then-Senator Joe, and cameos by John McCain, Al Gore, and other DC insiders and influence peddlers.
 
Above all, we get to see how and why the mighty fail and fall, a story as gripping and timeless as a Greek tragedy. ... Read more

Reviews

The antithesis of Atticus Finch, October 25, 2010
Growing up in the 1960s, I remember my love of Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. The novel that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary of publication portrayed Atticus Finch as an attorney fighting injustice and bigotry in America's south. Played by Gregory Peck, Finch became a shining example for many of my generation who chose the law as a noble and honorable profession. One-half century later, the legal profession is no longer viewed with the same sense of inspiration. Lawyers, especially trial lawyers, are now considered to be greedy, evil and dishonest practitioners who will take any client for a fee, and are frequent targets of political and media scorn.

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF ZEUS by Curtis Wilkie tells the story of Dickie Scruggs, an attorney whose career represents the antithesis of the fictional Atticus Finch. Both were products of the Deep South, but Scruggs stood for everything that Finch abhorred. Wilkie, a reporter for more than 40 years and currently a professor at the University of Mississippi, was familiar with Scruggs and many of his contemporaries. After Scruggs was indicted by a federal grand jury, Wilkie began working on this book. He interviewed Scruggs, his son Zach, prosecutors, FBI agents and many attorneys. The result is a fast-paced drama that readers might well confuse with a John Grisham novel.

Wilkie's narrative is far more than the story of Dickie Scruggs, however. It is a tale of the modern South, its political past and present, new money, rising professional class and richly held traditions. All of these ingredients are vividly portrayed to weave a story that has substantial parts good and evil as well as success and failure.

Were it not for his eventual downfall, the life of Scruggs would be a modern-day Horatio Alger story. Scruggs, who grew up poor in Mississippi, once remarked, "We were so poor that if I hadn't been a boy, I wouldn't have had anything to play with." He served in the Navy and graduated from the University of Mississippi Law School. After a brief stint as an insurance defense lawyer, he opened his own office and won his first major case handling asbestos injury claims for workers in the Pascagoula, Mississippi shipyard. He also married the sister of powerful U.S. Senator Trent Lott. Although Scruggs was an active Democrat, the political connections of the Republican leader of the U.S. Senate were helpful.

Beyond asbestos, Scruggs represented Mississippi in its litigation against the tobacco industry. His legal fees were in the hundreds of millions. Suits against drug manufacturers and litigation surrounding Hurricane Katrina followed. Mississippi became a haven for plaintiff's lawyers who did their best to cultivate a plaintiff-friendly judiciary with enormous political contributions.

Like most successful trial lawyers, Scruggs was not shy about his success. He led a lavish life, built a multi-million-dollar home, and was a major contributor to his alma mater, Ole Miss. But his achievements brought him enemies. Ultimately he was indicted for attempting to bribe Mississippi state court judges. He eventually pled guilty and is presently incarcerated in federal prison, due to be released in 2015.

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF ZEUS is an honest and thorough portrayal of a man who had great success as an attorney at a steep price. Anyone interested in the law and its interplay with industry and politics will find this to be an important and compelling book. America's national pastime is the law, and fans of that pastime will enjoy this noteworthy work.

--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman

Curtis Wilkie at his best, November 22, 2010
Curtis Wilkie has had a remarkable career as a journalist, from his days as a cub reporter at the Clarksdale Press Register to his work for the Boston Globe and now as a professor at Ole Miss. He is a born story teller and the Fall of the House of Zeus is a wonderful work of contemporary history. Unlike some of the other reviewers on Amazon, I would not compare him to Grisham -- Wilkie is a far better story teller. In addition, he tells a remarkable story about Dick Scruggs, making Scruggs into a human being, not quite Atticus Finch but a sympathetic human being, with real virtues. Congratulations to Wilkie for telling a remarkable story about corruption in politics, about Mississippi, about humanity.

If it were not true, it would be hard to believe, November 21, 2010
As a Mississippian who now lives in Georgia, I was mesmerized by a story that included so many people who were so familiar to me. As I read I continually wondered how the writer could know so many intimate details about the nefarious dealings in the shadows of the legal community. Although his research was impressive, the amount of detail could be intimidating; but he tells the story in true "thriller" fashion in spite of the outcome being obvious from the very beginning.

Having sat on one of Ed Peters' juries, I thought he was a prosecutor above reproach, only to learn that he was just as sleazy and underhanded as the other players in the complicated money-swap that resulted from the lucrative class action cases. And yet, Wilkie gave a sympathetic slant to the Scruggs family that had me feeling very sorry for Zach and Diane. By the end, I was very sad that the Mississippi I love has been besmirched by people who could have been great leaders.

for fans of legal thrillers, November 29, 2010
"The Fall of the House of Zeus" by Curtis Wilkie tells the story of Dick Scruggs, a lawyer from Mississippi who comes frfom humble beginnings, achieves his wildest dreams, and nearly loses everything in a legal scandal that ends in his imprisonment.

First off, I was not familiar with Scruggs when I picked up this book, but enjoyed legal thrillers enough to be interested in a real story. And this story pretty much lived up to my expectations.
Scruggs grows up in Mississippi, an only child who lives with his mother. Early on, Scruggs yearns to succeed and is lucky enough to get accepted into the "right" college, where his social circles are greatly enhanced and he is exposed to kids from wealthier families. Shortly afterwards he spends a couple years as a navy pilot, until he decides to go to law school. After graduating, Scruggs uses a connection--a senator friend of his mother's--to get his first two law firm jobs, but both end badly. Scruggs is fired from his first job, because he stands up to a partner who mistreated him. Then Scruggs quits his second law firm job after it's clear that he will never be fairly compensated for his efforts. And that's when Scruggs decides to start his own law firm.

His first success comes when he links up the individual asbestos lawsuits--coming from former employees of a local shipyard company--into a class action, which transforms him into a millionaire. Then Scruggs uses his winning strategy to successfully bring a class action law suit against the big tobacco companies, suing on behalf of states whose government healthcare programs financed the medical expenses of ex-smokers. And just when Scruggs seems untouchable and on the brink of a third class action suit, this time against the insurance companies who denied coverage post Hurricane Katrina, disaster strikes.

If you're a fan of legal thrillers like I am, then you will probably enjoy this book, two thirds of which focuses on behind-the-scenes actions that ultimately lead to Scruggs' indictment. This is not the fairy tale story of Robin Hood, but rather a cautionary tale of too much greed, power, and betrayal.

Stranger than fiction, December 11, 2010
If this were a novel, the byzantine plot line would be hard to believe. Wilkie starts slowly, building a solid foundation for the quickening pace which by the end has the reader unable to put the book down. Other reviewers have compared the plot line to Grisham. I say, Grisham should eat his heart out and so should Scott Turow. Zeus is far more exciting than anything either has written. This former Mississippian thought New York politics was complicated and sharp-edged but not compared to the world so ably depicted by Wilkie. Anyone interested in politics, law, the South, and/or a good read should not miss this book.

Interesting Read For Those Interested, December 3, 2010
Fun read about the rise and, more so (obviously) the fall of incredibly successful class action lawyer Dickie Scruggs. The author writes impartially about the subject, which is actually not as clear cut as I had previously thought. It was fairly fast paced, especially when the book turns from his background to the crime, investigation, and ultimate outcome. A great book for lawyers interested in some light reading.

Better than Grisham!, December 23, 2010
Although this is nonfiction, it reads just like a Grisham novel ... indeed if you like legal nonfiction such as a Civil Action, or Erin Brockovich, you will enjoy this book!

Well written, November 29, 2010
Excellent capture of excess gone wrong. While some might simply attribute this novel to "just Mississippi" the real story is that scenarios like this serve as a remainder these stories are playing out throughout our country. Money does corrupt.

My thoughts on this book, November 12, 2010
I am from a small Mississippi town that is 30 minutes from Oxford. My daughter and son both graduated from Ole Miss. My son and his wife live there now. Many names and places I am very familiar with. As a matter of fact, I know some of the people mentioned in this book. Dickie Scruggs law firm should be renamed--"Dewey, Cheatem, and How!!! ... Read more

Editorial Review

The Law was originally published in French in 1850 by Frederic Bastiat. It was written two years after the third French Revolution of 1848 and a few months before his death of tuberculosis at age 49. It is the work for which Bastiat is most famous. This translation to American English is from 1874. ... Read more

Reviews

The most common sense logic written on government., January 18, 1999
I read this book in 1980; at the time I was chairman of the democratic party in my county. I really began to do some serious soul searching. I finally concluded I was going to leave my party, as It no longer represented it's founder Mr Thomas Jefferson. This small simple easy to read book totally changed my life That same year I met Jim Hansen, he was making his first run for congress from the state of Utah, I made a deal with him, I would vote for him if he would read The Law by Bastiat. He promised, and I did. I received a nice letter from Jim after he was elected. " Never read a book that has so impressed me". P.S. "Find Yourself another copy, Im keeping Yours". Jim.

Best three dollars ever spent. Ron Steele Moab, Utah

Should be required reading in Washington, D.C., January 31, 2006
What book is is important enough that I read it once a year? The Law by Frederic Bastiat. Written in 1848 as a response to socialism in France, this book essay is just as relevant today as it was then.

"What, then, is law? It is the collective organization of the individual right to lawful defense.

Each of us has a natural right-from God-to defend his person, his liberty, and his property. These are the three basic requirements of life, and the preservation of any one of them is completely dependent upon the preservation of the other two. For what are our faculties but the extension of our individuality? And what is property but an extension of our faculties?

If every person has the right to defend - even by force - his person, his liberty, and his property, then it follows that a group of men have the right to organize and support a common force to protect these rights constantly. Thus the principle of collective right - its reason for existing, its lawfulness - is based on individual right. And the common force that protects this collective right cannot logically have any other purpose or any other mission than that for which it acts as a substitute. Thus, since an individual cannot lawfully use force against the person, liberty, or property of another individual, then the common force - for the same reason - cannot lawfully be used to destroy the person, liberty, or property of individuals or groups.

Such a perversion of force would be, in both cases, contrary to our premise. Force has been given to us to defend our own individual rights. Who will dare to say that force has been given to us to destroy the equal rights of our brothers? Since no individual acting separately can lawfully use force to destroy the rights of others, does it not logically follow that the same principle also applies to the common force that is nothing more than the organized combination of the individual forces?

If this is true, then nothing can be more evident than this: The law is the organization of the natural right of lawful defense. It is the substitution of a common force for individual forces. And this common force is to do only what the individual forces have a natural and lawful right to do: to protect persons, liberties, and properties; to maintain the right of each, and to cause justice to reign over us all."

My copy of The Law is filled with highlighted yellow phrases. Among them:

"But, unfortunately, law by no means confines itself to its proper functions. And when it has exceeded its proper functions, it has not done so merely in some inconsequential and debatable matters. The law has gone further than this; it has acted in direct opposition to its own purpose. The law has been used to destroy its own objective: It has been applied to annihilating the justice that it was supposed to maintain; to limiting and destroying rights which its real purpose was to respect. The law has placed the collective force at the disposal of the unscrupulous who wish, without risk, to exploit the person, liberty, and property of others. It has converted plunder into a right, in order to protect plunder. And it has converted lawful defense into a crime, in order to punish lawful defense.

How has this perversion of the law been accomplished? And what have been the results?

The law has been perverted by the influence of two entirely different causes: stupid greed and false philanthropy. Let us speak of the first.

Every legislator should be forced to read Bastiat's The Law once a month for their entire term and write a synopsis of how they have upheld the ideas contained within it. The tome should be taught in our school systems. It should be drilled into every citizen's head from birth until death."

When he was alive, Bastiat called the United States the one nation in the world that came close to applying law in a just manner. If he could visit us today, he would puke all over the steps of Congress. He would barf in the halls of the White House. He would upchuck in lobbyists offices all over Washington, D.C. When he was done throwing up, I do believe Bastiat would start a revolution.

He would definitely take on our current system of governance because we're turning into Socialism Lite 'Less Filling, More Taxes.'

"Socialists look upon people as raw material to be formed into social combinations. This is so true that, if by chance, the socialists have any doubts about the success of these combinations, they will demand that a small portion of mankind be set aside to experiment upon. The popular idea of trying all systems is well known. And one socialist leader has been known seriously to demand that the Constituent Assembly give him a small district with all its inhabitants, to try his experiments upon.

In the same manner, an inventor makes a model before he constructs the full-sized machine; the chemist wastes some chemicals - the farmer wastes some seeds and land - to try out an idea.

But what a difference there is between the gardener and his trees, between the inventor and his machine, between the chemist and his elements, between the farmer and his seeds! And in all sincerity, the socialist thinks that there is the same difference between him and mankind!

It is no wonder that the writers of the nineteenth century look upon society as an artificial creation of the legislator's genius. This idea - the fruit of classical education - has taken possession of all the intellectuals and famous writers of our country. To these intellectuals and writers, the relationship between persons and the legislator appears to be the same as the relationship between the clay and the potter.

Moreover, even where they have consented to recognize a principle of action in the heart of man - and a principle of discernment in man's intellect - they have considered these gifts from God to be fatal gifts. They have thought that persons, under the impulse of these two gifts, would fatally tend to ruin themselves. They assume that if the legislators left persons free to follow their own inclinations, they would arrive at atheism instead of religion, ignorance instead of knowledge, poverty instead of production and exchange."

Read The Law. It will change all your assumptions about what the role of government should be in your life in only 76 pages. When you're done, make your friends read The Law. If they won't, stop being friends with them. Send a copy to your Representatives and Congressmen and ask them what the hell they think they're doing with this country of ours.

On Amazon.com's scale of 1-10.........no less than a 12, January 28, 1998
To read this essay knowing nothing of the author or when he wrote it, one would never guess that it was first published 150 years ago. This book is as timeless as ANY publication in human history. Bastiat demonstrates a thorough and flawless understanding of both the bright and dark sides of human nature, of the essential role each has played in the growth and divergence of collectivist and (18th century) liberal ideologies, and most importantly, the resulting tendency for government, in all of its most common manifestations, to grow and for liberty to yield. The principles proffered herein are the very genesis of the body of thought most commonly attributed to such brilliant authors as Milton Friedman, F. A. Hayek, Adam Smith, and Thomas Paine. Bastiat was the consummate humanitarian, and a genius with no peer. If you read no other book during your lifetime, read "The Law".

PRINTING PROBLEM IN THIS ITEM, August 30, 2008
The substance of Bastiat's "The Law" is critical and accurate.

The good people at Cosimo Books, however, cut off the printing before the end of the book -- the penultimate section of the book ends in mid-sentence, and the last section of the book isn't there at all.

So I do very much encourage everyone to read Bastiat's "The Law," just don't buy this version from this publisher. (Buy it from the Mises Institute instead.)

Concise, Powerful, Elegant Defense of Liberty and the Law, August 11, 1999
When I read F.A. Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom," I thought I had read the most inspired and compelling book ever to discredit socialism and other collective-isms. I was wrong...very wrong. I cannot believe Bastiat wrote "The Law" in the middle of the 19th century since it has so much applicability to the 20th (and soon to be 21st) century. If ever there was a concise and powerful argument for defending Liberty and the Law against every social engineer, this has to be it (only 75 pages!). Bastiat is a master of words and the analogy. Every lover of freedom who wishes to get a nutshell understanding of why Liberty and Law matters ought to read this book. Every enemy of freedom (e.g. liberals, socialists, communists, etc.) ought to fear it.

A 19th Century Writer Gives Birth To 21st Century Ideology, May 23, 2001
Fredric Bastiat was a 19th century French law-maker, economist and author. He wrote a number of highly technical works of economic theory, books that are still considered valuable contributions to free-market economic thought. But his least technical work, a pamphlet called The Law, has proven to be perhaps his most enduring from a modern political standpoint.

Written in 1850, just two years after the French Revolution of 1848, the Law is part treatise and part polemic, an appeal to the French people reminding them of the proper sphere of the law and government and begging them to turn away from their descent into socialism. The Law is also a summary of much of what Bastiat considered to be important from his own work; at the time The Law was written he was very sick, and he would be dead within a year of its publication. As a French patriot, Bastiat was deeply moved by the disintegration he saw in French society.

As the last vestiges of the class-society were replaced and the new "democratic" order was being instituted, the State was more and more being used as a means by which groups of citizens (special interests) could plunder one another through taxes, transfer payments, tariffs, etc, committing what Bastiat calls "legal plunder." As he saw it, the law was being perverted into a so-called "creative" entity, through which controlling groups would seek to enforce their particular agendas at the expense and through the pocketbooks of the people in general.

Bastiat argues that the law should be properly viewed as the formal embodiment of Force. That is, human laws should be the organized and formal construction of justice. Just law, he says, is nothing more than the organization of the human right to self-defense. This is a surprisingly narrow definition, perhaps almost too narrow to be truly useful. But I can imagine that Bastiat wouldn't have seen much moral value in the philosophy of pragmatism; he certainly would have made a bad present-day politician, a "flaw" which I find highly admirable.

Bastiat is revered by many modern libertarians as one of the founding fathers of their ideology, and rightly so. But it seems to me that his work is more accurately anarcho-capitalist than libertarian. To say that Bastiat is arguing for "limited" government is a gross understatement. In fact, Bastiat seems instead to be arguing for the abolition of most all of what today we would call The Government. Many libertarians, for example, probably wouldn't argue the abolition of all forms of taxation on moral grounds. Personally I appreciate his definition of plunder as "...tariffs, protection, benefits, subsidies, encouragements, progressive taxation, public schools, guaranteed jobs, guaranteed profits, minimum wages, a right to relief, a right to the tools of labor, free credit, and so on, and so on..."

