This book is one of the true classics of constitutional scholarship. Although written in 1962, the book still contains valuable lessons for current times. In a nutshell, Bickel's approach to judicial review is cautious, skeptical. He possesses doubts as to the reasoning put forward in Marbury v. Madison, the seminal decision laying the groundwork for U.S. judicial review. Yet he is wise enough to realize that in a constitutional democracy, the judiciary must exercise some power to check the other two branches. The inescapable tension between these two positions is what propels the book along. Written only several years after Brown v. Board of Education and just coming at the start of the Warren Court's run of activism, it reads almost as a historical novel at times. Bickel was one of the leading constitutional scholars of the second half of the 20th century, and this book is the earliest full exposition of his views. These views would change over the years before his untimely death in 1974 (compare this book with his final work, The Morality of Consent), but it is fun to see where he started from and how his thinking evolved.

I used a previous edition of this book for a college level class I taught a few years ago. It is an exceptional study in commercial leasing. I have taken classes from the instructors in the IREM CPM courses and they really do know their stuff!

I tell my commercial leasing associates that this book is "THE BIBLE" for their leasing activity!

Highly recommend this book or anything by these authors.

Sometimes is the truth is stranger than fiction! This is certainly the case with Notorious Woman: The Celebrated Case of Myra Clark Gaines. This book had everything I wanted -- scandalous family secrets, an heir fighting for legitimacy, a struggle through the courts, even a murder -- AND, it's all true! The author re-tells the drama as it unfolded in the courtroom and lets you come to your own conclusion: Was Myra Clark Gaines the true heir to a New Orleans real estate fortune worth millions? You decide.

This book is an exhaustive account of the first successful RICO prosecution of New York racketeers headed by the then up-and coming Rudy Guiliani and Louis Freeh. It precedes the mafia cleanup in Italy, that resulted in horrific murders of investigating judges, and yet features many of the same names, "families", and same tentacles. The case went on forever, each mafioso from high to low represented by a scrum of lawyers, all battling for their moment in the spotlight. The title comes from the heroin traffic fronted by pizza restaurants, good for money laundering as well as handy pickup points. Alexander seems to have spent every day in court, finding something interesting to say even when the case bogged down in legal flummery. She covers both sides and the infighting that went on behind the scenes. What I most liked were the portraits of the gangsters, she was hip to their efforts to look like sick underdogs when in reality they were multimillionaires!

In Norway and probably other European countries all social workers study the law. This is for good reason as social workers deal with legal concepts and issues practically on a daily basis.Understanding Legal Concepts is readable and timely; it covers significant legal decisions across the states. Topics such as the right to mental health treatment, SSDI requirements, adoption and the like. Implications for social welfare policy and practice are provided throughout the book. The extensive glossary is helpful as well.

If you are going to read "The Federalist Papers," you must also read "The Anti-Federalist Papers" in order to get the complete picture. Both books cross-reference each other, and both are instrumental in understanding how our government was designed and how it was intended to work. In addition to the Papers, this edition also contains the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and an excellent introduction by Charles Kesler.

In a time when each colony had its own "constitution," the Federalists believed in creating one strong centralized government (with one Constitution) that could effectively represent the people. The authors and supporters of the Constitution knew that they could not afford to lose the vote in the state ratifying conventions. In an effort to win over his home state (New York), Alexander Hamilton, with the assistance of James Madison and John Jay, began a collection of 85 essays and published them under the pseudonym of "Publius" (named after one of the founders and heroes of the Roman republic, Publius Valerius Publicola). The Papers, published in 1787 and 1788, analyze and defend the proposed Constitution of the United States.

Obviously, the Federalists succeeded in winning the colonists' support. But even though the anti-federalists lost, their ideas were also brilliant and made an important contribution to the history of our government, which is why you should also read "The Anti-Federalist Papers."

This book is a must-read for all Americans. After reading this book, you will have a renewed appreciation and admiration for the wisdom and vision of our founding fathers.

