Akhil Reed Amar is the Sterling professor of law and political science at Yale University and the author of several books on constitutional law and history, including America's Constitution: A Biography and America's Unwritten Constitution. He lives in Woodbridge, Connecticut.
"Amar's expert knowledge of the Constitution does not inhibit his
ability as a wordsmith to tell this story in a manner that honors
the complexity of the story and remains accessible to a broad range
of readers. Every patriotic American should read this fascinating
history in order to better understand our founding document (The
Constitution) and the history that led our ancestors to wage war
against England and then against the naysayers who were opposed to
the development of a strong central government."--Roanoke Times
"Fascinating...A masterly synthesis of history and law...Readers of
The Words That Made Us will rightly marvel at its breadth and depth
and at Mr. Amar's scholarly acumen."--Wall Street Journal
"Amar argues in this probing account that the United States
Constitution emerged out of conversations and debates among the
framers -- and that those conversations continue to this
day."--NYTBR (Editor's Choice)
"[T]he best book on the subject in many years.... [A] fresh look at
the ideas that shaped the Revolution, constitutional framing, and
early republic... [A] book both popular and learned... a book not
only of a scholar but a patriot. If widely read, it may make the
difficulty of finding appropriate professional historians to teach
our children less of a threat to our common future."--Law &
Liberty
"[T]he rarest of things -- a constitutional romance. Amar, an
eminent professor of law and political science at Yale, has great
affection for his subject as a text that is worthy of loving
engagement by scholars and the public at large." --Washington
Post
"Amar's fresh and fascinating book focuses on the explosion of
impassioned discourse that culminated in, and followed, the
ratification of the U.S. Constitution. As the title suggests, the
book elevates the importance of dialogue and debate in cementing
American identity."--Christian Science Monitor
"An audacious review of the Constitution's origins, growth,
development, and implementation, and the experiences and exchanges
that produced its core principles and precedents....Amar's
multifaceted treatment of the start of the U.S. constitutional
project illustrates much about our historical memory and
demonstrates that there is far more to the constitution than the
document itself."--Library Journal (starred review)
"Deeply probing, highly readable... insightful, and at times
surprising... Amar strongly suggests that America as a whole --
through its great national conversation -- did more to draft the
Declaration of Independence than Jefferson, and more to write the
Constitution than Madison.... In addition to educating Americans
engaged in discussion about their rich constitutional legacy, the
book has a generous spirit that can be a much-needed balm in these
troubled times."--New York Times
"A page-turning doorstop history of how early American courts and
politicians interpreted the Constitution. A Yale professor of law
and political science, Amar--who points out that most historians
lack training in law and most lawyers are not knowledgeable enough
about history--delivers a fascinating, often jolting
interpretation. . . . Brilliant insights into America's founding
document."--Kirkus (starred review)
"Dazzling...Against modern historians and legal scholars who
condemn the constitutional order as a bulwark of elite dominion,
Amar advances a neo Federalist defense of it as a deeply
democratic, if imperfect, blueprint for stable liberty. This is no
arid exercise in legal theory: Amar ties searching constitutional
analysis into a gripping narrative of war, popular tumults,
political intrigue, and even fashion, highlighted by vivid profiles
of statesmen."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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