Obviously although Bastiat may not share the views of modern libertarians in every respect, they have much to respect in him. And of course, the average economic and social liberal won't care for him at all, as he makes a special point of going after the vast majority of liberal sacred cows. But more surprisingly, the Religious Right should be wary of taking Bastiat on as too great of an ally. Although Bastiat and his book have been instrumental in forming many right-wing/libertarian ideas about free markets and the proper role of government, Bastiat argues forcefully against the use of the law as a tool for the shaping of moral values. Jerry Falwell and Bastiat are notably out of step with one another. I can imagine that Bastiat would not have much use for the Congressional institution of days of prayer, or for teacher-led prayer in the public schools he so despised, for anti-drug and pro-abstinence programs, or for the ministerial functions that many politicians have sought to usurp.

Conservatives have an unfortunate habit of revering political figures. But as Bastiat says, "There are too many 'great' men in the world--legislators, organizers, do-gooders, leaders of the people, fathers of nations, and so on, and so on. Too many persons place themselves above mankind; they make a career of organizing it, patronizing it, and ruling it."

Bastiat didn't believe in the inherent value of rulers of men. Many conservatives hope that their sons will grow up to be leaders in a political sense. Bastiat believed that we would be better served if more people sought to be useful, productive, inventive and moral, instead of trying to lead all the rest of society. Society will function much more desirably when we relinquish the desire for power over our fellow men, and instead seek power over our own actions.

Although Bastiat's views on law and government may be too simplistic and dated to be implemented literally in a modern society, I believe that there is still much instruction to be had from this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in developing an understanding of the roots of modern libertarian thought.

A great introduction to Libertarian Philosophy, July 11, 2000
Frederick Bastiat was a French Farmer in the first half of the 19th century who watched his country's government assume more and more power. That is what I thought made this book unique - In the first paragraph, he states his intent of the book to be an "alert" to his countrymen - which is probably why the book is so emotional as well as succinct.

Bastiat manages to describe the purpose of "law," from a religious standpoint, in the first 3-4 pages. The rest of the book is mostly specific details of how his description of the proper purpose of the law has been thwarted in France in 1850. Many of the same principals apply today.

For three bucks and an hour of your time, this book is guaranteed to engage you and make you think. In my experience, its ability to persuade people is uncanny.

Negative Rights Positively Explained, October 4, 2000
Does the government take care of you by making sure you are left free from interference by others? Or does it give form and substance to your freedom by making sure you are given, by the government, enough Maslowian scaffolding to get you within jumping distance of the last triangle of self-actualization at the top of the pyramid of your desires? That's always the question. I'd be free if only someone would pay off my mortgage, or do my homework, or abort my inconvenient child for me. Here in this book is a very good template to evaluate these alternative viewpoints, especially appropriate for smart high school kids, since it furnishes ammunition to carry them through most of the garbage they will find littered in their books, written on their classroom walls, and mincingly elaborated by their discontented, yet strangely power-hungry liberal law professors, all of whom will basically insist on refuting the truth of what Bastiat identifies as the central fact of state power: That the government is "not a breast that fills itself with milk." High school boys especially like that part. Yet this is what so many people think--and Keynes even monkeyed together some funny looking math to show how dollars taxed away and then re-spent by the government become supercharged, and are better for the economy than un-taxed and un-respent dollars held privately. Here is where he meets our Founding generation--all of whom saw how dangerous it was to cede too much function to any government, which of course would need more and more money to fund these activities. Am I straying from the point? No. Just look at our political contests: craven beg-fests for votes based on what the government can spend on you, or how the internet will bring it all "closer" to you. For your benefit. And if someone wants to take less from people in the first place, that's "spending [by the government] on the richest 1%"--who of course have had much more taken from them to begin with. Bastiat explains, in universal terms not hinged to any particular group of pilgrims, kings, or communists, how the law is enlisted in the plunder of the many by the few who control the law, and how law must be continually twisted into unjust forms to keep up the subsidies, the taxes, the programs, all designed to treat the same population differently. His greatest example, though, is to contrast liberty with the perversion of law, (and here he partakes in some cultural non-relativism) by using the image of a tribe of natives who flatten the noses, pierce the ears and lips, bend-up the feet, and depress the foreheads of their newborns, insisting these are signs of beauty. The same thing is done to our laws and our liberty by the socialist plunderers, according to Bastiat, unforgettably according to Bastiat. Would the next generation of any country be more or less likely to make a world-and-life-view out of sucking up to government employees for their prescription drugs, family planning, education, utility bill assistance, or internet domain monopolies if they read this book in time to become immune to the excuse-making and false moralizing of socialism? So do we put the govenment in charge of our kids, our sick grandparents, and our businesses, so we can finally be more "free?" You read Bastiat and be the judge.

Text also available on-line, December 21, 1999
The text of Bastiat's most prominent essays is available on-line, so you can make up your mind on your own. Start browsing from bastiat.org, it's well worth the trip. When you've read Bastiat, you'll just want to acquire a paper copy of the book, and you can still use digital copies to share it with other people.

Excellent !!!, October 20, 2004
I read "The Law" as part of my Civics course this year in highschool, and I'm SOOOOOOOO glad it was required. At 16, I'm scared to death at where my country is heading and this book contains the answers for a government and law system that'd make a country I'd be proud of in every way. This is a book I'd buy in bulk and stuff in newspaper boxes if I had the means -as it is all my friends are going to get it for Christmas along with a glowing report from myself. Heck, who needs to wait for Christmas, ELECTION DAY IS COMING!

This book was originally in a pamphlet format and is a wonderful short summary of what the natures of law and government are and what they should be. But because of this format, many of his arguements are brief, and he acknowledges that not all of them are complete.

He starts out stating the gifts of God to man are: life, liberty and property. Bastiat insists that man is allowed to defend himself, his liberty, and his property, and that "the Law" was created to ensure that society would be allowed to make use of their God-given gifts.

Then the he goes on to explain how "the Law" is abused by men. He states there are two basic ways of living, the first is to work hard and produce, and the second is to plunder and live off of others. When man finds that plundering is easier than work, he will plunder. The only thing that will stop him is if there are consequences that he will have to deal with and dangers that he must risk. Bastiat shows how tempting it is for man to use the law to plunder (how "legal plunder" is the taking of property, which -if done without the benefit of the law- would have been a dealt with as a crime). He goes on to explain how this "legal plundering" will ruin a society and cause economic turmoil.

Bastiat then goes into socialism, and how it plays out in society. He gives examples of various socialist writers, and points out how they view mankind as some raw material that is to be controlled and manipulated. Frederic Bastiat shows how they divide mankind into two classes, with themselves as the nobler of the two, and the rest of man as evil masses that are to be shaped and guided by their own uses of "the Law" and made to be good. They consider themselves to be above the rest, and capable of making better choices than the rest of the world.

Even though it was written in the 1800's, Bastiat writing is extremely relevant today, and deals with the issues of welfare, government schools, and other subsidies of the law that are not to be. He states that "the law is justice" and that "the purpose of the law is to prevent injustice from reigning" for justice only exists when injustice is absent. It clearly defines socialism for what it is and gives various examples of the results of it. This book has to be (as another reviewer has said) the liberal's worst nightmare.
SO READ IT! USE IT! SHARE IT! ... Read more

Editorial Review

An essential resource for anyone interested in our nation's religious heritage and the Founders' intended role for the American judicial system. Original Intent combines hundreds of quotes from primary sources with the author's exposition on hot topics such as revisionism, judicial activism, and separation of church and state. A substantial appendix encompasses full texts of the founding documents, biographical sketches of numerous Founders, and extensive reference notes. ... Read more

Reviews

Original Intent by David Barton, A must read, June 11, 2008
Original Intent By David Barton

This book has meticulous foot notes and references to it's sources. Barton uses the words of the founding fathers themselves to make his points. He uses actual court cases, and even puts the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in the back of the book for your reference. The author presents the material in a clear and precise manner, and the reader can easily look up, reference, and test his conclusions themselves (his footnotes and index make it that easy) ..... Better yet, Barton actually invites the reader to read the federalist and anti-federalist (the words of the founding fathers themselves) papers after reading this book . If Barton's conclusions are false as some have concluded he's definitely a horrible revisionist since he gives the reader all the ammunition in the world to check his sources and refute him.

This book has done more for my understanding our founding fathers than the many secular based history texts I've pawned through. The author is thorough, complete, and as I said earlier he gives the reader all the power by giving him/her the power to reference the original documents. The truth is many of our founding fathers were Christians, did read the bible, and most wouldn't approve of the course of action taken against religious expression in our country today. This is a worthy read for the Christian and secular skeptic alike. Truly, this is a must read!!!!

Postscript: There have been many attacks on this book and those who give favorable reviews to it (as of this date the reviews are 44 five star reviews and 30 some one star reviews). Instead of believing what any man says I urge the reader to do what I'm doing.... Look up the material yourself... Read the book, check it's sources, and make your own conclusion... Don't let the many individuals who leave nasty comments under these reviews steal from you your right to make your own conclusion....

A good summary of the founding fathers' views, May 5, 2008
I guess it is not surprising to find so many one-star reviews about a book that dispels so many myths about the original intent of the founding fathers' who wrote the Constitution. Of course there can be some fault found with some of the citations used by Barton in this wonderful book, but those who find fault with the citations cannot really overcome the overwhelming evidence in this book that the current courts have far overstepped anything that the founders intended in not recognizing and establishing a single church vs. their views that religion is a fundamental foundation for the Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution.
If you read this book, you should also read the Federalist Papers, the words and works of the founders, including Washington's first inaugural address to understand that the current courts have radically departed from the intentions of the founders when it came to the role of religion, vs. established churches in the USA. For many generations, the original intent of the founders was well understood, but it was only until the 20th century that judges decided to re-write the Constitution and take on the role of "a national theology board" that makes earlier debates about how many angels fit on the head of a pin look enlightened.
A must-read for anyone wondering where our nation has gone wrong.

Based on fact, whether you like it or not, June 1, 2008
After seeing Rick Green present at our church in Cedar Park, TX, I had to get this book. I am very glad I did. David Barton did a fantastic job of including references for everything. I don't believe there is anyone who can claim that the statements or conclusions made in this book are false or opinion. Only those who don't read the book can be told that it contains false claims and believe that.

Read the negative comments posted here. The people posting them have clearly either (a) not read the book, or (b) are so left-wing that they will say anything to try to keep you from purchasing and reading this book. Don't listen to their opinions, read the facts presented in this book for yourself.

Will the real revisionist please stand up?, December 26, 2007
This book has 55 pages of footnotes that reference original documents referred to in this book. The book only has 533 pages which means over ten percent of it is footnotes.

The people who accuse this book of revisionist history have clearly never checked out any of the original documents. And do not supply more than one or two footnotes.
I haven't checked them all out myself but I have checked out many, and I trust the man who refers to the original material more than I trust people who think name calling is a valid argument. This book is for real, the negative reviewers are just blowing bias a smokescreen in your faces.

An excellent resource!, March 17, 2007
Barton shows how the Supreme Court reinterpreted the US Constitution, diluting the Biblical foundations upon which it was based. He includes quotes from the Founding Fathers showing their beliefs on the role of religion in the public square, the limited role of the courts, and the intended limits on federal powers. An excellent and well documented reference! This should be part of the curriculum for every college and high school history course!

I have read and research everything Barton has written. He is incredibly accurate., June 25, 2008
The first clue that Mr. Barton is telling the truth is the torrent of scathing reviews from the Secularists. I have personally reviewed the facts presented in Barton's books, and have found them to be not just factually accurate, but intellectually honest.

The first thing to remember about secular historicism, is that the facts don't matter, just the political agenda.

We Americans write our own history. And the chapters of which we're proudest are the ones where we had the courage to change. - Al Gore, Speech at the Democratic National Convention (28 August 1996)

This is some great stuff, January 15, 2008
David Barton has assembled a very impressive amount of original source material here. He makes a very compelling case that the Founding Fathers were largely orthodox Christians (not deists, as revisionist historians are so fond of claiming) and that the current Supreme Court dogma on the role of religion in government is a far cry from what the Founding Fathers actually intended.

With regards to the negative reviews, I rather suspect that their issue was more that they didn't like Barton's conclusions than that his original source material is bad. They know they can't back up their nonsense about the Founding Fathers being deists and atheists. David Barton has really shown that the emperor has no clothes. He also shows that the revisionists tend to cite very little primary source material themselves, and when they do they frequently take quotes out of context.

In an age of falsehoods, I'm glad that someone has the courage to stand up to the revisionists and tell the truth about the Founding Fathers. Barton has done some very good work here, and quotes primary source material extensively. Although not everyone will agree with every word (those who went to public school may find it particularly troubling, since the public schools generally teach history in a highly inaccurate way), this book is thought-provoking, well-researched, and well-written. I recommend it without reservation.

A Great Source of the Founding Fathers, January 11, 2008
This is an excellent work, just for the biographical information it contains. There may be some minor errors and heterodox opinions in the book, but it's claim that the Christian Framers framed a Nation of Christian States has sufficient evidence.

Other reviewers attack Barton's work on secondary issues, with a fine tooth comb I might add, that some would think absurd, but the evidence is clear, religion was left to the states, with the states choosing Christianity as their religion. How far have we fallen:

In matters of religion, I have considered that its free exercise is placed by the Constitution independent of the powers of the general [federal] government.
Thomas Jefferson
Second Inaugural Address, 1805

Based on this quote, let's see what religion the people of the states established.

Constitution of the State of North Carolina (1776), (until 1876) stated: There shall be no establishment of any one religious church or denomination in this State in preference to any other. Article XXXII That no person who shall deny the being of God, or the truth of the Protestant religion, or the divine authority of the Old or New Testaments, or who shall hold religious principles incompatible with the freedom and safety of the State, shall be capable of holding any office or place of trust or profit in the civil department within this State.

Constitution of the State of Maryland (August 14, 1776), (until 1851) stated: Article XXXV That no other test or qualification ought to be required, on admission to any office of trust or profit, than such oath of support and fidelity to this State and such oath of office, as shall be directed by this Convention, or the Legislature of this State, and a declaration of a belief in the Christian religion." That, as it is the duty of every man to worship God is such a manner as he thinks most acceptable to him; all persons professing the Christian religion, are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty; wherefore no person ought by any law to be molested... on account of his religious practice; unless, under the color [pretense] of religion, any man shall disturb the good order, peace or safety of the State, or shall infringe the laws of morality... yet the Legislature may, in their discretion, lay a general and equal tax, for the support of the Christian religion. [pp.420-421]

Constitution of the State of New Hampshire (1784,1792),(in force until 1877) required senators and representatives to be of the: Protestant religion. The Constitution stipulated: Article I, Section VI. And every denomination of Christians demeaning themselves quietly, and as good citizens of the state, shall be equally under the protection of the laws. And no subordination of any one sect of denomination to another, shall ever be established by law. [p.469]

The Constitution of the State of Delaware (until 1792) stated: Article XXII Every person who shall be chosen a member of either house, or appointed to any office or place of trust... shall... make and subscribe the following declaration, to wit:"I, ___, do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed forevermore; I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration." [p.203]

Besides Georgia, the other states believed the same. That these constitutions are inherently Christian can easily be deduced from its words:

Virginia
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1786)
Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free...the plan of the Holy author of our religion, who being Lord both of body and mind...his Almighty power to do...That no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever...

This makes sense because Jefferson believed he was a Christian.

Jefferson uses encompasses all religions but the right comes from the Lord. Madison uses the same words "Holy author of our religion" in 1812, showing our religion was a form of Christianity, not every religion. This also proves Madison's recommendation for the First Amendment(National Religion) is referring only to a form of Christianity.

Penn Const. of 1790
Sec. 3. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty god according to the dictates of their own consciences; that no man can of right be compelled to attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry, against his consent;

The key word being "ministry" this word at that time only referring to Christianity, as Webster's 1828 shows:

MIN''ISTRY, n. [L. ministerium.] The office, duties or functions of a subordinate agent of any kind.
1. Agency; service; aid; interposition; instrumentality.
He directs the affairs of this world by the ordinary ministry of second causes.


2. Ecclesiastical function; agency or service of a minister of the gospel or clergyman in the modern church, or of priests, apostles and evangelists in the ancient. Acts 1. Rom.12. 2 Tim.4. Num.4.

3. Time of ministration; duration of the office of a minister, civil or ecclesiastical.

A light, October 6, 2007
This book brings to light what many wish to suppress. The name calling and ridicule of other reviews only shows that this book has truth. When people feel they have to slander instead of argue or let people discover the truth for themselves, you know a book must have something to offer. It doesn't take much time to see the faith of the founders. If those who dislike this book would read the second Federalist, any of John Wither-spoon's writings, George Washington's farewell address and on and on. When people disregard what is argued in this book, they show that they are not students of the Founders writings. Every Prof of American history I have had acknowledges their faith.

Captivating, enlightening, & completely true. Read for yourself., December 12, 2007
I am not a voracious reader, but I devoured this book. I found it to be almost hypnotic while at the same time enraging. As a casual observer of politics from right of center, I have long been aware of the abuses of the judiciary toward our religious freedoms, but I had no idea how far we had fallen. David Barton has not only opened my eyes to the true "Original Intent" of the founders of this great nation, he has equipped me with the truth so that I can beat down the lies that continually and relentlessly emerge from the left. (Just read a few of the 1-star reviews of this book for some examples.) This book should be the required textbook of every history class in the nation. Read it and judge for yourself. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The PowerScore LSAT Logic Games Bible is the most comprehensive book available for the Logic Games section of the LSAT. The intent of this book is to provide you with an advanced system for attacking any game you encounter on the LSAT. This same system is covered in the live classes taught by PowerScore, and all of the methods and techniques discussed in the book have been tested in classroom situations over many years.

