America's Unwritten Constitution: The Precedents and Principles We Live By Paperback – Illustrated, January 6, 2015

I just received this book - two weeks before it is officially released. I'm not entirely sure how that is possible, but congratulations to Amazon for its efficiency.As a Yale Law student, the temptation to buy this book was overwhelming. And it hasn't disappointed: as one would expect from Akhil Amar, the writing is lucid; the arguments are powerful (even when one might not entirely agree with them); and the level of scholarly detail astounding. I have no doubt that this book will take its place in the canon of Constitutional scholarship, and every law student, attorney, and judge should put this at the top of their reading list.Amar is known for holding a few positions outside the mainstream, and this book is no exception. Like in America's Constitution: A Biography, readers will occasionally find, particularly near the end of a chapter, some claims that may lead them to raise an eyebrow. But even these deserve a careful read, and from time to time, the reader will be convinced. Even when they are not, hearing Amar's intelligent arguments will remind them of the necessity of not blindly following the mainstream and making one's mind up for oneself, based on all the evidence and logic.Some arguments in this book are of enormous importance. Amar's call to remember the Common Law and revolutionary experience that colors the words used in the concise text of the Constitution serves as an important reminder to modern judges to avoid the temptation to construe language in a vacuum; like all forms of communication, it is vital to recall that the meaning of language is a product of social and historical context. Similarly, Amar's reminders that, even when a broad principle is enumerated in the Constitutional text, advances in understanding may lead it to be applied differently to how the Drafters may have expected resemble the 'New Textualist' and 'Living Originalist' (see: Living Originalism) schools that have done so much to ground rights 'discovered' recently in sound constitutional theory.Nonetheless, one cannot accept what Amar says uncritically. Unless I have missed it, he fails to address recent revisionist arguments against the traditional identification of the early 20th Century as 'the Lochner era' (see, e.g., Rehabilitating Lochner: Defending Individual Rights against Progressive Reform). Whatever one thinks about whether these arguments have merit, they deserve a response. While Amar properly criticizes the majority opinion in Roe v. Wade for its singular unwillingness to explain how it found a right to abortion that contradicted the laws of every State, his proposed alternative basis - that these laws that specially affected women were invariably first enacted by all-male legislatures - is almost perverse in its tendency to ignore the fact that such laws are generally created not out of any evil desire to subjugate women (even if some - presumably including Amar - might say that was their effect), but out of a sincere belief that a child's life is terminated. Nor, as far as I can tell, does Amar discuss whether Roe could survive if a legislature in which women were properly represented decided to limit access to abortion. Again - whatever one thinks of abortion and Roe, Amar's argument has notable omissions.Despite these caveats, and the disagreements many (if not most) readers will have with some of Amar's positions (inevitable for a book that comments on so many controversial legal and political issues), this book clearly deserves five stars. Overall, it is an excellent work of scholarship - and like all such works, it should not be read uncritically. But disagreeing with an argument in the book is part of the fun of reading it.

I read this book while also reading a few others, so it need not take months to finish, and as large as it is I found it a pleasure to read and so it was actually easy to get through the material as I devoted the time. There is an immense breadth of material here so expect to wander all over the Constitution - text, history, and structure. My experience as a student and citizen, having attended public school with peers that were always part of the 'advanced' academic program, is that civics teaches nothing like this, and thus this material fills a giant hole in the citizenry's understanding of our founding and most basic laws. It seems obvious that to teach this material requires not just a Con Law professor but a historian as well, and Akhil Amar fills those shoes. Yes, the author can be ponderous while being insightful. The insights, however, are brilliant and often unique, and a deep respect for the law and democracy are evident everywhere. One of the great benefits of reading the books of Professor Amar is the elimination of all the ums and ahs and repetition in his podcast episodes, so those that might find his vocal idiosyncrasies too annoying can rejoice in the alternative, which is well edited and entirely worthwhile.

Like another reviewer here, I bought this Kindle book on the strength of Akhil Reed Amar's other book, "America's Constitution: A Biography." Er, no problem with the use of "America" in either of these titles. These two books really should be read sequentially, starting with Biography. In Biography, Reed goes word for word through the "terse text." In Unwritten, he shows how the various Constitutions -- implicit, lived, symbolic, etc. -- flesh out and strengthen the words of the document itself.While reading this book I was mulling the thought of subtracting a star due to a tendency of the author to get a little too far down in the weeds. And then I came to Chapter 6, "Honoring the Icons: America's Symbolic Constitution." This chapter examines six texts -- no spoilers here but at least one of them will surprise you -- that illustrate not just the Constitution but what it means to be an American. Another part of this chapter -- on the three Supreme Court cases that deserve to be in the SCOTUS Hall of Shame (my words, not his) is similarly insightful. This chapter is worth being issued as a Kindle-single edition.Akhil Reed Amar's writing throughout is lawyerly but elegant (check out the Look Inside feature to confirm). The book is written for a layperson, not a lawyer, with ample, clear definitions of important terms. Yes, Amar should be on the Supreme Court. Maybe he's been asked, but why would he give up a tenured gig at Yale to come down to Washington, even if a seat on the Supreme Court is tenured as well?Buy both of these books and read them carefully. You will emerge with a greater understanding of the document and our society. And speaking of Biography, I've given my hard-copy version to a friend and replacing it with the Kindle version. Both books deserve re-reading.