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Title: Law in America: A Short History by Lawrence M. Friedman ISBN: 0-375-50635-7 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 30 July, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (8 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Law for the populous
Comment: This is a really good, easy to read book about the history of law in the US, from its origin to its interpretation to its practice.
As is mentioned in the book, politics and law are necessarily (and rightly) intertwined. Maybe all the left-leaning comments that some other reviewers mention went over my head (or maybe I just agreed with them), but I found this book to be a great explanation of how the system that guides our lives as American citizens was developed, and how it works today.
As I mentioned before, it is surprisingly easy to read, and a little fun as well. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about how the world we live in really works.
Rating: 4
Summary: Enjoyed it more than I expected
Comment: As I read through this pithy summary of American law, I was continually impressed by how rarely I disagreed with this obviously-liberal author's interpretations. Only when he suggested that the jury is still out on whether welfare reform has worked did I wonder what planet he's from.
What I found most intriguing was his suggestion that law is a (sometimes lagging) representation of the views of those with influence in society. For me, an "original intent" guy regarding Constitutional law, that was an interesting new thought.
Despite its title, this is a very interesting book, and a short easy read.
Rating: 2
Summary: A little too basic, a little too smarmy
Comment: Although I mostly enjoyed this work, I have three main problems with it:
1) It is too basic -- while it gave glimpses of the philosophical state of US law, it never felt like it fully plunged into a discussion of it. Instead, there is a never ending litany of facts, cases, and historical cirumstances. With so slender a volume, you can either take a fact based approach or a "what does it all mean" interpretative approach. This is fact based. This would be a great book for a high school junior, but anyone who reads the paper would be familiar with most of the contents.
2)Too isolated -- the US has a very unique legal system. I have some sense why this is so from the first chapter here. Yet, I was hoping for more international comparisons on just how different and unique the US really is.
3)Liberal smarmyness -- here I'll simply quote "A child is kidnapped, raped, murdered -- and the angry grief of millions turns into some draconian new law which responds psychologically (if not logically) to the publics demands ... "Megan's Law" insists that sex offenders register and be made known to neighbors, if necessary. It is a kind of leper's bell around the neck of men once convicted of sex crimes."
I have rarely encountered such a smarmy and elite liberal tone. A case is not made for the point of view. Your agreement is simply assumed. Why, of course, such a "draconian" act must be simply psychological cotten candy given out to an uninformed child like public.
A 12 year old here in Boston was murdered last weekend by one of your "leper's" ... . Unfortunately, the state didn't enforce the law and the "bell" wasn't rung. Maybe her fate would have been different. But, from your tone, I suppose this simply indicates my emotionalism and lack of informed understanding.
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Title: The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge ISBN: 0679642498 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 04 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: American Law in the 20th Century by Lawrence M. Friedman ISBN: 0300091370 Publisher: Yale University Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $38.00 |
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Title: A History of American Law by Lawrence Meir Friedman ISBN: 0671528076 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 1986 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Hail to the Chief: The Making and Unmaking of American Presidents by Robert Dallek ISBN: 0195145828 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: The German Empire, 1870-1918 (Modern Library Chronicles) by Michael Sturmer ISBN: 0679640908 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 07 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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