The book features and explains a detailed methodology for attacking the games section. All aspects of Logic Games are covered, from recognizing game types to diagramming rules to making inferences and answering questions. Entire chapters are devoted to the most advanced game techniques and to time management strategies.

Logic Games are divided into individual types, and a discussion follows that teaches you how to approach each type of Game, and drills are presented to help you apply and understand the techniques. Thereafter, real LSAT logic games are used to illustrate how the techniques apply to real tests. Using real LSAT questions is a must for high-level LSAT preparation, and twenty-one real LSAT logic games are contained in the book. Each logic game is accompanied by a detailed analysis of the game setup and related questions.

The author has over 12 years experience teaching the LSAT and has scored in the 99th percentile on a Law Services-administered test. An expert in LSAT preparation, he has overseen the preparation of thousands of students and founded two national LSAT preparation companies.

The Logic Games Bible can be supplemented by The Ultimate Set-Ups Guide, which features setups for every game in each released LSAT from 1995 to 2002.Also, both books provide access to a unique website for additional LSAT and Logic Games information, and has answers to frequently asked questions.

For more information about the renowned PowerScore LSAT Logic Games Bible, contact PowerScore at (800) 545-1750. ... Read more

Reviews

Beats the competition hands down, December 21, 2003
I have currently completed studying logic games with this book, Master the LSAT (which was recommended in several Amazon.com reviews), Kaplan LSAT (for average students), and Kaplan LSAT 180 (for very strong students). The Logic Games Bible by PowerScore was definitely the most helpful of any of the books. Applying PowerScore's methods has reduced my time per game from 13 minutes to 8 - which gives me enought to complete every game in the section - and to boot, I'm hitting 100 percent accuracy on most of the practice tests I've taken from real LSATs and simulated tests from other companies. I didn't think that was possible.

PowerScore was helpful because it includes clear suggestions for the best way to diagram any of the game types and what to watch out for when diagramming. (As I mention below, Kaplan doesn't do this.) It is the only book of the four I've used that exclusively uses actual logic games administered since the LSAT was rewritten in 1991. The other books don't do that because they don't want to pay as much in licensing fees (which is reflected in this book's comparably high price), but their simulated questions have a much different feel. Simulated questions are often too easy, which can leave you underprepared, or too difficult, which can frustrate you needlessly. In addition, there are certain patterns in the way real questions are set up that other companies haven't been able to imitate.

I read the reviews that gave this book three or fewer stars, and I found all of them unconvincing. It's true that the book won't solve your timing issues automatically, but no book I've seen was very helpful on timing. PowerScore does have a fairly strong section discussing who should skip a game and who shouldn't, and it goes over some rules for picking the hardest game if you do decide to skip one. I haven't seen anything more than that about timing in any other book. Ultimately, practice makes perfect, and again, using real questions for practice will be a big help in terms of timing.

This book does have a few typos, which I was surprised to see in a book of such quality in terms of content. But this isn't a mass market publication, and the fact that PowerScore apparently doesn't have the financial resources to hire decent copy editors won't impact your LSAT score.

Kaplan's book wasn't nearly as helpful. It gives broad suggestions (e.g., use a concise system that you understand), but it's much more helpful to have someone suggest symbols that will capture the essence of most games. I'm still thinking about taking Kaplan's classroom course, since I presume that there is more information in it, but I wouldn't recommend their book to someone on a limited budget. It took me only a few hours to get through the lessons, and I think studying simulated practice tests is a waste of time when you can get real tests.

Master the LSAT is not a bad book. Unlike Kaplan, it does include a real LSAT logic game in each section. I think it will be a good tool for reading comprehension and the analysis section. But if you can afford to get the Logic Games Bible, I would study with that first and only go to Master the LSAT if you have extra time. Once you have studied the Logic Games Bible, most of the examples in Master the LSAT will be easy. (I completed some Master the LSAT logic games in under four minutes with 100 percent accuracy.)

Overall, an excellent resource and well worth the extra money.

A serious book for anyone seeking serious LSAT scores, June 6, 2003
This book is extremley comprehensive in every respect... But if you are smart enough to begin your LSAT preperation a few months ahead of time--and are willing to work [hard]--then this book will do the trick. It helped me score a 179 in February.

Before purchasing the Logic Games Bible, I took KAPLAN's $1000 classroom course... Right away, I knew "The Bible" was going to be better than KAPLAN because it used the commonsense approach of setting up games BELOW the questions (where there's actually room to write). In every respect, The Bible provides a more systematic and organized approach to setting up games than does KAPLAN. Having The Bible's more diciplined and systematic approach to setting up and solving the games proved invaluable on test day. I finished all four games with 9 minutes to spare. You should have seen the confused looks I got when, after only 26 minutes into the Logic Games section, I put my pencil down, raised my hand, and asked to go to the restroom! Their system paid off. Agian, this book will deliver the goods--but like most things in life, you'll only get out of it what you put into it.

The Best, Period, September 10, 2005
I've been studying for the LSAT off and on for the past two years, and I've worked my way through a lot of study guides. Princeton Review's LSAT publication and the Kaplan book (not the 180) are good as general overviews, but I wouldn't bank on taking away any methods that will drastically improve your score. Additionally, using such material in addition to PowerScore materials may leave you confused as to what symbols or methods to employ in a given situation. That said, this is by far and away the most powerful tool that you can have in your arsenal as you prepare for the LSAT. It teaches clear and easy symbolization techniques, helpful places to look in making deductions, and the most effective ways to tackle different kinds of questions. Even after using other LSAT prep materials, I was still answering only about half of the questions in the Logic Games section correctly. After going through this book thoroughly twice, I am much more efficient and scoring near perfect in Games on every previously administered LSAT that I take. This book, in combination with the Logic Reasoning Bible, raised my practice LSAT score ranges from the mid-150's (153-157) to the high 160's (166-169). Beware of study prep materials that tell you that you can perform without first making deductions on the Logic Games portion of the LSAT, as deductions are incredibly important (most likely not only for me) in pre-phrasing answers and eliminating wrong answer choices, allowing a rapid attack of the questions. Also be advised that taking previously administered LSATs under timed conditions is another very important key to success, and the more tests you take, the more your comfort level will grow and the higher your average score will become. In short, if you are struggling with the Logic Games portion of the LSAT, buy this book!

Not The Savior Everyone Says It Is, May 9, 2004
I agree with the reviewers who mentioned that the Logic Games Bible is complicated and slows you down.

I feel it, first of all, has too many classifications to memorize--especially in their Grouping Games section--then goes into somewhat-complex explanations about each one. Also, if you have read other guides and are used to the way they classify Games (for example, many guides seem to call them Sequencing, Grouping, Matching, Hybrid/Mixed Games), this guide is confusing in that way, too, because their classifications are pretty different (for example, they have no category called Matching...I think they include those as Grouping Games, but I really haven't been able to tell yet).

Second, I believe that the author spends a little too much time writing and a lot less time demonstrating. Thus, you can basically sit there and read a whole page of the author's explanation of a type of Game and might not understand what he's really trying to say, particularly if you're a person who better understands by seeing examples already worked for you demonstrating their techniques before you try them on a game yourself. At most, they give you the question and maybe one or two rules as an example...then they set you loose with about 2-4 practice Games to attempt on your own without really seeing what they were trying to say worked out for you beforehand--I, at least, give many of the other guides that!

Third, I think the author explains some types of Games better than others. For example, he goes into pretty good details about strategies to use on Sequencing and Grouping Games, as well as the many types of Games within those categories. However, after that, the guide gets even more complicated than what I was saying before. For example, the section on Pattern Games, which I had never even heard of before this guide but definitely had encountered in my practice, is mentioned in this guide--which is great--but their explanation of Pattern Games is only two pages (and not even a full two pages) and really doesn't give much insight into them other than to tell you how to recognize them. After learning of these Games and attempting the practice questions they provided in the Logic Games Bible for this game type as well as one I found in "10 Actual, Official LSAT Preptests," I definitely feel that I don't understand these Games any better and don't really know how to approach them--they are the hardest Games to me, and this guide didn't really do anything to clear that up (I still miss almost every question on these Games).

As far as the more common Games, such as the Sequencing/Linear and Grouping Games, I think the techniques the guide mentions are very good and quite helpful...BUT, using them, I now go even slower in completing Games than before using these techniques! The only Games I have been able to complete in 9 minutes have been the simplistic Sequencing ones. At least I can actually get the answers correct on these Games, though, and have an easier time knowing how to set them up (unlike the Pattern Games). However, I will probably sit down and re-read the guide again, looking for anything I may have missed, trying to understand things I might not have understood before and keep trying to internalize their techniques (and pray I don't get any Pattern Games).

Reading the explanations given after the 2-4 practice Games they offer in each section is also helpful...but, again, they are not written in the most easy-to-read manner like many other guides out there (I actually think this is the LEAST readable guide of all the ones I've read, and I've read almost all the guides). They also don't have a simple answer key you can just go down to quickly see if you got the right answer--you have to fish through their long explanations (and I just happen to be someone who likes to quickly see whether I got the answers right, THEN read the explanations).

Conclusion--the book is NOT exactly a page-turner, is NOT exactly written in the most user-friendly way, is NOT a total savior or some kind of guarantee that you will be able to get all the Games right within the time given after you finish it and is NOT worth $44, especially only being 232 pages (a THIN little book, thinner than LSAC's books of 10 but more costly!!) and not giving satisfactory techniques for all Game types.

WONDER TOOL FOR THE LSAT!, April 17, 2004
Are you smart? Were you shocked at how fundamentally simple you felt in the presence of the logic games section? Read on.

Of 77-78 possible points on the other three LSAT sections, I typically score 70-72, not a slouch performance. On my first LSAT pre-assessment GAMES section I answered 12 (half of the possible) with only two correct answers. You want to talk about a reality check?! The sheer magnitude of the failure crushed me.

So I did what you've likely done - purchased "Master", "Princeton", "Kaplan", "Kaplan 180", blah, blah, blah, ad infinitum. Most give obtuse instruction for someone with my GAMES ability. I needed remedial help from step one with a "1-2-3 learn and apply" appoach. This is where the "Bible" shines.

By using accessible language for someone from a non-logic background, it guides you step by step into full comprehension of games principles (through the most complex and universally applicable) and, most importantly to me, to practical application of those principles by drilling in practice exericses. Included are full (read:complete) explanations of all answers for the times you say, "huh?".

Remember calculus? You kind of understood the fundamental principles, but the ceaseless practice (homework) made you proficient. Same thing. No need to have the esoteric comprehension of a logician when you can apply and win. After all, isn't law about practical application of principles? (Aspiring judges primed to write opinions and set precedents please do not respond.)

If you are already scoring 20 points in the GAMES section or possess a preternatural ability to manipulate these questions in mental space, forget this book. Pick up "Kaplan 180" and enjoy your Yale scholarship. For the rest of us, the "Bible" is REQUIRED reading.

Your scores will go up, March 18, 2006
I used this when preparing for the LSAT and my practices scores increased an average of 11 points once I had mastered the games section. Unless you are a natural with this section, I highly recommend you use this book to learn strategies to attack that section. It will teach you how to identify which "type" of game you are dealing with, and then you will learn the various strategies specific for each type. It's a really big book, so you will have tons of practice. This book removed all the mystery of the logic games for me, I'm so glad I had it. I only wish I had ordered it sooner so I could have spent more time on it. You might want to also consider the Logic Games Setup, which helps breakdown the solutions on past LSAT tests.

If You are Scared by Logic Games Get This Book!, November 18, 2003
For me, the worst part of the LSAT was the logic games section. I purchased several other books including Kaplan and Princeton Review before buying this book. This by far, was the best resource I could have invested in for the Logic Games Section of the LSAT. I can't imagine having taken the test without the aid of this book. It wasn't a page turner, but I worked my way through each chapter carefully and ended up doing much better on the Logic Games section of the LSAT than I ever imagined possible. If you are anything like me and are CONFUSED and frustrated by the logic games and about to give up, buy this book, work through it carefully, take notes, and you will notice a huge difference in your performance. Following the advice in this book was the single most important step I took in improving my score, and I recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a good LSAT score and is willing to invest some time and energy in methodically applying the techniques that are outlined in the book to their practice tests and studies.

Taking the Lsat?--Buy this Book, May 10, 2005
I am recommending this book to anyone who is going to take the LSAT but not going to take a review course. The Logic Games Bible exposes you to a variety of games and clearly explains each game and answer. The first practice tests I took, I was getting 10-12 of the questions correct, now I'm only missing 2-4. My score has jumped from 149 to 162. A lot of it has to do with reading this book. Hands down, the best book you can buy to self-study for the LSAT.

Clear and Comprehensive, July 6, 2006
I usually dreaded logic games like the ones that appear in the LSAT. While some of the questions were generally straightfoward, there were some that I just couldn't get or would eventually get after spending great quantities of energy and time -- which is a definite no-no on the LSAT.

I bought the Logic Games Bible because I wasn't impressed with Kaplan's review materials, and I wasn't going to waste my money on actual classes. After only a few weeks of careful review, the logic games became clearer. I began to solve them faster and with greater accuracy. I scored perfectly on the LSAT logic games section after using onyl this book.

This is a definite buy for anyone who struggles with logic games. Powerscore takes you step-by-step to not only set up the games but also to teach what inferences can be drawn from certain game rules. Like most learning, once you see Powerscore set up a problem or draw and inference, that knowledge stays with you.

Highly recommended.

this one worked for me, May 3, 2004
There are two things to know about the LSAT before studying for it: (1) at least for native English speakers, the analytic (or "logic games") section of the test is by far the most challenging; and (2) no one can do well on the analytic section without study and practice. Thus the choice of the correct study plan geared toward the analytic/logic games section of the test can make or break your LSAT performance, which in turn can go far toward determining where you go to law school (local vs. regional, regional vs. national, top 15 vs. top 5, etc.).

For some reason, I chose the PowerScore book, and now I'm sitting pretty. This guide has four huge advantages over other guides that I looked over:

(1) the suggested notation is concise, thus leading to less scribbling time and more answering time in the test. This is very important insofar as the logic games section of the LSAT is the most "intensely timed" section of any test that I've ever taken.

(2) the categorization of problem types is accurate and easy to understand. As any guide will tell you, the logic games featured in the LSAT fall into a small set of recognizable types. However, some guides that I've seen posit phalanx of potential problem types, including types of problems that make reference to non-essential attributes like time. This is BAD. A linear problem is a linear problem regardless of whether its linear in time or in space. Anything else is needless confusion.

(3) this guide does NOT propose shortcuts to problem solving. By contrast, other guides that I encountered suggested FROM THE BEGINNING that test takers plan to skip a problem completely in order to save time. This is a supposed shortcut that actually cripples your performance before you've even begun. In reality, there are methods for solving logic game problems, but there are no short cuts. Use the methods recommended, practice alot, and then and only then consider skipping anything. (In my LSAT, I answered every problem, scored well, and had a minute or two left over to sharpen my pencil.)

(3) the sample problems are mostly taken from actual LSATs, and the made up problems are true to the LSAT model. Particularly nice is the reference in the back of the book that characterizes EACH published LSAT analytic problem as regards problem type.

In sum, I studied for a month and a half for the LSAT, using the Logic Games Bible as my study guide and LSAC's 10 More Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests for my practice material. I practiced the tests (both in part and in full) under timed conditions. I disregarded the reading comp. and logic sections almost entirely. Result: I scored well enough to get me where I want to go, and suffice it to say I was aiming high from the beginning. ... Read more

Editorial Review

SHIPS WITHIN 24 HOURS NEW BOOK FROM PUBLISHER US HARDCOVER 7TH EDITION STILL IN THE PLASTIC WRAP WITH ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THE BOOK INCLUDED GREAT BUY!!! ... Read more

Reviews

Most opaque prop text out there - be mad at ur prof if they choose this one, December 11, 2010
Dukeminier has the unique gift of making even simple topics as opaque as possible. You will need supplements, lots of them, because of the awful way this book is structured, cases chosen, the odd phrasing and, in particular, how future interests are presented. Want proof - Look at "Acing Property" supplement where they give you a special appendix for the way Dukeminier presents things, particularly Rule Against Perpetuities - something already too complicated on its own that Duke manages to foul up further. I really wish law professors would destroy the forced demand for this terrible (more so than most prop casebooks, and achievement in itself) text.

Ok, September 20, 2010
This was the only book out of the ones I ordered that I had expedited. It unfortunately was one of the last books to arrive. Just wish it would have arrived sooner. In great condition though. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The good news is that most soldiers are loath to kill. But armies have developed sophisticated ways of overcoming this instinctive aversion. And contemporary civilian society, particularly the media, replicates the army's conditioning techniques, and, according to Lt. Col. Dave Grossman's thesis, is responsible for our rising rate of murder among the young.

Upon its initial publication, ON KILLING was hailed as a landmark study of the techniques the military uses to overcome the powerful reluctance to kill, of how killing affects soldiers, and of the societal implications of escalating violence. Now, Grossman has updated this classic work to include information on 21st-century military conflicts, recent trends in crime, suicide bombings, school shootings, and more. The result is a work certain to be relevant and important for decades to come. ... Read more

Reviews

A fascinating study, January 23, 2004
ON KILLING is the study of what author Lt. Col. Dave Grossman has termed "killology". This odd term describes, not killing between nations, but the exact circumstances involved when one individual ends the life of another individual, with the primary focus being on combat situations. I've sometimes wondered how I (someone who has never been anywhere near armed conflict) would fare on the frontlines, as killing another human being seems like an almost impossible psychological task. As Grossman casts an eye over historical reports of combat, he found that, apparently, I wasn't alone in thinking that. During the First and Second World Wars, officers estimated that only 15-20 percent of their frontline soldiers actually fired their weapons, and there is evidence to suggest that most of those who did fire aimed their rifles harmless above the heads of their enemy.