If you are going to read "The Federalist Papers," you must also read "The Anti-Federalist Papers" in order to get the complete picture. Both books cross-reference each other and both are instrumental in understanding how our government was designed and how it was intended to work. In addition to the Papers, this edition also contains the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and an excellent introduction by Charles Kesler.

In a time when each colony had its own "constitution," the Federalists believed in creating one strong centralized government (with one Constitution) that could effectively represent the people. The authors and supporters of the Constitution knew that they could not afford to lose the vote in the state ratifying conventions. In an effort to win over his home state (New York), Alexander Hamilton, with the assistance of James Madison and John Jay, began a collection of 85 essays and published them under the pseudonym of "Publius" (named after one of the founders and heroes of the Roman republic, Publius Valerius Publicola). The Papers, published in 1787 and 1788, analyze and defend the proposed Constitution of the United States.

The Federalists succeeded in winning the colonists' support. But, even though the anti-federalists lost, their ideas were also brilliant and made an important contribution to the history of our government, which is why you should also read "The Anti-Federalist Papers."

This book is a must-read for all Americans. After reading this book, you will have a renewed appreciation and admiration for the wisdom and vision of our founding fathers.

I found this book to be one of the best books I ever read. Instead of giving a lay understanding of some of the arguments, I would like to note what I found exceptional about this book: the footnotes. The footnotes of this book gave detailed accounts of historical references made that shed much light on where the arguments were coming from. There is so much to be had from this book that I know I will read it at least five more times. Should be required reading by all Americans.

As a quick primer, I found this book to be terrific. And the dry humour was appreciated as well. Never thought I'd make it through so quickly, and yet come away with such a good appreciation of the subject matter.

This is good for non-lawyers who work in management and have no idea what IP means, nor how to make this form of property benefit (or not harm) your company.

This book whet my appetite for more details. I would recommend this book for anyone who needs a crash course in IP.

This book took all the mystery out of the complex issue of intellectual property: what it is, how it works, and how it can work for you. Easy to read and comprehensive.

John Alexander's FUTURE WAR gives us a definitive look at emerging non-lethal weapons technology. Colonel Alexander draws on his years of experience in law enforcement and as a Special Forces soldier as well as his work in weapons development at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He gives us more than fascinating descriptions of exotic gadgetry and its applications. He explains how a convergence of political and technological factors gave rise to new threats and how non-lethal weapons can counter these threats while reducing loss of human life (and minimizing adverse political and public relations consequences). He tells us about the origins, evolution, and capabilities of these weapons and how they can be used singly and in combination to thwart bad guys, rescue victims, and send loud, unambiguous messages to decidedly unfriendly governments.

Colonel Alexander's descriptions of actual and hypothetical applications are relevant and engaging: stopping a saboteur from poisoning millions of Americans, rescuing students held hostage by gunmen in a suburb of Denver, destroying the infrastructure of an unfriendly Central European government, and toppling troublesome dictators. Indeed, because they are so compelling, one wonders if these "hypothetical" scenarios are entirely fictional. There's plenty of material for nail-biters: home made bombs and land mines, grisly tortures and massacres; chemicals of incredible lethality; warheads delivering unstoppable combinations of deadly diseases to sleeping cities.

Alexander is no Pollyanna. He views non-lethal weapons as supplements to, rather than replacements for, our conventional arsenal. He does not pretend that non-lethal weapons never cause fatalities, but he does convince us that these are minimal, compared to those caused by conventional weapons. Alexander recognizes that some of these weapons are expensive and many will remain outside of the reach of the average police department, and he cautions that without considerable training these weapons will not be deployed properly. Furthermore, he acknowledges that as presently enacted, some of our laws and treaties may make it difficult to deploy certain non-lethal weapons. He gives us a particularly penetrating analysis of how some of these weapons run afoul of public opinion. (The same person who doesn't mind pounding the enemy to smithereens with artillery may be reluctant to accidentally blind an enemy soldier with a laser.)

