This is a great reference tool that you will want on your bookshelf for a long time. It offers the nuts and bolts of the issues and you do not have to read all night to find the scoop on the situation. For further reading, the appendix and bibliography is great.

In our check and balances system of government, the three branches -- Presidency, Legislative, and Judicial -- are equal in might and stature. To many this may not appear to be the case. Part of this is due to the intense media attention the Presidency and Congress enjoy. Part of this is also due to misconceptions within the public about the role of the judiciary in general and the Supreme Court specifically.

In the outstanding A Year in the Life of the Supreme Court, editor Rodney Smolla -- a professor of law at William and Mary College -- has put together a work that should go a long way towards educating the public. This collection of essays by experienced Supreme Court observers concentrates on the 1992-1993 term of the Court. While other terms may have had bigger cases that the public would recognize, several fundamental issues were addressed by the Court. For example, how does one balance the issue of free speech and access to protected services in the case of abortion? How much discretion does law enforcement have in searching an individual without probable cause? Does Title IX allow an individual to sue for monetary damages? Does Brown vs. the Board of Education require Mississippi to equalize its state-run university system? Can hateful speech lead to additional punishments when done in concert with another crime?

In each of the cases chosen for review, the method by which the case reached the Supreme Court is detailed giving the case the human component that each has initially (and is sometimes eventually lost). In addition, a justice who was pivotal in the resulting decision is highlighted along with a good explanation of the constitutional issues.

For a reader interested in understanding the Supreme Court1s function in our society, A Year in the Life of the Supreme Court is not only a good introduction, it is a definitive profile of the Court from the perspective of a trained observer and should not be missed.

The great storm scene alone will thunder forever in your memories. You will encounter with Copperfield:
• the evil, chilling Uriah Heep,
• the mental and physical destruction of his mother by a Puritanical,untilitarian step-father,
• the always in-debt Mr. Mawcawber who somehow transcends his economic and egocentric needs into something noble,
• the betrayal of Copperfield by his best friend and Copperfield's shattered emotions by this betrayal,
• the ruination of another close friend's reputation, and her step-by-step climb back out of the mire,
• Copperfield's own passionate step into marriage while too young with an irresponsible, yet innocent child-woman, her death,
• Copperfield's own rise from poverty and orphanhood into worldly success but empty life until mature love rescues him.

Dickens has a real gift for creating people that irritate you, yet gradually you come to love them - just like folks in real life. If you never have read Dickens, come meet David Copperfield. You'll find that your impressions of David from the brief snippets by critics, teachers, reviewers, professors and know-it-alls completely different than the Real Thing.