Grossman's argument is carefully researched and methodically laid out. He begins by filling in some historical details, discussing the statistics for shots fired per soldier killed for the World Wars and the American Civil War. It's a refreshing and enlightening look at war that dispels a lot of misconceptions. An average solder in those wars was extremely reluctant to take arms against fellow humans, even in cases where his own life (or the lives of his companions) was threatened. Not to say that any of these people are cowards; in fact, many would engage in brave acts such as rescuing their comrades from behind enemy lines or standing in harm's way while helping a fellow to reload. But the ability to stare down the length of a gun barrel and make a conscious effort to end a life is a quality that is happily rare.

The book continues on then, detailing what steps the US Army took to increase the percentage that they could get to actually fire upon their enemy. By studying precisely what the soldier's ordinary reactions were, the officers were able to change the scenario of war in order to avoid the most stressful of situations. The soldier found up-close killing to be abhorrent, so the emphasis was countered by inserting machinery (preferably one manned by multiple soldiers) between the killer and the enemy to increase the physical and emotional distance. Every effort is made to dehumanize the act of killing.

Grossman spends a great deal of time discussing the trauma that the solder who kills faces when he returns to civilian life. Nowhere is this more apparent than in those veterans who returned from Vietnam. Those soldiers had been psychologically trained to kill in a way that no previous army had gone through, and there was no counteragent working to heal their psychological wounds. Grossman takes great pains to discuss how horrifying the act of killing is, and points out how detrimental it is to one's mental health. When the Vietnam veterans returned home to no counseling and the spit and bile of anti-war protestors, the emotional effect was astounding. Most of Grossman's thesis is supported by in-depth interviews and psychological profiles, but it is the story of the Vietnam veterans that comes across as the most disturbing.

Much of the chatter about this book seems to revolve around the final section, the discussion about our own civilian society. While this is understandable, I actually preferred reading the earlier portions, simply because they opened my eyes to a lot about the military that I had been previously ignorant of. I think it would be a mistake to concentrate solely on the argument's conclusion as it rests heavily on the case that has been building. In any event, the book eventually develops its final conclusion: the methods that the military uses to desensitize its soldiers to killing are also being used in our media, but without the proper command structure that keeps people from killing indiscriminately. In a military situation, firing a weapon without proper authorization or instruction is a very serious offense, and this is drilled into the mind at the same time as the desensitization. Without this safety, there is nothing to hold back the killing instinct, and this is one of the main reasons why the homicide rate has increased so dramatically.

Now, I'll say right off the bat that I was partial to this line of argument before I read the book; I think that children repeatedly exposed to such images would almost certainly become blas� towards extreme violence. But Grossman's book gave me so much more to think about. It isn't just a Pavlovian force at work here; Grossman points out many reasons (both stemming from society and the changing family structure) for why young people of today seem much more able to kill than their parents and grandparents were.

I was honestly surprised at how strong of a writer Grossman is. He manages to put forth his argument without boring the reader. By its very nature, a lot of what he discusses is repetitive and disturbing, but the subject matter is so compelling that I didn't mind. Grossman is very logical in his approach and his argument is a powerful one. I highly recommend this book, especially for people like myself who have never experienced war at close quarters. The summary I (and others here) have given is simply not nearly adequate to capture all of Grossman's thorough contentions. ON KILLING made me think harder about a subject that I hadn't given a lot of thought too before. The information and research here is invaluable.

Fantastic book, November 9, 2006
As a police officer we spend many hours in various forms of training. Some of this training is dedicated to the rules surrounding the use of our department issued firearms. Some of this training is dedicated to the physical skill of firing this weapon. None of the training is dedicated to what you go through after having actualy used this weapon against another human being in self defense. The extent of my departments response was...absolutely no critical incident debriefing and my appointment with the department phycologist occured 9 days after the shooting. The evaluation by the physcologist last 23 minutes total. At that point I knew that my well being was up to me to provide for. After some research I located this series of books by Dave Grossman. Purchasing these books was the best thing I could have done for myself. The information within these pages helped me understand all the stages of emotion that I was, and still am, going through. I would recommend these books to anyone in the military or in lawenforcement (or any family memeber there-of). They may very well have saved my sanity.

An insightful, ground-breaking study on why man kills man, May 20, 1999
Dave Grossman has written perhaps one of the most insightful books on what motivates men in combat since S.LA. Marshall's "Men Against Fire". Grossman combines the thoroughness of an learned psychologist with the practical viewpoint of a lifetime dedicated to military service. He provides us with a unique and truly fascinating look into the dark and often terribly painful mental process that brings a man to pull the trigger and kill his fellow man. As an officer in the Army, I consider this book an essential read for anyone who may someday bear the burden of leading men in combat. We often get such a distorted view of remorseless killing from the popular media that most of us are shocked to discover that the act of killing a man at close range is something that very few soldiers are capable of. In a similar fashion to S.L.A. Marshall, Grossman demonstrates with overwhelming evidence how the vast majority of soldiers are tremendously reluctant to kill, frequently prefering to risk their own death instead. The book offers such a profound and important perspective on the nature of warfare at the human level that I suspect it will some day be part a curriculum for training officers and non-commissioned officers on combat leadership. Although the book's primary focus is on the nature of killing in warfare, his conclusions have relevance for anyone concerned with the problem of violence in society. One of Grossman's most useful conclusions is the suggestion that virtual reality video games allow their users to overcome the natural reluctance to kill by gradually desensitizing the mind to violence. This erosion then makes it easier for those who are pre-disposed to aggressive violence to act on their desires in a violent way. With the recent string of high school shootings, Grossman's hypothesis has immediate relevance to current social issues. In fact, he has been a frequent commentator on these tragedies with several national news networks. In summary, Grossman's book peers cautiously into the darker side of man's nature to understand what drives him to kill in combat. What he finds there is vastly different from what we are taught to expect- simply that the vast majority of people are unable to look a fellow man in the eye and kill him even if his own life may be at stake. The forces that allow him to overcome that reluctance in the heat of battle include peer pressure, leadership, training, and physical distance and are examined in great detail.

A Powerful Refutation of the Soldier's Bloodlust, February 10, 2000
Those who have never had the privilege of serving in America's armed forces invariably believe the Hollywood depiction of the modern soldier as a soulless killing machine. As Lt. Col. Dave Grossman shows in his groundbreaking study of killing in war, nothing could be further from the truth.

Remember the steely-eyed warriors who descended on Normandy, Anzio, Guadalcanal, and a host of other blood-soaked battlegrounds during World War II? Only one in five of these combat infantrymen were willing to fire their rifles.

Shocking? Surely, given the popular depiction of our fighting men. But military training has never been able to fully eradicate the innate resistance of killing one's fellow man amongst the common soldiery.

Yet we're getting better at it, with disturbing implications for our society. Grossman's data shows that the current crop of soldiers, raised on graphic violence in movies and video games, is much more willing to slay the enemy. This is undoubtedly a good thing from a purely military point of view. However, the cost is a consequent desensitization to the suffering of friend and foe alike, and psychological trauma which lasts long after the firing stops.

The introduction of women into combat situations has not slowed the inexorable trend toward a more savage soldier. During training to endure potential captivity as prisoners of war, male soldiers are taught to conquer their natural tendencies to protect females through an active desensitization process (a soldier is a soldier, whether male or female; we all signed up for this, etc.) What impact this has once these brave men return to society is uncertain, but you can bet that one cannot turn their humanity on and off like a light switch.

A profound and disturbing study which belongs in every library.

LTC Grossman was my favorite Commander., March 8, 2003
I just wanted to write a quick note and review about LTC Grossman's book and his character. I read a review which stated that, "His only vaguely denounced and hidden desire to change the US Constitution make me want to examine Mr. Grossman's education and military record in depth."

Let me say, I served briefly under LTC Grossman, then Major Grossman as a new Second Lieutenant in the US Army. He was, in my opinion, one of the most intelligent, thoughtful, and studied officers I ever had the privilege of serving with. It was LTC Grossman, that first instilled in me how a professional soldier acts, thinks, commands, and motivates. LTC Grossman used to give a speech to ROTC Cadets during summer training at Ft. Lewis, WA that was so motivational, by the end the cadets would literally stand up and scream for more. The Army videotaped the presentation and often tried (unsuccessfully) to duplicate it. LTC Grossman used to lead philosophical discussions about the "warrior spirit" that would engage even the least interested. He first enlightened me to think about the mind of our enemy ("One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter") and has helped me understand the minds and motivation of those that attacked the U.S. on 9/11 (I served under LTC Grossman in 1996). You will not defeat an enemy until you understand and address the root cause of their grievances.

For those interested in LTC Grossman's thoughts, I can recommend taking a look at several of Robert Heinlein's books, which LTC Grossman recommended to me. Specifically, "Starship Troopers", the book bastardised by Hollywood in the movie under the same name.

Many of LTC Grossman's teachings remain with me today, and he is one person that will impart knowledge that stays with you for a lifetime. While studying for my MBA, I wrote my business plans in accordance with the 5 paragraph OPORD, or Operations Order, and as a result I had more than one professor ask me to review independent grant, business, and research proposals.

I read LTC Grossman's book as a Cadet, and while I have to admit, much of it made me feel intellectually humble, his overarching hypothesis has passed the litmus test of time. After the Columbine shootings in Colorado, I saw LTC Grossman on a morning talkshow addressing many of the concerns premised in his book "On Killing" which was several years old by then. The events of 9/11 make me believe that we can all learn a little from LTC Grossman that will help this nation understand who, what, why, and how this nation will fight and win the war against terror.

Alters opinions, March 13, 2000
I am a reporter. Most people would expect me to deny Lt. Col. Grossman's findings, pertaining to violence in the media, as sensationalist and misleading since I should know where my bread is buttered.

I admit, I was skeptical, but during research for an article on violence in the schools, I came across the colonel's book, "On Killing". After reading it, I became a convert.

The comparison of the military's usage of operant and classical conditioning techniques with the psychological effects experienced by juveniles when they observe violence - or participate in it, in the case of interactive shoot-'em-up video games - was quite enlightening. Col. Grossman brought a fresh perspective to the debate and convinced me to rethink my original opinion.

Of course, his theory wouldn't hold unless he could prove that humans, by nature, are unable to kill other human beings unless trained and psychologically conditioned to do so. I believe he did prove this point.

Simplistic solutions such as instituting media criticism courses, turning off the TV or banning guns won't stop the killing because they don't get at the core psychological problems and they don't address the enabling factors that are co-conspirators in juvenile violence.

Listen to this man.

Intriguing, yet fraught with problems, August 6, 2000
Grossman presents interesting and worth-while reading when dealing with the psychological workings of what it takes (soldiers) to kill. His hypothesis adding two additional phases to the typcal fight-or-flight response was new, at least to me, and makes sense. And his examination of ritual and rite involved with war, in particular the importance of ritual after war, and his coorelation between the lack of ritual and the high precentage of Vietnam vets who suffe(ed) from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was intriguing and even insightful.

Yet the book has significant short-comings. First is Grossman's lack of proper citation, footnotes, and supporting evidence. Time and again Grossman quotes experts or refers to people and studies but never gives the source. Grossman makes the error of assuming that his audience is as familar with this topic as he is. At one point, Grossman tells of a meeting with a mysterious Dr. Narut who reveals assassin training techniques taken right out of A Clockwork Orange, yet Grossman gives no other evidence to support this. These are elemental flaws in scholarship and rhetoric, and are the kinds of things that would not be tolerated in college research writing.

The Korean War (or Conflict if you want o be politically correct) is another problem. Grossman explains that during WW II only 15 to 20 percent of soldiers actually fired. By Korea this percentage was 50 to 55 percent, and by Vietnam it was 90 to 95 percent. My dispute is not with Grossman's numbers, but with the fact that aside from this statistic, the Korean War is barely mentioned, and its soldiers are never associated with the problem of PTSD.

The other, and most important, problem with the book is Grossman's reasoning behind the increase in violence in today's world, America in particular. Essentially, Grossman blames the media, television violence, Hollywood, and video games. His reasoning is akin to that against violent comic books in the 1950's when they were seen as being responsible for the rise in teenage crime. Grossman argues against the anti-hero of today's movies and against violent monster movies such as Friday the Thirteenth. He argues that violent video games condition teenagers just as military training conditions soldiers. Yet he gives no evidence to support his point of view. He cites not one study or even a magazine article to help him (oddly enough, if he had read King's The Danse Macabre, King's textbook on horror from 1950 to 1980, he would have found at least anticdotal evidence). And while he is trying to make this part of the book the crux of his entire argument, he fails miserably because he displays no knowledge or understanding of contemporary American culture or film history/theory and where such characters as the anti-hero derive from. In effect, Grossman comes off as a Nancy Reagan clone, with a "Just say no!" attitude that offers no real insight into why violence has increased, or how to deal with it. Where Grossman wants to hit the target the most, he misses far wide of the mark.

A Highly Flawed Work on an Important Topic, May 9, 2009
LTC Grossman's book is highly overrated by far too many readers. His book does offer some valuable information on the combat efficiency of people over time on the modern battlefield. There is also some excellent insight into post-traumatic stress disorder. He suggests that in the past soldiers had more time to reflect and examine their experiences before returning to peaceful lives back home. Either armies had to march home, which could take days if not weeks, or they had to take a ship, which could take a similar amount of time. Our current policy of rapid reintroduction of soldiers just out of a combat zone as a cause of problems today is an important one.

The rest of his book, however, is flawed and should be taken with a grain of salt. To begin with, he takes modern assumptions and assigns them to all eras and epochs of the past, as if people of the past all have the same outlooks and reactions that we do today - they just wore different clothes. His assumption that people are somehow inherently predisposed not to kill each other and only do so with great mental conditioning leading to psychological harm flies in the face of the obvious lessons of history. A reading of history suggests our ancestors often waged aggressive and enthusiastic war with little trouble. Even more importantly, they did not need video games or death metal to encourage them to do it. The society and its views of war, I think, has more to do with reactions of soldiers than any innate mental disposition.
Some items he mentions show a poor understanding of practical matters. He suggests that centurions simply stood around encouraging their soldiers to fight, while a student of Roman warfare would recognize that the centurions were often in the thick of the fighting and doing so by fighting. They often led just as much by example as by shouting orders. The author also asserts that the reason thrusts with a sword are not used much is related to some psycho-sexual mental block. This only proves he has little concept of weapons through the ages, not to say the fact that he has never seriously used one. He also fails to comment on the development of specialized thrusting weapons in the late middle ages or the development of rapiers. That these weapons were used for several hundred years and thrusting the accepted technique for inflicting damage shows a poor understanding of swords, not to say weapons of the past in general. I wonder how he addresses the spear, the most common weapon for thousands of years?

Even more troubling is his use of SLA Marshall's work Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command to justify many of his positions. He quotes Marshall's famous firing rate: less than twenty-five percent of a unit would engage in combat with the enemy. The first problem is: He ignores Marshall's reason for this occurring. Marshall felt a lot of this had to do with the way soldiers were trained - only to fire their weapon if they could see a target. In modern war, a target is not always visible, hence the soldiers did not shoot when shot at. The soldiers who did shoot often were armed with BARS, machine guns, flame-throwers, etc. That is weapons that are meant to be used against an area as much as against individual targets. The second problem is that recent research has suggested that it is very likely Marshall simply made up this figure. His methodology was more focused on recreating the battle experience, not obtaining specific pieces of information for statistical purposes. With doubt cast on Marshall's firing rate, doubt has to be cast on LTC Grossman's conclusions and arguments which stem from it.

Another problem with LTC Grossman's book is that despite saying he conducted over four hundred interviews, he quotes from these very little. In fact, he tends to quote from the same couple of works, Soldiers: A history of men in battle by John Keegan and Richard Holmes and Acts of War: Behavior of Men in Battle by Richard Holmes, over and over again. Because of the repetition and limited sources, many of his assertions seem poorly supported and to rely entirely on the works of other people. If he conducted all these interviews, why does he not reference them more? Also to consider, just because modern people have certain reactions in battle, it does not mean that this is how it has been through time immemorial. This reviewer highly recommends the works of Richard Holmes and John Keegan as an alternative to this poor work.

Finally, when he is given information that runs contrary to his views, he glosses over it or attempts to make it fit his conclusions. The most prominent example regards the guilt officers feel when men under their command die following that officer's orders. Essentially, he says none of the officers he interviewed expressed any guilt. Rather than concluding that maybe they really do not feel guilt, he concludes they must all be suppressing it. This is just absurd - a blatant attempt to make the facts fit a preconceived notion that the author has.

It is unfortunate that this book is accepted so uncritically. His work has affected the work of others in a detrimental manner. The subject is an interesting one, but unfortunately poorly researched. Grossman did do a service in pointing out the importance of the topic. His arguments and conclusion, however, are flawed and poorly thought out. Despite his claim to a history degree, he seems to have a poor grasp of the subject and its study. And in the end his book becomes a screed against violent video games, movies, and music, as if this is to blame for all our problems. My advice is to avoid this book if at all possible.

Off Target, January 7, 2009
Amidst the smoke and karaoke crooning of New Year's Eve, a friend and I got to talking about trauma. I'm a US Navy veteran; I never killed, but I served in hazard zones and as a police officer. She recommended a book--*On Killing*.

