A wonderful little book with the most important selections of The Federalist, each section followed by brief commentary connecting it to current situations.

Jefferson called the original the "best commentary on the principles of government ever written"; here are what some others have said about Dr. Saxey's excellent edition:

A "delectable book."
R. Emmett Tyrell, Jr.
The American Spectator

"A must read."
Mark Brunelle
The Oregon Observer

"Thank you...I will keep this important work in my office."
Clarence Thomas
The Supreme Court

"The rhetoric on Capitol Hill makes this book compulsory."
The Book Reader

A very pleasant surprise, indeed! I am a normal, working class citizen and was given this book as a gift. My initial reaction was, "I will get to this when I can", but after turning the first 9 pages, I could not put it down!

Dr. Saxey's goal is the same as the original authors; his intent is to assist every voter in reading and understanding the Constitution, and he accomplishes that goal in style!

Saxey guides the reader through the Federalist papers step by step; first quoting the authors of the Federalist - James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. Following each topic, he adds a short commentary of each section and then describes how past and present administrations have abided by or abused the Constition and the ramifications of doing so.

Dr. Saxey takes us on a journey of our political history and points out "red flags", misuse of government power and where our future as a Nation lies accordng to how the Constituiton has been interpreted in our time and ramifications if changes are not made. He points out the net effect of excessive legislation which has become epidemic, illustrates how the limitations of terms has been misunderstood as well as the effect of entrenched power based on a seniority system in the House of Representatives.

One of my favorite sections, on page 55 is regarding the character of those representing the people/states. Saxey states " Character matters. It matters not only in candidates for public office, but in the CITIZENS who vote for them" (emphasis added). Roderick Saxey quotes Alexis de Tocqueville who spoke of the greatness of America, and who said "America is great because she is good and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great"! How appropriate for these times. The delightful surprise here, is that the Author's personality shines through what could be for some, difficult reading. His humor and humility are evident and enjoyable enough that you wish you could sit at a fireside chat and probe his intellect and insight further. For passionate American's this is a must read. I recommend it for any US History course and for any person seeking citizenship into our Nation! If a second edition comes forth, I'd like to hear more from Dr. Saxey himself, as his discourse is insighful, logical, sensible.

As history teaches us, we must look where we are headed as a nation and to do that, we must re-evaluate what our Founding Fathers intended for America and her people. "The Federalist", by Dr. Roderick Saxey accomplishes this and stands apart from other Federalist publications. I recommend that you find it, read it and keep it on your desk! An excellent source of stimulating conversation!

This book covers school law in a clear and concise manner. The language is easily understood and should be on the desk of every teacher who is concerned about the welfare of children.

I like this book very much because as the book says, it summarizes school law in a nutshell. I have found it very helpful to refer to while taking a school law class. It is any easy read compared to my school law text, and hits the main points of court decisions.

An essential book for every American both young or old, male or female, Democrat or Republican. A delightful discovery on the need of God and guns (or perhaps swords) in the United States and the intolerance of a government in charge of all but answerable to noone. An undeniably perfect fit for todays culture.

Discover your roots from the men that gave their lives for the signing of the Constitution; true heroes. Their resolve was unquestionable and the love for country without reproach.

They brought us so far. We've walked away. Read it and weep. BK

If you are looking for the FBI to investigate misconduct-Don't!!!

Since my legal difficulties began over four years ago (now going on five), I have seen and read many articles about the atrocities occurring within the prison systems and the hope by some that the FBI, like the Lone Ranger, would come riding to the rescue. Only recently I have happened upon a book that upon reviewing should send those looking for a fab FBI hostage team to come to your aid - well - "forgitaboutit."

Thanks to the Internet, more information is available to all of us - not just the privileged elite. A book, well worth reading, which was found surfing the Internet, is entitled Cloak and Gavel: FBI Wiretaps, Bugs, Informers and the Supreme Court by Alexander Charns. The author, an attorney located in Durham, N.C., filed a freedom of information act lawsuit in order to obtain some documents. Revelations from the material obtained from the lawsuit point to a scheme by the FBI, which amounts to a nothing more than judicial shakedowns in efforts to obtain favorable rulings for law enforcement in the courts. From the papers received by Charns, the time frame for this extortion stretches from 1935 to 1989 and leads one to believe that the process is ongoing.

