The Bill of Rights: A User's Guide

By Linda R. Monk

Book Overview

With a foreword by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court.

An Engaging, Accessible Guide to the Bill of Rights for Everyday Citizens.

In The Bill of Rights: A User's Guide, award-winning author and constitutional scholar Linda R. Monk explores the remarkable history of the Bill of Rights amendment by amendment, the Supreme Court's interpretation of each right, and the power of citizens to enforce those rights.

Stories of the ordinary people who made the Bill of Rights come alive are featured throughout. These include Fannie Lou Hamer, a Mississippi sharecropper who became a national civil rights leader; Clarence Earl Gideon, a prisoner whose handwritten petition to the Supreme Court expanded the right to counsel; Mary Beth Tinker, a 13-year-old whose protest of the Vietnam War established free speech rights for students; Michael Hardwick, a bartender who fought for privacy after police entered his bedroom unlawfully; Suzette Kelo, a nurse who opposed the city's takeover of her working-class neighborhood; and Simon Tam, a millennial whose 10-year trademark battle for his band The Slants ended in a unanimous Supreme Court victory. Such people prove that, in the words of Judge Learned Hand, Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court, can save it.

Exploring the history, scope, and meaning of the first ten amendments-as well as the Fourteenth Amendment, which nationalized them and extended new rights of equality to all-The Bill of Rights: A User's Guide is a powerful examination of the values that define American life and the tools that every citizen needs.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031641560X
• ISBN13: 9780316415606
• Release Date: April 2018
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.9" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

wonderful

book was in better condition than what i expected. arrived faster than expected also-very pleased

Bill of Rights a user's gide

This book leads you to the knolage of the bill of rightss and helps you understand

Highlights the role of everyday citizens

In The Bill Of Rights: A User's Guide, Linda Monk covers the history of the Bill of Rights, amendment by amendment, explaining how the Supreme Court has interpreted (and sometimes re-interpreted) each right. She also highlights the role of everyday citizens in enforcing these rights. Now in a completed updated third edition, the stories of ordinary people who made the Bill of Rights the living document it is today are engagingly presented. Of special note is the foreword by United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Highly recommended for personal, school, and community political science and constitutional studies collections.

A title's promise kept

This book is exactly what the title claims it is. It is easy to read and offers some brief but useful background on the English legal tradition which is handy for those wanting to probe the roots of the Bill of Rights. But what makes this book a success are its brilliantly simple explanations and enlightening illustrations (including a generous number of political cartoons) plus the actual words of people involved in key court cases. The User's Guide presents a winning formula for the ideal civics textbook. The lessons here are poignant, profound and memorable. Just what a teacher needs to cultivate a future of informed citizens. Buy this book!