Written by Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman, US Army retired, the book describes itself as the founding study on killing. To my surprise, I found it to be a pseudo-scientific screed against media.

--On Insults--

Right off the bat, the paperback takes a swing at skeptics. It compares us morally and scientifically to tobacco lobbyists. It also plays the race card, accusing people who oppose censorship of being racist. The book dismisses personal freedom itself, declaring:

"I think most individuals would agree that the `just turn it off' solution probably rates right up there with `let them eat cake' and `I was just following orders' as all-time offensive statements."

I'm offended by populist statements accusing critics of racist tyranny! Yet I read the whole book.

--On Media--

Far from a study of killing, the central thesis states: "Finally, *and perhaps most important*, I believe that this study will provide insight into the way that rifts in our society combine with violence in media and in interactive video games to indiscriminately condition our nation's children to kill." (emphasis Grossman's).

To this conclusion, the book follows a chain of hypotheses:

1) People are pacifists.
2) Atrocities and social conditions push people to kill.
3) The military exploits conditioning to push kill rates higher.
4) Media adopts military conditioning to program civilian children to kill.
5) First Amendment and market controls are required.

--On Veneer--

Unbefitting these controversial claims, the content is superficial.

*On Killing* examines American infantry during modern wars. Yet it generalizes that all humans throughout history are innately opposed to homicide. The text doesn't try to consider nurture instead of nature, failing to explore killing across different cultures, demographics, or periods. Nor does Grossman offer a mechanism for aversion, preferring to prattle poetically about people.

Repeatedly, the author claims original research. In practice, his study is a pile of cherry-picked quotes strung together with personal opinions, urban legends, and movie references. Credible citation is also absent; I would expect APA format at least. The book finally admits to reliance on pop literature for most of its testimonials--not exactly sound science.

Indeed, whole chapters babble with romantic commentary. Vietnam studies stray into denial that we lost the war, egotistical assertions of American prowess, and diatribes on the treatment of veterans. I often felt like I was reading a talk-show transcript.

--On Histrionics--

Frequent hysterics reinforce this tabloid quality. It announces, "After nuclear holocaust, the next major threat to our existence is the violent decay of our civilization due to violence-enabling in the electronic media." Pardon me while my eyes roll right out of their sockets!

The tone also raised my eyebrows. It sticks to the page with sexual and slaughterhouse metaphors. Yet obscenities are scoured, notably "f---" and "s---". I suspect any book that compares itself to a sex manual, but strikes out the language. I also mistrust loaded phrasing: specifically the repetitious use of "the egalitarian United States", "violence-enabling media", "brainwashing", and "conspiracies".

The author uses those last two terms a lot, as *On Killing* slips into conspiracy theories. From the start, it declares media violence to be a genocidal plot against black people. The Vietnam chapters suggest an illuminati-like anti-war movement. The final sections build off fantastic *Clockwork Orange* CIA scenarios.

These creepy assertions bubble out of otherwise sedate passages, until less-discerning readers float atop without any idea that their feet have left the ground.

--On Manipulation--

*On Killing* really sails into space when it applies fallacy to American society. The central thesis states that humans are inherently adverse to killing, but modern electronic media reproduces combat conditioning without safeguards. Now I don't doubt media influences human behavior. I do doubt *On Killing* for drawing far-fetched conclusions from dubious methodology:

>Reliance on Arguments from Authority,
>Argument from Repetition,
>Band Wagon Appeals,
>and Inappropriate Analogies.

The book also suffers pervasive cognitive bias:

>Fallacy of correlation versus causation.
>Omitting reasonable alternatives.
>Reinforcing bias through false dilemma.

Example: The book claims graphic media is the only increasing factor in violent crime. This ignores the history of economic conditions, hard drugs, and firearms, or criminal immigration. The book further fails to account for pitfalls of statistical reporting. It reinforces bias by denying the potency of firearms and drugs. Grossman's false dilemma claims that science cannot safely prove a link between media and violence, so we should assume it on his authority.

--On Conclusion--

After 300-pages of war stories, *On Killing* asserts that Dirty Harry turned our children into murderers. It coyly advocates government censorship and public censure to control our expression.

This has nothing to do with a study of killing. This *is* another fallacy, related to the "irrelevant conclusion": the author presents an attractive set of arguments--those sympathetic soldiers-- then switches to a disconnected thesis. Overall, the book calls itself into question with what amounts to a 30-page non-sequitur.

To paraphrase the text itself, *On Killing* stakes out the same moral and scientific ground as the tobacco industry. It insults readers and their beliefs. Arguments are trite and sag with fallacy. And the histrionics--the melodramatic declarations, the conspiracy theories, and the twisted morality--makes this sham of psychology as crazy as the patient.

A different view of the Vietnam war., October 11, 2004
Grossman, D. (1996). On killing. NY: Back Bay Books.

To read Grossman's gripping study of killing in a military environment requires a degree of courage from the readers. In fact, those Vietnam colleagues who are not travelling well may be better off not reading this book for it peels back the psychological layers of training to kill, and then the guilt that has been generated from being part of the harvesting of the body count. Importantly, the author recognises that Vietnam was different, for a variety of reasons, to any other war that we have fought.

Grossman has impeccable credentials. He rose from the rank of private to lieutenant colonel and served in the 82nd Airborne, 7th Infantry Division and the U.S. Rangers and as a psychology professor at West Point.

After the Second World War, the British and Americans studied the phenomenon of non-firers. American studies confirmed that in battles only 15-20% of the troops shot to kill. In some situations where several riflemen were together firing at the enemy, others in the group would take on supporting roles (getting ammunition, tending the wounded etc.). There was a conspiracy of silence over the non-firers and those involved in a conspiracy to miss, even when their lives were endangered. The British confirmed that among the Argentinean troops in the Falklands, there was a similar rate of non-firers.

However, by the time of the Vietnam War, training techniques had been changed and the firing rates were around 95%. Herein lies the root of the problems faced by Vietnam veterans. As a result of the non-firing data, training methods were re-designed to remove the moral dilemma of taking human lives. Recruits were trained to shoot body shaped targets, not bullseyes and recruits were rewarded for "kills". At Puckapunyal (Recruit Training), recruits for Vietnam were instructed to aim for the chest, so if the enemy doesn't die they become a burden for their medical support teams. Bayonet training, which had probably remained unchanged for over 100 years, was designed to massively damage the enemy soldier's abdominal-thoracic region with a steel instrument possessing two specifically designed blood grooves. And, as the RDI said, "If you are unlucky enough to bayonet the enemy in the head and can't get your bayonet out, discharge a round and it should split the head open."
In, out, on guard! Kill, kill!
The NCOs' and officers' jobs in combat remain to get the troops to kill. I cannot agree with Grossman's observation that British officers do their jobs better because of the class distinction between themselves and their men, which allowed them to make more objective decisions (p. 168). The "fragging" phenomenon in Vietnam occurred because of this perceived officer indifference to the suffering of the troops.

Killing another human being is not a natural act, contrary to what the movies would have us believe. Grossman argued that only 2% of the troops are natural killers (psychopaths/sociopaths), the others need a variety of support strategies to overcome the feeling of guilt that eventually emerge. Perhaps a strongpoint of this book is the excellent diagrams, which capture the essence of key points in this treatise. The diagram showing the predisposition to kill (p.188) is a good example of Grossman's clarity of thought. He shows that the demands of authority, training and conditioning, experience, target attractiveness and group support all come into play before the trigger is pulled.

So, what made Vietnam different to previous and subsequent wars? Firstly, the training was different and the re-socialisation of recruits, particularly those conscripted into the military, was designed to make certain that the troops would kill. The troop rotations generally had new members of units arriving and leaving as individuals, thus denying them the support and absolutions for what they had taken part in. Thirdly, there was no safe rear area and troops had to be battle ready, always. The Swank and Marchand research of 1946 showed that after 25 days in combat troops suffered combat exhaustion, with a reduction in their effectiveness and ending after 50 days in a vegetative phase. Fourthly, the lack of support from the home communities turned many Vietnam veterans into pariahs and it took over a decade to begin to remedy this dreadful, politically driven alienation. As a result, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) manifested itself in many returning troops, who often left Vietnam and were expected to be civilians again within 12 hours. It was interesting that the British sent troops home from the Falklands by boat to overcome this specific problem of the lack of group absolution.

For me, this book was an interesting read, but importantly it made me understand myself and my veteran colleagues a little better.

[...]

Neil MacNeill, 31 Charlie.
... Read more

Editorial Review

In The Nine, acclaimed journalist Jeffrey Toobin takes us into the chambers of the most important—and secret—legal body in our country, the Supreme Court, revealing the complex dynamic among the nine people who decide the law of the land. An institution at a moment of transition, the Court now stands at a crucial point, with major changes in store on such issues as abortion, civil rights, and church-state relations. Based on exclusive interviews with the justices and with a keen sense of the Court’s history and the trajectory of its future, Jeffrey Toobin creates in The Nine a riveting story of one of the most important forces in American life today. ... Read more

Reviews

An intimate look at the diverse group of justices who have served our nation on the Supreme Court over the past two decades., September 17, 2007
Over the years any number of best selling books have been written about the U.S. Supreme Court. If you are an avid reader like myself then you have probably read a few of them. Of all of the books I have read on this subject I found Jeffrey Toobin's new offering "The Nine: Inside The Secret World of the Supreme Court" to be among the very best. As senior legal analyst for CNN and a staff writer for "The New Yorker" Jeffrey Toobin is uniquely qualified to tackle a topic that most Americans know precious little about and frankly find a bit mysterious. Like peeling the skin from an onion Toobin succeeds in revealing just who these justices are and how they have evolved over time. It is a fascinating study.
One notion that "The Nine" certainly reinforces is the conventional wisdom that says there really is no way of predicting how a judge is going to vote on controversial issues after receiving a lifetime appointment to the United States Supreme Court. While it seems that majority of justices remain true to their philosophies after being appointed to the Court, a fairly significant percentage of appointees veer off in totally unexpected directions. Throughout "The Nine" Jeffrey Toobin introduces us to the men and women who have served on the Court over the past two decades. Depending on your point of view you will find some of the justices extremely likeable and others enigmatic. You will also learn who the reliable liberal and conservative votes are and who tends to occupy the center. And Jeffrey Toobin spotlights a number of controversial 5-4 cases where those 1 or 2 "swing" votes would make all the difference.
It is quite apparent that Jeffrey Toobin is a huge fan of the recently retired justice Sandra Day O'Connor. In fact, on a couple of occasions he refers to her as "the most important woman in American history". Appointed by Ronald Reagan in September 1981 Sandra Day O'Connor would spend a quarter century on the bench and prove to be the swing vote in a myriad of important cases. Toobin also views Justice Stephen Breyer in a similarly favorable light. Over the past few years conservative politicians and voters alike have been extremely critical of what they perceive as a very disturbing new development at the Supreme Court. There is little doubt that a number of the justices have been increasingly influenced by both international law and by the decisions of courts in other nations in making their decisions and in writing their opinions. Indeed, the members of the Supreme Court find themselves sharply divided on this issue and Jeffrey Toobin explains which members buy into this approach and why. This is a trend that certainly bears watching.
"The Nine: Inside The Secret World of the Supreme Court" certainly qualifies as one of the best books I have read this year. Although Toobin displays his liberal leanings in some of his observations from time to time this is nonetheless an extremely well written, generally balanced and very informative book. Highly recommended!

Some Remarkable Insights into the Recent Supreme Court, September 28, 2007
The last several years have delivered a rich harvest of outstanding studies of the Supreme Court. In addition to some highly technical works by political scientists, journalists have contributed studies of remarkable value and insight. I am thinking here of Greenburg's incisive "Supreme Conflict"; Greenhouse's biography of Justice Blackmun; and Biskupic's perceptive study of Justice O'Connor to name a few (not to mention Jeffrey Rosen -- who is a George Washington law professor but who also writes for the popular press and presents PBS programs as well). The good fortune of we "Court watchers" continues in this exceptionally discerning study by Jeffrey Toobin who writes for the "New Yorker" among other publications.

Toobin covers roughtly the period of 1992 through the 2006-07 term of the Court. His focus is similar to that of Jan Crawford Greenburg in "Supreme Conflict": the frustration of conservatives at their inability to secure a Court that would implement their agenda on abortion, public support of religion, and diminution of federalism despite a conservative majority on the Court. But as both books so well explain, all that changed with the coming of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito--as some recent decisions which Toobin discusses in his final chapters indicate. What is interesting is that the same members made up the Court between 1994 and 2005; yet the dynamics of decisionmaking changed dramatically.

To trace this evolution, Toobin discusses the Federalist Society; the Thomas nomination; the pragmatism of Justice O'Connor; Jay Sekulow and his "American Center for Law and Justice";and the perplexing Clinton White House nominations of Justices Ginsburg and Breyer. Toobin uses an effective technique of discussing each Justice in detail not all at the beginning of the book, but at the point in the narrative when that Justice is the central actor. Is is obvious that the author has had the assistance of several of the Justices (in this regard, the book reminds one a bit of "The Brethren") including I would surmise: O'Connor (extensively), Breyer, Souter, and possibly Stevens and even Kennedy. He also interviewed more than 75 law clerks. Hence, the reader is privy to some rather remarkable views of the Justices as seen by their fellows--a major strength of the book. Strangely enough, Chief Justice Rehnquist, whom one would assume would be a central character in this drama, earns relatively little attention. In fact, one of Toobin's most interesting assertions (along with the contention that Souter was close to resigning after Bush v. Gore) is that in the later years of his tenure, Rehnquist really lost his fire to remake law and became content to masterfully administer the Supreme and lower courts.

One section of the book is devoted to Bush v. Gore, a topic to which Toobin has devoted an entire book, and it is a superb analysis of that unfortunate episode. In the third section of the book, much attention is paid to Justice Kennedy, a puzzling character at times, but one who has assumed O'Connor's spot as the swing vote. Also of interest is O'Connor's growing frustration with Bush and the GOP, despite her central role in Bush v. Gore. The final section focuses upon the Bush White House and its maneuvers in filling the Rehnquist and O'Connor vacancies, another outstanding job by Toobin. The most interesting concept raised in this discussion is the Roberts' Court view of stare decisis--namely, does it still exist? Geoffrey Stone (former dean of the University of Chicago law school and provost at Chicago) has spoken eloquently and perceptively about this same phenomenon.

The book runs around 350 pages; it has a number of color photographs, 8 pages of notes, and a brief three-page bibliography. By any measure, Toobin has done as insightful and thorough a job in this study as one could imagine. The writing is crisp, does not bog down in legalistic details, and directs its focus where it should--the Justices as a small group together for the long haul and entrusted with making the most fundamental decisions of American democracy.

Sneering conservatives, rational liberals, December 29, 2007
The book is decent, but I just thought that the author spent too much time describing "sneering" conservatives, and not really explaining what they stand for. The moderates on the court are always rational, and the conservatives are primitive and spend a lot of time sneering, etc. This is a bit unfair (I am willing to bet that Scalia is more intelligent and more interesting and amusing than the author states).

I also think Toobin short-shrifts some of the liberal negatives. Clinton-appointee Ginsburg once said that she wanted to integrate prisons, so that men and women prisoners would be housed together, because this would force men to understand women better, etc. This type of utopianism is not mentioned in the book (it is the mirror of the conservative attempt to remake America along the lines of the Christian Right).

I also think that in his discussion of international law, he fails to really present the conservative opposition to using foreign law in the U.S. Our legal system is based on Britain's. I highly doubt for instance, that we would want to import legal notions from Latin America and Europe, where for instance, the Code Napoleon holds sway. In Mexico or Brazil or France or Italy, the state is considered right, and the defendant in a criminal case has the burden of proof to show that he is innocent (!). This would stand our British system on its head (do the liberal justices really want to use such precedents ?). In France, the "terror csar" can hold anyone for 55 hours without charges, just by signing a piece of paper. Even the British have gone a LONG way toward an all-powerful state, and the British have even talked about doing away with trial by jury in criminal cases. I hardly think we want that. And yet, this huge issue is not mentioned in the book. Instead, the author presents the idea of importing foreign precedent into the U.S. as a purely good idea.

The book thus glosses over much of the "conservative" side of most of the issues. Moderates and liberals in the book reason. Conservatives "sneer".

The book is worth reading, but I have some pretty major issues with it.

Well-Researched, Fascinating, and Important, September 22, 2007
This is a well-written and well-documented look at our Supreme Court's decision making process. Toobin interviewed the Justices--and many of those who work with them--and has provided an important insight into the workings of this often-overlooked, but equally important and powerful, third branch of our government.

It's too bad that rightwing posters here have given this excellent book only one or two stars and (laughably) even characterize it as "far left" simply because the facts of how the Court works don't square with what they'd like people to believe. It's unfortunate for them, perhaps, but this is what research and journalism are supposed to do.

All in all, a great read--and an interesting behind-the-scenes look at a process that all Americans should know much more about--and pay much more attention to.

Good, but lacking . . ., October 7, 2007
Toobin carefully covers the main legal issues the Court has heard over the last 15 years. They include abortion, separation of church and state, affirmative action and the death penalty and more. He covers two especially deeply. They are the Clinton impeachment case and Bush v. Gore, when the Court, by a 5-4 vote, effectively decided the 2000 election.

He also goes into the Terry Schiavo case.

You'll read the portraits of the justices which gives it a distinctive flavor.

Unfortunately, most everything in the book has been covered extensively elsewhere. In addition, he doesn't tell us how the court actually works.

