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Rating: 
Summary: Excellent read Good for classroom use
Review: I am neither a teacher or a student but do enjoy reading for my personal knowledge. I read a book of fiction which spoke about the Constitution and decided to learn something more about it. I searched AMAZON for Constitution and one of the books selected was "The Words We Live By". I noted that it had a 5 star rating so I thought I would check it out. I read the excerpt and was hooked.
This book gives you everything. The entire text of the Constitution, plain explanations of each section, history surrounding each section, major court cases, sidebars and pictures. I read it, not like a novel but would pick it up and read then put it down and let the information settle. There is a lot there and a lot to think about. It would be a good book for classroom study or when you want something that will hold your interest other than the usual novel.
Rating:
Summary: Glad I read it and want my sons to read it
Review: I found this book a great read. I'm now wanting to share with others the information that was revealed to me. My boys are working on their Citizenship In the Nation merit badge and I want them to read to read it also. The book has a friendly voice that is comfortable to read. Nothing stiff or stuffy about this one!
Rating: 
Summary: Get To Know The Words That Make Us Free
Review: I really liked this book and I feel like a better American for having taken the time too learn more about the document that made America the democracy envied around the world. I believe that every American should take it upon themselves to learn about their constitution instead of listening to what the talking heads and politicians tell them what it says. Maybe then we wouldn't have some of the problems we have. Now, I tend to be a liberal/progressive individual politically, but even I found some bias in the author's opinions, especially concerning the 2nd amendment, but that's what is so great about living in a free society: you can make up your own mind about such things.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction to the Constitution
Review: Linda R. Monk, author of _The Bill of Rights: A User's Guide_, has done an amazingly fine job with this book. If you want a one-volume introduction to the Constitution of the United States, this is it. (As a lawyer I try to keep an eye out for books I can recommend to people who want to learn how U.S. law works. This one and Jay Feinman's _Law 101_ are two of the best.)
In just over two hundred pages, Monk walks the reader through the text of the entire document (including the Bill of Rights), giving history, relevant cases, and an overview of competing interpretations. Sidebars present relevant quotations from, well, lots of people -- Charlton Heston on the Second Amendment, Ted Nugent on the importance of copyright, and tons of others. Monk makes her selections from across the political spectrum and she carefully refrains from taking sides herself. Terms that won't be familiar to the typical reader are defined in the margins.
Despite what you may have heard, her presentation is neither 'liberal' nor 'revisionist'. (For example, her presentation on the Second Amendment is nicely handled; we hear from all sides, but Monk makes clear that a federal appellate court has held that the right to bear arms is unambiguously an _individual_ right.) In fact, she does remarkably well at presenting all major points of view on each issue within a very short space, and she doesn't slight anyone; any reviewer who thinks otherwise didn't read the book very carefully (if at all).
Don't let the noise from the peanut gallery scare you off. People who don't want a 'living constitution' don't have a clue what it would be like to have a dead one. (For one thing, libertarians -- of whom I am one -- would be miserable. The police wouldn't need warrants to tap phone lines; electronic eavesdropping wasn't a 'search' until 1967, when _Katz v. U.S._ expanded the Fourth Amendment to protect us wherever and whenever we have a 'reasonable expectation of privacy'. And yes, that case is covered in here -- along with _Olmstead_, which it overruled, and _Kyllo_, which expands it to cover thermal imaging.)
Highly recommended to anyone who wants to know what the Constitution says and means. And that should include all Americans -- even the ones who already have copies of the Cato Institute's Constitution and Declaration booklet.
Rating:
Summary: Words to live by
Review: Monk's book proved to be as easily read as it is profound. A facinating trip through the constitution for the layman that never failed to intrigue and surprise. Historical documents, quotes from our founding fathers and photography add a real sense of history to the book that kept me wanting to skip ahead for the next big surprise. I walked away from the book with a more thorough knowledge of the words that have shaped this country and the struggles others have had to fight to keep this document alive. The Words We Live By should be mandatory reading in this country's schools and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the past present or future of America.