This book is strongly endorsed by many prominent, high-ranking military officers. No doubt, some of their favor was shaped in part by Colonel Alexander's reputation as a professional solider and his hard work in behalf of national defense. But these endorsements also reflect the fact that Alexander has done a great job of presenting a very controversial multi-faceted topic. He treats non-lethal weapons as SYSTEMS that are dependent upon international politics, law, public opinion, and strategic and tactical considerations as well as "gee whiz" technology. Alexander tells a very difficult and important story about science and people, and we should rejoice that this story is available to the general public.

As US/Allied forces this very day are engaging in military operations against Iraq, the emphasis is not only on victory but on the minimization of casualties, both military and civilian. This book discusses several approaches to the latter, via the use of "non-lethal" weapons, and some of these may in fact be employed in Operation Iraq Freedom. The discussion is fascinating, and one can only hope that future technological developments will make war less probable because of the ideas expoused by the author. In the foreword to the book, the author lets Tom Clancy remind the reader of the unique American viewpoint on warfare. Americans, because of the nature of the government in which they have chosen to create and participate, have always been reluctant to go to war. Every soldier is precious, indeed, human life is precious, and is not to be taken lightly. It is therefore not a surprise that precision-guided and non-lethal weapons have and are undergoing intense development in the last two decades in the United States. Hopefully this attitude will continue in this, the best of all centuries. The author seems confident that it will, and indeed we are fortunate to have individuals in the U.S. military who have his attitude and share his philosophy.

Some of the more interesting technological developments in non-lethal weaponry discussed in the book include: 1. Electromagnetic weapons: man-portable laser weapons, blinding weapons, isotropic radiator weapons, pulse weapons, stun guns. 2. Chemical non-lethal weapons: antimateriel chemical agents, superacids, pheromones. 3. Acoustic weapons, such as pulsed periodic stimulus, which causes perceptual disorientation in the individual.

John Alexander's book is written with concise, clear descriptions of future weapons. These include laser/taser. Chemical systems, computer viruses, non-lethal electromagnetic pulse-power weapons and others. Each citizen reader will find this book informational and vital reading. It helps an individual understand weapons that may be used in the 21st Century.

This reader finds the "issues section" pertaining to future wars especially informative. In the "Strategic Implications" section, a subsection entitled education is of particular note. In this section three national security issues are identified as arising from a substandard education system. One is the limited pool of young men and women from which to recruit as weapons systems are getting more sophisticated to operate. The second education factor of strategic importance is the education of the civilian population. Many citizens are not sufficiently educated to understand the current issues of national security as they are becoming more complex. The third education factor is in weapons development as many of these systems need brainpower to help design or improve them. This reader agrees with the author. The author is giving education a roadmap on areas the future citizen needs in their portfolio of education.

This review is to encourage teachers in classrooms teaching citizenship to add this book to their reading list. For responsible citizens this book is a must read.

Dr. B. Feist-Fite, Educator

Book is very comprehensive but it is a long and somewhat boring read. Of course, when you are talking about death and taxes how do you make it interesting? Thank goodness for the use of real live examples to liven up the text. Was hoping for identification of strategies for married couples with different ranges of net worth ($600K to $1.2M range, $1.2M to $5M range, and over $5M). Did not find these strategies easily by reading the book. Book is written in terms the laymen can understand. Since many of us will be executors of estates someday it is useful information. Book does help explain many of the aspects to consider when planning your estate. Good reference on basics of estate planning.

A great introductory book for the layman; it takes complicated subject matter and explains it in terms that the average person can understand. As a trust professional, I have recommended it to many of my customers

I found this book a useful reference work for the original texts concerning the political study of EU integration history & theory.

Wow! This man knows how to write a book on EU law! No one captures the flair and significance of Europe like he does. The chapter on "The Tragedy of Europe" brought tears to my eyes. Why did they not listen?! Why did this have to happen! Nelsen knows and he tells you. I recommend this book to all, not just Norse love gods, but to all humanity!