This is a good book if you've not read much about the court. But if you have a good knowledge of the cases of the last 15 years, save your money. And certainly if you want to know how the court works, you'll want to find another source.

A grain of salt.., September 21, 2007
As we move toward the 2008 elections, this book sheds light on a vital arm of our government, and important issues framing the debates. Yes, Toobin may be showing his liberal leanings, but is this so unsettling in our free-speaking democratic society? What Toobin does well -- and is so qualified to do so -- is to share his wealth of knowledge and perspective on that all-important yet all-too-secretive government branch. He succeeds in enlightening us -- and probably, regarding some aspects, the justices themselves -- on several influential developments. One, as pointed out by a previous reviewer, being the courts growing dependence on decisions made abroad. The book is readable and informative...take the liberal leanings with a grain of salt..

Informative and biased, November 11, 2007
The Nine is an account of the present U.S. Supreme Court. The author tries to present each justice as a personality, not just a legal entity. He delves into their personal histories, describing their families and friends. He also describes their interactions, and the day to day workings of the court. Toobin is a good writer, and the book is engaging and easy to read. It is clear that a large amount of research was done in the making of this tome.

It may be impossible to write a politically neutral book about the court. This author gives a fleeting impression of such an attempt, but by the second chapter, there is no doubt that he is a partisan observer. As he describes the major players in his narrative, the liberal ones receive high praise, while the conservative ones are mainly portrayed as hypocrites or worse. Toobin describes liberals as "distinguished," "respected," or "venerable," while conservatives earn such adjectives as "petty," "vindictive," or "reactionary." Some conservatives do receive acknowledgement for redeeming qualities, but their negatives usually overshadow the positives. He seems to be extremely fond of O'Connor, who was in the middle of the political spectrum.

When he writes about individual cases, rather than presenting the arguments, Toobin argues points of law from his own perspective. He focuses on the side that he agrees with, mentioning the opposing arguments briefly and dismissively. He occasionally argues against his own prior positions. Although he ridicules the conservative position that the federal government is too often interfering with state's rights, he is outraged by the court's interference in state's rights during the 2000 presidential election. Many people are on both sides of this argument, since ideology usually trumps principles. Indeed, Toobin writes that the justice's ideology "means everything" in the court. In The Nine, ideology trumps objectivity.

If you believe that most left leaning legal minds in America are intelligent and caring, while the conservative ones are mostly dishonest dullards or evil extremists, this book will not challenge you. I wanted a greater insight into the workings of the court, and I did not find it here.

Inside the Court, October 1, 2007
We seem to have a view that the most interesting things to read about are those that are kept secret. As a result we have the Woodward industry which periodically tells us the inside story of work of people who are in the political limelight. Nine is such a book and has all the assets and liabilities of these sorts of books.

The main asset is that a great story is told, Whether is be the development of abortion jurisprudence or Bush v. Gore we see in the inside story. Toobin is an engaging writer so the story is well told and may even as reported.

The second asset is the portraits of the Justices. They tend to be brief but we see the justices as personalities. Each has their own quirks which make them interesting. I enjoyed the stories about Thomas and Breyer passing notes. Also the friendship between Scalia and Ginsburg shows that you can be agreeable even when you disagree.

Also the story of the concerted effort by conservatives to capture the court is fascinating, especially the role of groups who brought cases.

Now the liabilities. First and foremost because the book is based primarily on interviews one really does not know who is telling the story. Justice O'Connor who seems to be the strongest character in the book may well have given the insights herself. Without giving the source one has to be a bit concerned. After all often the history is written by the winner or in this case by the most available. In comparing this book to Linda Greenhouse's extraordinary biography of Justice Blackmum,which is fully documented, the difference is clear.

Second the book is light on understanding the legal developments. This is understandable as it is not the purpose of the book.

As a final point I suggest anyone interested Justice Thomas who I think is the most interesting person on the Court to read Supreme Discomfort which gives insights into his character. ( As I am writing this Thomas' autobiography is being published which may shed more light on him.)

An Intriguing Examination Of Powerful Unknowns, October 14, 2007
I've helped chaperone high school field trips to Washington, D.C. for a couple of years, and I always find the visit to the Supreme Court building one of the most impressive, but mysterious, parts of the journey. We sit in the dignified, somber, courtroom, hear guides tell us that the Justices are at that moment at work somewhere in the building, remember the historic decisions announced in that room, but we never see the Justices themselves or get any real sense of them as people. Now Jeffrey Toobin has provided a glimpse of these powerful, private people, the world they inhabit, and the challenges they face.

The Nine basically covers the last twenty years or so of Court history. Not only is it the story of the individuals who have sat on the Court during that time, it is also a chronicle of the ebb and flow of judicial philosophy. Beginning in the early 1980s, conservatives in this country began to work to resurrect "The Constitution in Exile," or the pre-New Deal welfare state status quo which had prevailed until the 1930s, and to put an end to the progressive/liberal dominance of the Court which had been entrenched since the 1950s. Toobin writes that that effort faltered, despite the overall rightward tilt of the legislative and executive branches in the 1980s and 1990s, because of the personalities of the Justices appointed during that period. His heroine is Sandra Day O'Connor, who became the true leader of the Court because of her determination to seek a common sense centrist position rather than adhere to rigid ideology.

Toobin gives us a good picture of each Justice's personality and habits. I already knew that some were more genial or ideological than others, but it was fascinating to read about their personal quirks and the interplay of their ideas when they meet with each other or work with their clerks. I found new respect and liking for some Justices with whom I disagree and more reasons to admire others whose decisions I generally support. I have no legal background, but I enjoyed and was able to follow the ins and outs of the legal arguments. I gained fresh insight into how decisions develop and how hard the Justices and their clerks work. Sadly, I also recognized anew that the Court can go terribly wrong, as in the rushed, partisan decision in Bush v. Gore. Toobin writes in the last chapter that "the Constitution in Exile" movement may have gained new influence with the Roberts and Alito appointments. His book will be an important resource for citizens watching Court decisions and trying to discern trends in coming years.

A little short, December 22, 2007
This attempt to emulate the Woodward classic seems to fall short. The author clearly has a point of view as to how certain cases should come out and we get very little analysis of how the Court gets there. The Court is a political institution, granted, but the Constitution does matter in its decision making. The author often snipes at Scalia for suggesting the same. This book would have been better served with more analysis of the critical decisions and their precedents. Then the reader can form his or her own judgement as to whether the Court was right or wrong.
There is some interesting discussion of the personal relationships amongst the Justices. The liberal-conservative divide does not seem to preclude social activities and friendships, which do ultimately lead to a better functioning institution, something the other branches of government might want to consider.
Therefore, this is an interesting book, but if you are expecting a greater understanding and explanation of the Court's recent jurisprudence, forget it. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Why is my faucet leaking, my toilet running, or my dishwasher refusing to start? Can I fix it myself? What's causing the heating system to smell bad or the foundation to crack? Do I need an air filtration system? Is the new "engineered lumber" as good as conventional wood? These are just a few examples of questions homeowners face when repairs are needed, or when a new house or addition is being planned.

There's no question that it pays to be an informed consumer. Knowledge of your home's systems helps you control repair and construction costs and make sure the correct elements are being installed or replaced.

This book uncovers the mysteries behind just about every major appliance and building element in your house. Clear, "exploded" drawings show you exactly how these things should be put together and how they function - what to check if they don't work, and what you can do that might save you having to call in a professional.

The easy-to-understand pictures and explanations on every page get right to the point, helping you understand how things work, what can go wrong, and how to trouble-shoot a problem.

Virtually everything in your house is included:

• Electrical - circuit breakers and grounding, service, outlets, lamps and fixtures.
  
• Heating and Air conditioning - gas, electrical and oil - ductwork and piping, thermostats, central and window AC units, humidifiers and dehumidifiers, and air filtering systems.
  
• Plumbing - kitchen and bath fixtures, piping, water heaters, traps and vents, septic tanks, pumps and water softener systems - even sprinkler systems and swimming pool filters/heaters.
  
• Major household appliances - from kitchen to laundry.
  
• Foundation, framing, doors and windows - including issues like drainage and radon, types of framing and how it supports the house, and all types of doors and windows.

Reviews

Best book available on this topic!, December 22, 2007
I bought this and two other "visual guide to your home" books from Amazon. This book is by far the best of the lot. I can't say enough good things about it. Here's why:

1. CURRENCY AND COVERAGE. Published in 2007, it's the most current title, and covers modern home fixtures better than the others. It's also very comprehensive in it's coverage

2. QUALITY. The diagrams and cutaways are highly detailed, and the best that I've seen - they're also full color, compared to the black and white in other books.

3. CLARITY AND ORGANIZATION. The explanations are straightforward and insight, with just enough detail to understand home systems.

4. TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS. Every topic includes a sidebar containing "Before hiring a professional" troubleshooting tips. They explain the 2 to 3 most likely problems with the system, along with the solutions. I just used this book to troubleshoot our malfunctioning garbage disposal. The troubleshooting tip was 100% right. I made the fix in 2 minutes and saved $180+ on the cost of replacing the disposal. The book just paid for itself 10 times over.

I have 30+ books on home building. This one has a special place on my bookshelf. If you own a house, buy this book. You'll thank me the first time you have the satisfaction of fixing something that goes wrong!

This book pays for itself!, October 12, 2007
What a great book! The fantastic detailed color illustrations are clearer than looking at the object itself. The very first day I had the book, I was able to repair a broken flush handle on my toilet. In my area a plumber charges $100 just to come to the house, so the book has already paid for itself four times. I'm giving the book as Christmas presents to all of my homeowning friends.

Engineer, January 2, 2008
I have numerous reference books but this is the first one to actually describe to me how the device functions. The "Before calling the...(technician)" feature was a brilliant idea and a potential money saver for most homeowners.

My son-in-law teaches middle school science and will be using this book for its wonderful schematics. My other reference books are stashed away on a bookshelf - this one stays on my desk where it is good and handy!

REALLY basic...., May 15, 2009
After buying my first house, I knew I had a lot of work ahead of me and wanted as much help as I could get. I looked at lots of reviews of DIY books, and this one seemed great. It is kind of a neat book, and does have some good information, but this isn't a book for a do-it-yourselfer. I'm new at it, to be sure, but even so, most of the information in this book is much, much too basic, and all the information inside could easily be found online. This book might be good for someone who usually calls professional help for home problems and wants to save a few bucks here or there.

All But Useless As A DIY Guide., February 26, 2009
I have four general home improvement books and a score of special topic wiring, carpentry, decking, landscaping, etc., books which have helped immensely as a homeowner seeking to do some of the inevitably needed work without calling a contractor.

A friend who has zero handyman skills just purchased a home, so I searched Amazon to find a good current book on the subject of general home maintenance as a gift (mine are 10 years old or so). Unfortunately I stumbled upon this book with "rave" reviews and ordered it blindly.

All in all this book is a waste of time for anyone but the near sighted little old lady living in a rented condo who needs to know what a fuse is. It offers no real repair advice to speak of. What it does is give a simplistic, generalized diagrammatic idea of what things in the home do (such as a furnace, a water heater, a microwave oven, etc.) Then it instructs you to see whether it is really broken in an extremely simplistic way, under the theme of "before you call for help."

If the item in question actually is broken, instead of suffering from say, a burned out fuse or a burned out light bulb (actual example), there is no repair instruction of any caliber to be found. It is merely a book to determine whether you need someone else to fix the problem or if there is actually no problem to begin with.

This book is useless except for previously mentioned blue haired bespectacled tenants.

Wonderful large diagrams. For newbies OR as supplement to DIY books, June 16, 2009
Buy this book for the diagrams, OR as an introductory book for newbies. This book consists mainly of diagrams -- very large, clear, detailed diagrams that show how a house works.

We own several books on home maintenance, repair, and home improvement. Those other books offer much more advice on repairs and improvement, but the diagrams and photos are often inadequate -- not enough diagrams/photos, or not clear enough, or not labeled and explained enough. This book is the opposite of that; it has wonderful diagrams, with arrows and labels for the parts, plus brief text explanations and hints. This book has the best diagrams, so we use it as a supplement to the other books.

The book includes some "how to" information for basic maintenance and common, easy repairs. However, it is not a comprehensive manual for DIY home repair and improvement. For DIY, you will want to buy additional books for more depth.

I was pleasantly surprised at what diagrams were included in the book. For example, there are 6 pages of water heater diagrams, for 6 types of water heaters -- electric (tank), gas (tank), electric tankless, gas tankless, BoilerMate(Trademark) water heater, and solar water heater.

Diagrams showing major appliances are also included -- refrigerators, dishwashers, laundry washers, dryers, air conditioners, ranges, ovens, garbage disposal, vacuums. The clothes washer diagrams just show a belt-driven top-loader machine. No diagrams of the newer front-loading type.

The index is not bad; it could be improved by adding more terms. For example it has an entry for "evaporative coolers", but not for "swamp coolers".

great for first time home buyers, August 8, 2008
this is a nice, solid little book - its really quite interesting and informative - presented in a clear way. The illustrations are very helpful - this seems like it would be a good foundation book to have if you are a new home buyer especially.

Amazing book, August 1, 2008
My husband and I are not really handy around the house, so we purchased this book so we could get to know our home better. We were not disappointed. The diagrams are wonderfully clear and the tips for things to try before calling a professional are wonderful. We have already used the book several times to fix things around the house. The book has paid for itself ten-fold.

Great confidence builder! Great resource! Great gift!, June 11, 2008
I originally checked this book out of the library; I was quite impressed with the clearly labeled drawings, the How It Works section and the Before You Call For Help sections. I then checked out the ratings by reviewers on [...]. Then I purchased several as gifts; all of them were well received. I think that this book is a great resource and confidence builder for any individual who wants to know more about the plumbing, wiring, heating/cooling, ventilation, appliances, windows/doors &/or foundation of one's dwelling. It is very visual and it is presented in clear, easy-to-understand, brief language for the layman. Yet Mr. Wing also writes for professionals in these fields. A highly recommended resource!

Perfect For My Son, December 14, 2009
I gave this book to my son when he bought his first house. It explains the mechanics of each individual system in his home and familiarizes him with the vocabulary associated with them. He doesn't like to fix things himself but he reports that he's now able to diagnose problems around the house and to communicate effectively with repairmen. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Ignore Chomsky's Hopes and Prospects At Your Peril, May 18, 2010
As not only American foreign policy but its domestic economy accelerates its decline to a point that only the blind or obtuse can ignore, people who have dismissed Noam Chomsky in the past as "too radical" may now want to read Hopes and Prospects in order to understand what is really going on. The term "hopes" is an ironic reference to President Obama's "politics of hope", a politics that has disappointed millions who worked for his election and have since dropped out, as the right has openly declared class war. Chomsky's new book includes material on Obama's first year in office, and makes it clear that the powerful corporations and their intellectual apologists, who control both U.S. foreign and domestic policy, remain as powerful as ever in protecting their own interests - at the mounting expense of both the American people and hundreds of millions of others around the world.Chomsky goes far beyond exploding the incredible fact that Tea Partiers and others could remain blind to the fact that it is CORPORATIONS, NOT GOVERNMENT which caused the financial crisis, the oil spill, and a disastrous U.S. foreign policy, and that a government truly representing the American people is the only hope for Tea Partiers and everyone else. Mass media and "manufactured consent" explanations are inadequate to explain America's financial crisis and why it is likely to occur again, why America continues to torture and illegally imprison, despite Obama's promise to end it, why the U.S. empire continues to dramatically weaken, and why today it harms the interests of the vast majority of Americans not to mention those suffering under it abroad, and why the situation in the Middle East - not only Israel/Palestine but Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan - will continue to deteriorate as long as national security planners and corporations are able to continue manipulating public opinion and pursuing their own career and economic interests at the expense of everyone else. You may not agree with everything Chomsky says, but the power of his overall analysis and framework is undeniable. His observations on elite behavior explain far more about the deepening climate, financial, Mideast and domestic social crisis facing America than anything you're likely to read in the mainstream media. You owe it to yourself to read this book, whether or not you agree with it all, if you want to have at least a fighting chance to understand the world around you. By all means, take Chomsky on .Argue with this or that point if you will, explain how he leaves out such and such if you must, but disregard his overall framework at your peril. For if you do you will continue to remain blind about the key issues that will determine not only how, but whether, you, your children and your grandchildren will live.

About Hopes and Prospects, May 22, 2010
This book is a compilation of essays that Chomsky also updated just before its release here in May 2010. Each essay has a topic of focus; Chomsky weaves in and out of different subject material throughout each, highlighting moral principles and hypocrisies of the United States, and the West in general. The issues are grotesque and in need of addressing by us - the public.

Contents:

PREFACE ..... VII

PART I: LATIN AMERICA
01. Year 514: Globalization for Whom? ..... 3
02. Latin America and US Foreign Policy ..... 39
03. Democracy and Development: Their Enemies, Their Hopes ..... 75
04. Latin America and Caribbean Unity ..... 103

PART II: NORTH AMERICA
05. "Good News," Iraq and Beyond ..... 121
06. Free Elections, Good News and Bad ..... 143
07. Century's Challenges ..... 165
08. Turning Point? ..... 177
09. Elections 2008: Hope Confronts the Real World ..... 207
10. Obama on Israel-Palestine ..... 251
11. The Torture Memos ..... 259
12. 1989 and Beyond ..... 269

Notes ..... 281
Index ..... 315

Thought-provoking, measured, and grounded in rationality, June 12, 2010
For forty years, Noam Chomsky's erudite insights into politics and language have proved to be an invaluable contribution to ongoing social reflection. Hopes and Prospects is Chomsky's latest work, warning readers about the latest risks and challenges facing America and humankind during the early twenty-first century. Chapters address the growing divide between America's North and South, American exceptionalism (which still has a strong hold in the era of President Barack Obama), the morass of problems (to put it lightly) with Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S.-Israeli aggression toward Gaza, the controversial governmental bailouts - and suggestions to improve the future, as well as reflections on positive developments such as democratic movements in Latin America and global solidarity efforts. Thought-provoking, measured, and grounded in rationality, Hopes and Prospects is strongly recommended as a vital nexus for social debate over vitally pressing national and global issues.