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Summary: The Liberal's Guide to the "Living Constitution"
Review: The annotated footnotes convey the modern statist revisionist interpretation of the Constitution. Oh, the Second Amendment affirms the state's right to keep firearms... States always had a problem procuring arms, so apparently they needed to affirm their right to have arms huh? --Cynicism-- Liberals love their so called "Living Constitution," where it is warm and fuzzy and beholden to the peculiar interprations of Supreme Court justices when they feel we've reached the next stage of social evolution. Every so often, they a take a deep breath, and uncover new "rights" in the "penumbras and emanations" that are actually hidden in our Constitution. They found the right to privacy for instance, which has a corollary right to infanticide. Likewise, they have discovered old rights (i.e. right to keep and bear arms) really weren't rights at all, but just misunderstood... Oh for joy!
Get the Cato Institute's Constitution and Declaration booklet in one and spare yourself the poor revisionist commentary.
Rating: 
Summary: O.K. but on the wrong side of history
Review: The authors understanding of the Second Amendment is not sincere to historical fact. The national gaurd was not formed until well over a century after the bill of rights was ratified. A government force. The "militia" as clearly stated within the amendment is "the people". The entire premise of the bill of rights was to protect civilian authority from government tyranny. That is its clear intention. By what logic does this author gain the view of a government force (national gaurd) needing a "right" to bear arms?This overall is a good work but flawed, like many, that seek to read the second amendment out of existence. Something that the enemies of the first amendment might apply one day.
I would suggest reading "The Bill of Rights" by Akhil Reed Amar" for an accurate understanding of this "doomsday provision". "The framers recognized that self-government required bullets as well as ballots"- A.R. Amar
Rating:
Summary: Good book--covers meaning & different sides of issues
Review: This is a great book, especially for introducing advanced junior high and senior high kids to the US Constitution and the issues involved, or for adults who want a good overview of the Constitution, its meaning, and the sides of each issue.
It contains quotes from founding fathers and from famous and ordinary citizens from revolutionary period to the present.
The author does a good job of impartially presenting different sides of the issues.
I wish the author had included the large numbers of violations of 4th Amendment (search and seizure) that have occurred to families who have chosen to educate their children at home, even when parents have indicated at the door the need for social workers and school personnel to have a valid search warrant. Such information can be found a www.hslda.org , particularly at http://www.hslda.org/search.asp . This is a very real and current battle being waged for the rights of citizens that is guaranteed by the 4th amendment.
If rights are denied to the few, the rights of all are in danger.
Anyway, this is an interesting book, and does a good job of explaining the meaning of the constitution step-by-step, and of including controversies surrounding each issue.
Rating:
Summary: Perfectly suited as an informed and informative reference
Review: To put it simply but emphatically, The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide To The Constitution by Linda R. Monk should be in every school and community library collection in America. Divided into two major sections (Part I: The Constitution Of The United States; Part II: Amendments To The Constitution Of The United States), the highly readable, easy to assimilate text is enhanced with occasion b/w photography. From high-school students fulfilling school assignments about the Constitution, to adults wanting to refresh themselves with respect to national issues of controversy with reference to Constitutional rights and responsibilities (especially with issues arising from the current "War on Terrorism" and "The Patriot Act"), The Words We Live By is perfectly suited as an informed and informative reference.
Rating:
Summary: Now I love history
Review: Today I'm making up for years of avoiding history because the the classes I took in school demanded memorization of facts and dates, based on history-in-a-box principles. I've come to realize that history represents the same kind of confusing mixture of pro and con, give and take, good and evil that today's social, political and economic issues do. That fascinates me, and now I can't get enough of history -- yesterday's and today's. That's the reason I find "The Words We Live By" both a great text and a great read. Linda Monk uses people's quotes and stories that bring the Constitution alive as a document that affects our lives in ways we seldom recognize. The quotes from Ben Franklin, from a black soldier from Louisiana fighting for his rights in the Civil War, from Norma McCorvey, the real Jane Roe in the Roe v. Wade -- and dozens more -- help me understand the real people who have created the essence and strength of America's government. If this book had been available to me in my high school's American History class, I would have loved history from the beginning. I think it should be in every American History classroom in the U.S.
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