These actions ranged from seemingly innocuous "throwing out the red carpet treatment" for newly appointed judges and their law clerks, taking and providing 8 x 10 glossies at taxpayer expense of their visit to FBI offices to a rather Stalinsque effort to leak "confidential information" that the agency collected while doing background checks. This information, if released, could cause judges and other court personnel embarrassment.

"Play ball with us or else."

Additional strategies, considered and implemented, called for identifying "court informants" to provide a heads up on any lawsuits, which would challenge law enforcement efforts or be adversarial to the FBI. These court informants would provide "confidential information" of the discussions behind the "closed" chambers doors and furnish the opportunity for the FBI to gain leverage and prevent any ambushes that would dilute their and other law enforcement powers. The knowledge was then passed along to the appropriate persons within the Attorney General's office. An informal arrangement was established in which FBI agents and U.S. attorneys were and are now more welcome in the chambers of justices and judges than "defense lawyers or citizens." Can you spell ex parte?

The plan also called for the FBI to "educate" naïve federal judges about law enforcement. It was the agency's hope that "they could be a tremendous force for keeping some of these stupid appellate opinions from coming out." Would this effect a decision to "publish" or "unpublish" an opinion?

Of course all of this smacks of currying favor by the FBI and "most other federal agencies, and some state agencies [which] are doing the same thing."

So if you are looking for the FBI to investigate misconduct within the prisons, by prison personnel, or any other government misconduct for that matter, I guess that old Southern colloquialism applies here. "You can't have the fox guarding the chicken coop."

I thought that this book, an edited volume of experts from various countries on strategies to combat terrorism was done very well. The perspectives of (in-country) European, U.S., Latin American, Middle Eastern, and Asian analysts shows that terrorism is a global problem and there must be global solutions. The contributors also discuss the consequences of 9/11 so that adds to the helpfulness of the book.

In his first full-length book, Alexander Tsesis, a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, liberates the discussion about hate speech from the realm of pure legal theory. Instead, he brings to the debate historical and psychological perspectives that lead to a broader understanding of this issue.

The book is written in a clear, thoughtful and straightforward style that is accessible to the academic reader and a more general audience alike. If you are looking for one book on hate speech, make it this one.

When someone is hurt during medical treatment it is an understandable reaction to blame the doctor for the harm. However, the great majority of errors which occur in medicine are a simple consequence of conscientious doctors being fallible human beings just like the rest of us. Hospital systems are generally full of design faults which pre-dispose doctors to make mistakes. Blaming doctors for simply being human directs attention away from these design faults, reduces the chance that system improvements will be made, and makes it likely that the same error will repeat itself in the future - thus perpetuating patient harm. Human error cannot be avoided, but patient harm can, through better systems and procedures. Genuinely negligent acts do occur in medicine, but it is important that these are distinguished from the inevitable human errors of clinicians doing their best. This is a distinction which is also required in law to ensure fairness in both the prosecution of negligent doctors and the compensation of harmed patients. This book goes several steps beyond the Institute of Medicine Report ("To Err is Human") in identifying the mechanisms and nature of error within health care and in its detailed discussion of the intricacies of culpability, blame, violation, error, legal fairness, and patient safety.

Sleep deprivation has a considerable impact on our society. This book is the first of its kind, I understand, to look at the legal implications of this fascinating subject. It is extremely well-written and is quite accessible to the lay reader. A remarkable book.

I'm saddened to discover this classic is out of print. Walter Hurst really knew how to weave through the technicalities and legalities of Hollywood Show Biz during the 1970's and 80's. Newcomers to the biz have lost a valuable resource. I certainly benefitted from the sample contracts and forms provided in this and about fifteen other books he published.

This book is 100% great - it goes in to evey aspect you could want to know about the relationship of Law and medicine. Areen is a great author and continues to teach at Georgetown Law Center in D.C. - I have read this book twice - and it's just great.