Chomsky yet again tells us far more about our world than our media ever do, July 20, 2010
Noam Chomsky yet again tells us far more about our world than our media ever do.

He writes, "A well-documented conclusion is that sovereignty, hence ability to control internal economic development and to enter international market systems on one's own terms, is a crucial prerequisite to economic development." 25 years of economic sovereignty, backed by exchange controls and managed currencies, did better than the succeeding 25 years of Thatcherism. Protectionism brings growth; imposed liberalisation harms growth.

In 1985 the World Bank said that in its standard `development' strategy, domestic consumption should be `markedly restrained', support for education `minimized' and `less emphasis should be placed on social objectives'.

The US National Intelligence Council's Global Trends 2015 (2000) said globalisation will lead to `a widening economic divide' and `deepening economic stagnation, political instability, and cultural alienation'. In law, predictable consequences are evidence of intent. Amnesty International's Secretary-General says that poverty is the worst of all the world's many human rights abuses.

In Latin America, Obama plays the usual US role. In June 2009, the largely US-controlled IMF at once gave a $150 million loan to the coup regime in Honduras. The IMF had earlier withdrawn loans from the elected government because it opposed that government's policies. In 2002, during the (failed) coup against Venezuela's elected government, the IMF had at once offered aid to the coup regime. France and the USA backed the 2004 coup in Haiti, which overthrew the elected government, causing 8,000 violent deaths in the next two years.

By contrast, Chomsky praises Cuba's `remarkable record of genuine internationalism over many years', especially its Operation Milagro, which has restored sight to more than a million people.

He denounces Israel's vicious and illegal siege of Gaza. Israel, with the USA, is destroying any viable Palestinian state. The USA and the EU voted against the International Atomic Energy Agency resolution calling on Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to open its nuclear facilities to inspection.

In the recent US election, the best-funded candidate won 9 out of 10 contests, and Obama was the presidential candidate with most Wall Street funding. This January, the US Supreme Court voted to allow corporations to spend shareholder money directly in future elections.

Chomsky's Best Yet, July 2, 2010
Chomsky's most recent book, Hopes and Prospects, is his best work yet (keep in mind, I've read a lot of Chomsky). He's the only scholar I know of who can take on the daunting and seemingly impossible task of describing the "state of the world," and do it successfully.

The book is broken up into two sections: the first focuses on Latin America and the second North America. He covers key topics such as: the connection between neoliberalism and development and democracy; the Obama phenomenon; the new U.S. administration's policy on the Israel/Palestine conflict; the democracy movements in Latin America; the current state of the nuclear threat; and other topics of crucial importance. As usual, he brings forth a seemingly innumerable amount of historical examples to build his basic arguments, which makes this book an excellent place to search for references on a wide-range of topics (as with all of his works).

In short, if you're interested in understanding the current global context (its most key elements at least), and how it dictates local conditions, then this book is a must read.

Chomsky's latest, July 24, 2010
e book is full of the traditional themes of Chomsky's work, such as US support for terrorism, dictators, war crimes, Islamic fundamentalists, nuclear proliferation, human rights violations,etc. Citing Ahmed Rashid, he notes Reagan's support for the fundamentalist Pakistani dictator Zia Al Haq, whose rule laid the groundwork for the maladies that afflict Pakistan today. He notes that Gullubdin Heckmatyar, the favorite Afghan fundamentalist terrorist of Reagan, is now at the forefront of the political process in Afghanistan. He cites new evidence from the Spanish press about the murder of the 6 Jesuit priests, their cook and her daughter by the US trained Altacatl Battalion in November 1989. He quotes Michael Kinsley's and Time Magazine's positive portrayal of the attacks on civilian targets by the Contras in Nicaragua that terrorized the Nicaraguan people into voting out the Sandinistas in 1990. The Contra war was all part of the effort by the Reagan administration, backed by the Vatican, to restore the poor majority of Central Americans to misery and passivity. He notes that Bernard Fall, the right wing military historian described Vietnam in the 1960's being threatened with extinction "as a cultural and historic entity" as the Vietnamese countryside "literally dies" under massive US bombing.

Chomsky has a great deal to say in this book about Israel, Obama's continuation of Bush's policies toward its settlement building, extreme violations of the Geneva Conventions and the context of Israel's attack on Gaza in December 2008 and its economic strangulation of Gaza. Chomsky has always stressed that Israel's main goal is not security but stealing all the best land and resources from the territories. He quotes Moshe Dayan from the early days of the occupation as saying privately that Israel should make Palestinians live "like dogs" and invite them to leave the territories if they didn't like it. He also has a few words about the BDS. He suggests that the boycott movement against South Africa wasn't exactly the rousing success that some BDS advocates assume it was.

There are other subjects discussed in this book. Chomsky notes Obama's continuation of Bush style militarism and the terrible toll on civilians of Obama's drone strikes on Pakistan and air strikes in Afghanistan. He points out the important ways the Obama administration supported the coup in Honduras. He describes the horrendous toll of Haiti's January 2010 earthquake as rooted in the economic policies the US has forced on Haiti. He quotes a number of mainstream strategic analysts, including former weapons inspector David Kay and the neoconservative Reuel Marc Gerecht, that Iran has very rational reasons for building up its nuclear capacity as a deterrent. Chomsky explores the possibility for a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan. He quotes with admiration Malalai Joya, the feminist human rights activist now in hiding from the misogynist fundamentalist Northern Alliance warlord gangsters Rumsfeld re-installed in power. He quotes an observation made by the last British ambassador to the Soviet Union, that from the ambassador's conversations with pro-Western Afghans, these Afghans greatly prefer life under the Soviet backed regime, when women achieved significant gains and the country seemed to be modernizing.

. Chomsky writes that financial industry interests are clearly reflected in the policies of the Obama administration. He notes that the financial industry has taken up a disproportionate share of our economic life. Economic growth during the Bush years relied on an 8 trillion dollar housing bubble whose extreme danger Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and other official geniuses did not fathom. Meanwhile, American manufacturing capacity has declined significantly in recent decades. The real wages of most American workers have declined since the late 70's, except for a spike during the Clinton tech stock boom of the late 90's, Chomsky notes. One of the quotes Chomsky often uses in his works (as he does in this book) is taken from Alan Greenspan's senate testimony from 1997 about the stagnating wages and "greater worker insecurity" fueling American economic growth. Chomsky cites an interesting story from the Wall Street Journal relating to Obama's stimulus and the decline of American manufacturing. On the health care bill, the Obama administration made a deal with the pharmaceutical industry whereby the health care reform bill would contain no mandate for the government to negotiate drug prices downward or demand rebates. Chomsky cites a Business Week article of August 2009 which said the health care industry had "already won" the health care debate. Health care industry lobbyists worked intensively behind the scenes to make sure the bill didn't seriously threaten their interests. Chomsky quotes the chairman of the Business Roundtable as saying that the bill that came out of Max Baucus's committee was closely aligned to his group's own vision for a proper reform bill. The Business Week article predicted that the health care industry would come out of the reform process more profitable than ever.

Chomsky also discusses one of my favorite topics: how the most successful economies in the world, including the United States, have routinely violated free market principles in order to become successful. He points out that Chile's following of the principles of Milton Friedman under Pinochet led to complete disaster by 1982. Since then, he notes, Chile has achieved some economic success by placing controls on capital flow and relying on its copper export industry, the largest company in which is the government run CODELCO.

I do wish Chomsky would go into more depth on health care. In his works, he often likes to cite polls showing that a majority of Americans have views that are often significantly more left wing than the Democrats. In this book, for example, he cites polls on Obama's health care plan, including polling relating to the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts. These polls show that many Americans opposed to Obama-care base their opposition not on Republican style arguments but on the feeling that the legislation does not go far enough.

Chomsky is a nice relief from the insanity and imbecility of mainstream political discourse.

Impressive and Convincing, July 20, 2010
I'm not usually a huge fan of Chomsky but his new collection of essays Hopes and Prospects is really good. The first part of the book deals with Latin America. Chomsky outlines the colonial past and present of Latin American countries and their valiant efforts to rid themselves of neo-imperialist domination by the United States. He states correctly that today's struggles of Latin American countries (Bolivia, Argentina, Venezuela) to oppose the depredations of the US-inspired version of globalization offer hope for the rest of the world. He is also absolutely right in pointing out that "Latin America is not merely the victim of foreign forces. The region is notorious for the rapacity of its wealthy classes and their freedom from social responsibility." Here, Chomsky echoes Eduardo Galeano's classic work Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continentthat decades ago offered a brilliant analysis of how Latin American power elites sold out their own countries to the predatory forces of the US neo-liberalism. Today, Chomsky points out "Latin America has real choices, for the first time in its history." And this is great news for the entire planet.

In the second part of the book, Chomsky analyzes the influence that the imperialist mentality in the US exercises over the discussions of the US military presence in Iraq. I was particularly pleased to see that Chomsky decided not to follow in the footsteps of most liberal commentators in their refusal to see that Russian imperialism is in no way "better" or more justified than the US imperialism. Chomsky qualifies Putin's actions in Chechnya as "murderous", which they most definitely are. I only wish that more progressive analysts dared to depart from the tendency to praise everybody who opposes the US regardless of the atrocities they perpetrate. It is definitely right that the US imperialism and Russian imperialism should be discussed together since there are glaring similarities between them.

Chomsky then segues into what I consider the weakest part of the book: the discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As usual, Chomsky's analysis of the issue is one-sided and biased. Israelis are all villainous nationalists and religious fanatics, while the Palestinians are without an exception languishing and tolerant victims. While Chomsky is right in suggesting that the Israelis do everything they can to make sure the conflict continues, he forgets to say that so do the Palestinians. When he describes the Israeli "information campaigns to instruct the world on its errors and misunderstanding, arrogant self-righteousness, circling the wagons, defiance . . . and paranoia," he avoids mentioning that this exactly the pattern adopted by every single nation-state with a very weak and diluted national identity (Russia is a great example of precisely this kind of paranoid nation building. Closer to home, so is the US.)

Starting from Chapter 9 of Part II, Chomsky offers a brilliant analysis of the 2008 presidential elections and the job Obama's presidency has done since then. He points out correctly that both Democrats and Republicans are considerably to the right of the American population on many major issues, both international and domestic. Hence, it is not surprising that Obama's tepid efforts to defend his intentions to introduce some kind of change don't convince Americans any longer. Chomsky talks about how the American people have been brilliantly manipulated into being suspicious of public welfare programs that would be of invaluable use to themselves while supporting the "nanny state for the rich."

The fact that the two main candidates in the 2008 Democratic primary were a woman and an African American were a welcome sign, Chomsky acknowledges, that the country has managed to get at least somewhat civilized. Still, we cannot expect the joy from this reality to keep us perennially blind to the numerous ways in which Obama has not been living up to his promise. Chomsky reminds us that "Obama's message of 'hope' and 'change' offered a virtual blank slate on which supporters could write their wishes." And write we did, only to be disappointed in most of our expectations.

The book is composed of a series of essays and as a result is very repetitive in places. It could have done with a lot of editing because many sentences are simply repeated over and over. This lack of editing is the main reason for the four-star rating I give to the book.

A must read, August 7, 2010
I had only a vague idea of Chomsky and a limited knowledge of international affairs so stumbled on this book pretty much by accident. I found it riveting. Chomsky has a great grasp of his subject and portrays very clearly what international relations is really about. Such an authoritative if disconcerting source is sorely needed and one would hope that it is widely read. I bought several copies to pass around.

Classic Chomsky, but the Title's Decieving, December 1, 2010
For the most part the book is another masterpiece to add to the Chomsky collection. His critical analysis takes you from Latin America, to the Middle East, and finishes with a critique of contemporary American politics. His analysis is scathing, truly a "bonfire of myths and lies".

If you have read Failed States or Hegemony or Survival) then this book will feel like an extension of those works. The tone and issues analyzed are quite similar: American aggression in the name of business interests and the its (along with Israel's) well documented crimes in the Middle East comprise the majoity of the book.

Unlike most other works be Chomsky, "Hopes and Prospects" takes a penetrating look inside American domestic issues. The insurance and financial industry's subversion of the health care debate and financial bailout are of particular interest. The Obama myth is also deconstructed to reveal a figure, which in thought and action, that is not too far from his right-wing colleagues.

My only criticism of the book is the deceiving title. Much like "Chomsky on Education" (which notoriously had nothing to do with education) the book has nothing to do with hope and very few prospects are mentioned. One will leave this book feeling enlightened, perhaps even empowered to change the conditions Chomsky writes about. However, the book hardly gives the reader much to be hopeful about. Praise is given to some movements occurring in Latin America (the Morales administration for example), but very few prospects for progress are talked about at length. Overall the book, like many of his others, will be quite depressing to anyone who is not willing to take some sort of action to address the issues discussed. May the apathetic be warned!

However, by picking the book up your probably ruled out of the apathy column. If your like most Chomsky fans you are interested in changing the conditions addressed in the book, and will therefore feel more empowered than anything else. Well worth the read!

Its Dr. Chomsky, how can it not be amazing?, August 4, 2010
As the titles states, Dr. Chomsky is amazing, with his direct truth, it always leaves a sharp pain in the side of those that prefer to be clouded by idiotic propaganda news channels and low class talk radio. If you are interested in a accurate assessment on past and current affairs in terms of U.S. policy, then get this book. ... Read more

Reviews

Best Source of Real LSAT Questions, November 10, 2008
As a professional LSAT tutor/blogger, I find that many LSAT books out there choose to make up their own questions rather than pay the licensing fee to the Law School Admissions Council to use real questions. However, this practice leaves students woefully unprepared. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to study from REAL LSAT questions, which are exactly what this book provides. I recommend this book to all of my students.

Good sample of LSAT questions, July 7, 2008
There are definitely better books for understanding how to take the LSAT, but this book is a great follow-up because it lets you get a feel for a lot of different types of questions, as well as timed practice for the real test. I would definitely suggest using this along with a different stuty guide to prep for the LSAT.

Perfect, June 2, 2008
Seriously, if you are purchasing any book that isn't the official LSAT prep test series you are selling yourself short. They do not approximate the type of questions that you are going to see on a real LSAT.

These books, on the other hand, are perfect for prepping for the LSAT. There is nothing like the real thing.

Great Value Study Tool, January 21, 2009
This is definitely a must if you plan on studying and doing well on the LSAT. It gives a good array of questions that were on previous LSATs and it's the most current that you can get in a set of 10. Otherwise you can purchase most recent tests for $8 each.

It has Oct 1999 thru Oct 2002. I highly suggest working through them timed and use those bubble in answer sheets as you go!

You Absolutely Need This Book!, November 27, 2008
This book will help you with the two things you need to master the LSAT: 1) Time Management. and 2) Be Ready For Anything.

After taking these ten practice tests, you will have a good idea on whether or not you can finish all of the sections in the allotted time (you must take them as you would a normal test to be able to figure this out). You will also have seen 40 logic games, and just about every type of question you can see in the other sections. This is more valuable than you will ever realize, and you will thank this book after you do well on the test. There is nothing worse than getting surprised by a logic game in the testing room, and losing out on five questions by default.

I would highly recommend that you make the time to take as many practice tests as you can, and this book gives you ten great ones.

Good Luck!

Perfect just for one thing..., July 15, 2009
I agree with all the other reviews... It makes sense to have actual LSAT tests to study from, but the only thing that I can say the would stop me from giving it a perfect rating is the fact that they just give you the answer key without giving you an explanation on how they derived the answer. Most times you should be able to see what you did wrong but knowing why you got something wrong would be much easier if they provided written explanations for their answers...

MANDATORY for anyone not taking an actual prep course., September 7, 2009
Well if you are not taking an actual LSAT prep course, then how are you going to get access to actual LSAT practice tests? By the way you can walk into your friendly neighborhood bookstore and grab a copy of any number of different prep books, such as Princeton Review, Kaplan, McGraw Hill, etc. The problem is that the practice tests in those books ARE NOT ACTUAL LSAT TESTS FROM THE PREVIOUS YEARS, which are the ONLY ones you should be practicing with. What is the point of taking a practice test that is not written by the test makers? Sure it will get you better at taking that particular type of test, but it is NOT WHAT YOU WILL BE TESTED OVER ON THE ACTUAL LSAT. So with that being said, please understand that this book contains 10 actual LSAT tests that were administered between the years of 1999-2002. The only difference between these tests and the one you will be taking is that the one you will be taking will include a comparative reading passage. This has been added to the test in 2007. However, you can download the June 2007 test from the LSAC website for free. You can also download the June 1996 test for free (just go to google and type in "LSAC practice test"). I recommend you take the free 1996 test to see the difference between taking the test ACTUALLY written by the test makers and the ones available in the retail stores.

Its what it should be, but that doesn't make it helpful, July 5, 2009
The book is what it advertises to be, but its still not helpful enough. The LSAT has changed a lot since these tests, and I didn't find practicing with them to be as useful as I would have hoped. You're better off getting more recent tests.

Tests are old and bit outdated, the questions have changed quite a bit since this book, February 23, 2010
Good for practice, I suppose. It helped me before I took the LSAT in Feb but there are plenty of other free resources you can find out there. Just use google.

