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American Constitutional Law (University Textbook Series)

American Constitutional Law (University Textbook Series)

List Price: $61.75
Your Price: $61.75
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Don't believe the revisionism claims - this is THE treatise
Review: I don't know how anybody can give this book less than 5 stars unless you prefer easier reading and mini briefs the Nowak Rotunda book is guilty of. The Nowak book is however, a very strong treatise but Tribe's is the definitive work. It is the most cited source in Supreme Court arguments and recommended by professors. How anybody can think that it is revisionist or naturalist inclined is riduculous. It's hard to do that when you've got the con law community expecting the most demanding legal standards and several contributors (see the preface you might recognize the names) working on it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not a great resource for students
Review: I purchased this book before my first year of law school. I figured that reading this would help me in my constitutional law class. In retrospect, I think that purchasing this book was probably a waste of money and that there were much better constitutional law treatises I could have bought.

Perhaps the biggest problem I had with this treatise is that it is not complete. It is part one of a projected two-part treatise. This frustrated me, as more than half the topics covered in my class were not given treatment in this book. Topics not covered in this volume include: the First Amendment, Equal Protection, the Fifth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment and the Privileges and Immunities Clause.

Even the chapters in this book that overlapped with topics covered in my class were not helpful. This is largely because of Tribe's writing style. He does not devote much space to discussing individual cases. Instead he cites a case to stand for a particular proposition, and then moves on. He may cite the same case several different times, each cite being hundreds of pages apart. The result is that as much time is spent flipping through pages as is spent reading Tribe's analysis of the case in question.

Tribe's style is also very difficult to follow. At times he is prolix, writing about "construction of the constitutional architecture," and "two strands intertwined in a single, grand fabric of law and politics." At other times he covers topics in such micro-detail that one is left wondering if Tribe is showing off. One reader commented on this, saying that the book is worth purchasing for the footnotes alone. I disagree. I do not think that most readers will have time to read Tribe's footnotes--many of which are hundreds of words long--nor will they have time to read the thirty cases mentioned within each footnote, many of which are essential to read if one is to understand the thrust of Tribe's point.

I give this book three stars, a middle-of-the-road rating. I do this because I realize that Tribe's book may be of tremendous utility to a law professor, or to a student who is writing a law review note on a topic of constitutional interest. For first year law students, however, Tribe's book is best avoided. Better resources for the first-year student include: Emanuel's Constitutional Law Outline and Erwin Chemerinksy's "Constitutional Law Principles and Policies." Both of those titles give clearer and more spot-on analysis of topics typically covered in first-year constitutional law courses.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A tome
Review: I was sad to see some reviewers here give this volume one or two stars based on some imaginary defects with the work -- ie, that this is a revisionist history of the Constitution, that Tribe is anti-natural law, or that Tribe didn't say enough about the Second Amendment (duh! he reserves discussion of that Amendment and all the other rights-creating amendments/provisions for Volume Two!). It's pretty clear that the reviewers who gave this work negative reviews didn't even crack the spine. Give me a break!

The fact is that this volume is extremely well-written and meticulously researched. Plus it's written by THE preeminent con law scholar, somebody Supreme Court justices read on a regular basis (and hear regularly at various oral arguments). If you don't agree with Tribe's conclusions on a particular issue, well, he's given you plenty of other scholarship and caselaw to go look at. I turn to this volume quite a bit in my practice to get an overview of constitutional issues. My only regret is that Volume Two is not yet available. Come on Larry!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An excellent treatise on American Constitutional Law.
Review: In this first volume of the soon to be two volume third edition, Professor Tribe does an excellent job of articulating the most prominent arguments of today, as well as an excellent analysis of all constitutional law topics. After reading any topic in this book it is hard to believe that there is more to know on that issue, but if there is, the place to find it is in the excellent citations this book has to offer. These citations alone would be reason to purchase this book.

As a law student in a first year con law class, my recommendation to every law student is to buy this book, and the second volume when it comes out, as soon as you can, you will not need another hornbook or study aid.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Book!
Review: This books is a must for anyone who studies constitutional law. It is an invaluable resource tool, well written and thoroughly researched.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Missing Pages
Review: This treatise is incomplete. It was originally published in 1978 as the first of two volumes, but Tribe has apparently never gotten around to writing the second volume. I have a copy on my shelf, and about half the time I go to look up a topic it is not covered in the first volume. There are many other good constitutional law treaties - buy one of those instead. Or, wait until Tribe finally publishes the second volume before buying this treatise.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Missing Pages
Review: This treatise is incomplete. It was originally published in 1978 as the first of two volumes, but Tribe has apparently never gotten around to writing the second volume. I have a copy on my shelf, and about half the time I go to look up a topic it is not covered in the first volume. There are many other good constitutional law treaties - buy one of those instead. Or, wait until Tribe finally publishes the second volume before buying this treatise.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A must for all law students.
Review: This treatise on Constitutional Law is essential to every law student. I am currently enrolled in first-year Constitutional Law course, and I open up this book at least once everyday. The information contained in the book almost always answers my question, but on the rare occasion it does not the case cites and especially the secondary legal cites are excellent. I have purchased several Constitutional Law hornbooks and study aids, and this book by Professor Tribe easily surpasses the rest. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Law Students Take A Look!
Review: Tribe's treatise (Volume I) on U.S. Constitutional Law is worth a look.

During my semester studying U.S. Constitutional Law, I looked at some hornbooks and then, after some disappointment, specially ordered Tribe's book.

I found the Treatise to be enlightening in many areas of Constitutional Law, inlcluding the levels of U.S. Supreme Court review, and others. In my opinion Professor Tribe brings a refreshing, different perspective to the issues that appeal to many students, although perhaps not to all.

The price may be prohibitive for some, but for the Law Student employed full time, along with many other responsibilities, this may be the break you have been looking for. This is especially true when you are dealing with professors who love to "hide the ball!"

Considering the high cost of your legal education, I feel this book is well worth the money and would be a welcome addition to any law library. As an aside, after my Con-Law course was completed and my required paper was submitted (rife with Tribe footnotes of course), miraculously, the Law School bookstore began carrying this book at the professor's request!

This book comes highly recommended!


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