The tests in this book are old, the LSAT has changed a lot in the last 5 years. This book doesn't give you any explanations for the answers, so in that way it can be frustrating. Just taking the test over and over is good for you to learn how to get your time down but when you are getting the same 4-5 problems wrong every section you want to know why and what you can do better. Look elsewhere for your study materials.

LSAT PrepTest review, December 2, 2008
This collection of LSATs is the best practice for timing oneself and gauging how one will perform on test day. Every LSAT taker should get through at least one collection of previously administered exams. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

A well-written and insighful account of Brenann's life and career, September 5, 2010

Fascinating "Inside" Look at Warren/Burger Courts, October 4, 2010
This excellent biography provides fascinating detail of the formulation of some of the most significant cases of the 20th century. I've never read a judicial biography that has so much "inside baseball" - and it will be loved by Court junkies. But it's also a crisply written and compelling story of 20th century US politics, intellectual history, religion, and gender relations -- told through the life of a towering figure of American history. Anyone interested in 20th century US history will really enjoy this fine book.

Great book about the Supreme Court, September 23, 2010

AN EXEMPLARY BIOGRAPHY OF AN EXCEPTIONALLY INFLUENTIAL JURIST, October 8, 2010

important contribution to history of law, October 17, 2010

An outstanding critical biography . . ., November 8, 2010

Our Most Complete Study of Justice Brennan, November 2, 2010
A superior Supreme Court biography manifests a number of key features: discussion of family and educational background; analysis of pre-Court positions, especially judgeships; careful attention to how the subject was selected and confirmed for the appointment; some discussion of how the Justice interacted with colleagues, including the dynamics of decision-making; analysis of the subject's judicial philosophy; and reasonably detailed discussion of some of the Justice's key decisions. By these measures, this the most recent of many biographies of Justice Brennan (1906-1997) is an important addition to the Supreme Court literature.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is how it came about. Apparently after the appearance of "The Brethren" (1979). Brennan became concerned about his public image. In 1986, he met with Stephen Wermiel, then covering the Court for the "Wall Street Journal," and agreed to cooperate in developing a biography. On top of 60 recorded interviews, Wermiel was given access to Brennan's papers, including "term histories" compiled by his clerks recounting important cases with which the Justice had been involved. Co-author Seth Stern took over lead writing responsibilities after Wermiel became an American University law professor, and he conducted further interviews and reviewed additional written sources such as conference notes and other material. In my experience, it is very unusual for such cooperation to be forthcoming from a Justice; the downside is that what we get primarily is Brennan's take on things, although the authors are fairly even-handed in their assessments. In any regard, what we are interested in are Brennan's views of the Court during his service, and they certainly come through loud and clear here.

The book is divided into Parts I-V, which are presented in chronological order. So, in Part I (1906-1956), are chapters on family background, legal education, initial lawyer experience, military service, ascending the New Jersey state court bench, and Brennan's involvement in state court reform activities. Part II (1956-62) contains some of the most important chapters in the book. An excellent chapter recounts how Brennan, a Democrat, was selected by Ike for the Court appointment. A succeeding chapter focuses on how Brennan adjusted to joining the Court, especially his relationship with Chief Justice Warren, Justice Frankfurter's courtship and eventual disappointment in Brennan, how Brennan used his clerks and developed his famous persuasive techniques, and some of the difficult areas he encountered early during his tenure, including obscenity, church-state separation, and national security issues.

Part III (1962-1969) shows Brennan at the pinnacle of his influence during the most critical (and controversial) period of the Warren Court. While important decisions in areas like obscenity, criminal justice, and civil rights are discussed, the book scores high points for not becoming too technical or detailed, and always keeping the focus on larger Court developments, such as how the loss of Justice Black, the resignation of Justice Fortas, and the death of Warren impacted on Brennan's ability to build coalitions. Another bonus is the authors focus on Brennan the person, for example in his decision to withdraw the offer of a clerkship to Michael Tigar. So the reader benefits from a triple focus: key Court decisions; how Brennan interacts with his colleagues; and Brennan the person.

Part IV (1969-82) shows Brennan in retreat, as Burger becomes Chief and Rehnquist joins the Court. Brennan turns Blackmun into an ally and plays a major, but behind-the-scenes, role in drafting the abortion decision. Marshall joins the Court as well, and Brennan is able to exert persuasive influence over Blackmun and Powell. But he fails to charm O'Connor, and as more conservative Justices join the Court, his influence falls to a low level. This trend continues in Part V (1983-1997), although Brennan can still work his persusaive magic on occasion. However, Justices Scalia and Kennedy exert more dynamic influence than Brennan. Brennan urges state supreme courts to take up the slack in protecting civil rights and liberties. On a personal basis, Brennan is reluctant about hiring his few women clerks. Bad health leads to his retirement in 1990.

This hefty volume runs some 650 pages, including notes. The 90 pages of endnotes and the discussion of "Sources" attest to the extensive research conducted by the authors. A number of helpful photographs are included. The authors are careful and thoughtful in rendering judgments; sensitive to views opposing those of Brennan; and critical of their subject at points. All and all, this is a very fine effort and well worth the attention of anyone interested in the Court and its dynamics.

great judicial biography, December 12, 2010

The most important politician you've never heard of, December 11, 2010

Wermiel Captures the Brennan Era, December 7, 2010
I enjoyed reading the story of Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion by Stephen Wermiel and Seth Stern. I had the privilege of working with my friend and former neighbor Steve as he recorded two chapters of his book for RFB&D. In a few weeks the book will be ready for the blind or dyslexic members of RFB&D to hear at no cost.
Wermiel researched and conducted interviews for 21 years. He then asked for Stern's help in drafting his enormous accumulation of source material and in interviewing Brennan's clerks and fellow justices again.
The early chapters about Brennan's family make it clear that having a politician father taught the young man the skills he later employed as a justice of the Supreme Court; ie. the art of compromise and persuasion. As for the conversion of a conservative young man into the champion for liberal thought Brennan became, Wermiel refers to Justice Brennan's opinions as "evolving". That single word tells a great deal about the dynamic of the Supreme Court. Nine brilliant people of differing backgrounds and perceptions must somehow compromise to produce an opinion.
The book is written with such clarity I was able to follow the cases the justices weighed and understand how they arrived at consensus or dissent. The biography of Brennan would be a good choice for study in High School Civics classes. It's especially useful because the Brennan biography was written to be widely accessible. Justice Brennan requested that his biography not be released until after his death, so Wermiel needed comsiderable stamina and courage to undertake such an important and long term project despite pressure on him to rush to print. Brennan clearly had his sights on the future of the USA. His opinion's effectiveness even after he retired is an indication of his progressive thinking. In addition, members of the family were reticent to speak candidly about Justice Brennan's family life until a few years after his death. His biography outlines the considerable stress Brennan dealt with day to day outside court including caring for his first wife and his own cancer.
When I asked Wermiel if the landmark opinions brokered by Justice Brennan had an effect internationally his response was yes. Several other countries have adopted Brennan era decisions as a blueprint to make changes to their constitutions.
A first rate book, one of the most interesting and scrupulous biographies I've ever read and . I feel it is worthy to be a candidate for a Pulitzer prize. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The PowerScore LSAT Logical Reasoning Bible is the most comprehensive book available for the Logic Reasoning section of the LSAT. This book will provide you with an advanced system for attacking any Logical Reasoning question that you may encounter on the LSAT. The concepts presented in the Logical Reasoning Bible are representative of the techniques covered in PowerScore s live courses and have been consistently proven effective for thousands of our students. The book features and explains a detailed methodology for attacking all aspects of Logic Reasoning problems, including recognizing question types, identifying common reasoning elements and determining their validity, the methods for efficiently and accurately making inferences, and techniques for quickly eliminating answer choices as you solve the questions. Entire chapters are devoted to every currently-tested question type, to section strategy and time management, and to even the most challenging reasoning concepts presented, such Formal Logic, Conditional Reasoning, and Causality. In addition, the Logical Reasoning Bible features over 100 real LSAT Logical Reasoning questions that are used to illustrate and reinforce our techniques. The two Logical Reasoning sections on the LSAT represent approximately 50% of your final score and are frequently considered to be the most challenging aspect of the test. However, once you understand how to efficiently approach each question type and deconstruct the reasoning presented, the solution to each question can be quickly discovered. Through step-by-step analysis of every reasoning idea that you will encounter, detailed explanations for every answer choice, and extensive drills to enforce every major concept, this book with teach you how to correctly solve even the most complicated Logical Reasoning problems. The Logical Reasoning Bible is also supplemented by a unique website that provides additional materials to complement the book and answer frequently asked questions. ... Read more

Reviews

Great LSAT Prep Book, December 11, 2009
I used all three Powerscore books when studying for the LSAT and this was the best; I also recommend the Logic Games Bible (the Reading Comprehension Bible wasn't as helpful, mainly because I think it's a really hard section to study for). It completely changed (in a good way) the way I did the logical reasoning questions - my scores on practice tests greatly improved. It breaks down each type of question and teaches you how to do them quickly. It takes some time to go through the book but it's totally worth it!

Worth the money, July 20, 2009
I'm strong in the skills the LSAT attempts to measure, so I already had a good grasp on a decent portion of what was presented in the book. However, the confidence I got from working through the examples and the explanations to questions I didn't understand, along with the numerous tips for increasing speed, aided me infinitely more than just taking practice test after practice test. In addition, having a resource like this to study gave me comfort in the form of knowing that I'd done all I could to prepare for the test. If you're self-motivated and brighter than average, I'd recommend buying this and the Logic Games Bible The PowerScore LSAT Logic Games Bible and skipping all of the expensive courses available

Very sastified, July 15, 2009
Perhaps there is some overkill with the categorization and length of this book, but the comprehensive detail gave me confidence that I've studied all I can with regards to strategy for the reasoning section. I'm very happy with Powerscore's LSAT books in general

Absolutely essential for every test taker, October 24, 2010
The short story is that this book is absolutely incredible, worth every penny, and increased my LR performance from getting 15 wrong every time to getting only four wrong every time. BUY IT, especially before you do any other kind of prep. Give yourself a month to get through it. It gives you concrete methods for how to attack every problem type.

The long story:

I had a roundabout way of getting to the point where I ordered this book. I took a Kaplan course and hated it. I did all of the homework and dedicated my life to the course for a month straight. It wasn't working. My score went from a 160 on the diagnostic to a 152, then a 154. The 160 diagnostic enabled me to enroll in their advanced course, but the course was completely unhelpful. Kaplan's methods aren't methods; they just say things like "oh, that is out of the scope, so it's wrong". Well, how do I know it's out of the scope? You don't. Or, you could probably figure it out, but that takes tons of time and on the LSAT you don't have tons of time. Kaplan does not give concrete reasons that can be applied to every question of the same type for determining why something is or isn't correct. The course wasn't working for me or improving my score, so after three weeks (the course was five weeks total), I dropped it. What a waste of over $1000.

I decided to get private tutoring. The tutoring company I used was brilliant for games, but also very expensive and I had already dropped a ton of money on the Kaplan course. I decided I'd look into using a book for LR instead. And I am saying this now to everyone who has not yet started prepping for the LSAT: BUY THIS BOOK BEFORE YOU TAKE A CLASS OR GET TUTORING OF ANY KIND. GIVE YOURSELF A MONTH WITH THIS BOOK BEFORE YOU DO ANY KIND OF LR PREP WHATSOEVER. This will save you a ton of money - the book is a HUGE bargain and worth every penny. It will also give you an excellent foundation for learning how to do every single kind of problem, and it is likely that you will not have to do any other kind of prep (ie tutoring or a class) once you read this book. You will obviously have to do a lot of practice problems and tests, but you won't need any other kind of instruction as to how to do the problems.

The main reason I like this book is it gives you an actual method as to how to do each problem type. My problem wasn't that I didn't understand why the right answer was right, it was that I couldn't finish in time, so I a) had to guess on the last five problems and b) sped up and my accuracy went out the window. By using the methods in this book, I was able to cut down on time for these problems so that I now always finish with at least three minutes to spare. The methods tell you how to look at a problem, what to look for, what is a likely incorrect answer (so that when you see it you can eliminate it very quickly without being tempted), and what a correct answer looks like. The most helpful piece of advice they give is that there is an identifiable and clear correct answer out of each of the choices. By using these methods, I was able to figure out what that answer was quickly, or at least figure out what the wrong answers were quickly.

The other thing to be said about this is that it is a long book. It's over 500 pages. GIVE YOURSELF ENOUGH TIME TO GET THROUGH IT. Skimming it, or just reading the methods, will not help you. You have to practice them until they become second nature. And you also have to give yourself enough time to actually get through all of the pages. I worked full time while getting through this, and I spent my lunch hour every day working through it, and was able to get through it in just over a month.

You can't expect this to work miracles overnight. But if you put in the time, it will help you increase your speed and accuracy without ever having to pay for a course or tutoring. Or, it will at least give you a sense of what kinds of problems you have trouble with, and then you can get the most out of tutoring by being efficient about it and targeting your weak areas. Or even if you don't get tutoring, you will know what kinds to practice.

I wasted $1000 before I picked this wonderful book up. Don't repeat my mistake. Use this as a first line of defense, and see just how far it will get you in your quest for a great LSAT score.

Note: I have not gotten my official LSAT score back yet. However, I did finish both LR sections with time to spare, and in practice exams, I had consistently gotten no more than four wrong on the LR sections in the past five tests i'd taken.

Useful Overview of LSAT Logical Reasoning Section, February 22, 2010
I've written a more detailed review of this book on my LSAT blog. However, I just wanted to briefly note that this book is an incredibly useful overview of the LSAT's Logical Reasoning section.

I've seen students literally go from only 10 or 11 right on the logical reasoning section to 18 or 19 right, and above, after working with me out of this book. It contains dozens of drills and techniques, and it breaks down the Logical Reasoning section very systematically. The LRB blows Kaplan's books of fake questions and similar ones out of the water. I recommend this book to all of my students.

A must!, February 11, 2010
I am a BIG fan of power score products. I utilized this series for GMAT and now for LSAT and each time I saw results. I am fortunate to have a small budget to purchase these basic prep books and followed a stringent 3 month self study plan (I didn't have 1500 to spend on a professional prep program) and I did well on the test. It takes focus , discipline and great prep books, such as POWER SCORE! LR is 50% of your score!!! so you need to do well and this books helps you do that. It is a tedious book to get through but it is well worth the effort!!!

A solid, comprehensive analysis of LSAT logical reasoning, September 27, 2009
While it is a very large book (over 500 pages), the logical reasoning bible provides an insight into the LR section that few other prep books come even close to hinting at. If you're legitimately looking to increase your knowledge on how to attack the LR section, this is the book to get. Every question type is covered, explained, analyzed, etc. in very well laid out chapter by chapter structure. The categorization can be a bit overkill at times but the authors really went all out with trying to have every angle covered. It ultimately all serves to benefit you in the long run but you really have to be willing to spend a good deal of time doing the exercises, reading the explanations, and figuring out how you can improve from all that. With that said, I recommend this to anyone looking to improve on the LR section but be wary of trying to breeze through it...

Great study tool!, June 10, 2009
All of the power score books are great- they really lay out the steps to attacking difficult problems on the LSAT. This books explains the type of questions in the logical reasoning section, what to look out for, and how to attack them. 5 stars!

Help is on the way with this book!, November 9, 2010
This is the section that keeps handing me my butt. However, with this study guide I am better able to understand the author's intent, etc.
This study guide helps diagram the questions, note whether the passage contains an argument, or just has fact sets; as well as, helps with time management, how to attack the passages and how to get the best out of your study time.

With this book I do feel myself prepared for what I will face in December. Just hope I don't choke like I did on the practice test! ... Read more

Editorial Review

A riveting true crime story that vividly recounts the birth of modern forensics.

At the end of the nineteenth century, serial murderer Joseph Vacher, known and feared as “The Killer of Little Shepherds,” terrorized the French countryside. He eluded authorities for years—until he ran up against prosecutor Emile Fourquet and Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne, the era’s most renowned criminologist. The two men—intelligent and bold—typified the Belle Époque, a period of immense scientific achievement and fascination with science’s promise to reveal the secrets of the human condition.

With high drama and stunning detail, Douglas Starr revisits Vacher’s infamous crime wave, interweaving the story of how Lacassagne and his colleagues were developing forensic science as we know it. We see one of the earliest uses of criminal profiling, as Fourquet painstakingly collects eyewitness accounts and constructs a map of Vacher’s crimes. We follow the tense and exciting events leading to the murderer’s arrest. And we witness the twists and turns of the trial, celebrated in its day. In an attempt to disprove Vacher’s defense by reason of insanity, Fourquet recruits Lacassagne, who in the previous decades had revolutionized criminal science by refining the use of blood-spatter evidence, systematizing the autopsy, and doing groundbreaking research in psychology. Lacassagne’s efforts lead to a gripping courtroom denouement.

The Killer of Little Shepherds is an important contribution to the history of criminal justice, impressively researched and thrillingly told. ... Read more

Reviews

The psycopath and the professor, September 10, 2010

Very Interesting Story of Earlier Serial Killer and Forensics Methods, September 19, 2010

Science and crime solving in the 19th century, September 10, 2010

Fascinating, Thorough And Disturbing, November 7, 2010

Account of 19th Century Serial Killer's Horrific Crimes, Supplemented With History of Forensics, October 6, 2010

Very interesting, September 27, 2010

People lie. Evidence does not., September 18, 2010

"One must know how to doubt.", August 27, 2010

Very Impressive, November 24, 2010

Intelligent, thrilling and educational, November 17, 2010