This book may be a good starting point for those who are new to the study of American Constitutional law. It is obvious from the beginning that Irons prefers the Brennan "living Constitution" approach to Constitutional law. Although I also share this view and mostly disagree with Rehnquist's opinions, I found myself wishing that Irons had given this topic more even-handed treatment. It seems that whenever Irons writes about Rehnquist, he is taking shots at him and his method of Constitutional jurisprudence. In addition, this book does not give much additional insight to those who have a good understanding of the methods of analysis used by the Court in areas such as Equal Protection or Substantive Due Process. This book may be an excellent introduction to students who are studying Constitutional law for the first time and want more background information on these two Justices as well as learning more about what informs their decisions. However, for someone who has more experience in Constitutional jurisprudence, the book does not offer much additional insight than you might receive in a law school Constitutional law course.

In the 1970's and 1980's, an epic battle took place in the United States of America. Although it was not often recognized, the ideological disputes between the judicial conversatives of the Supreme Court (led by Justice William Rehnquist)and the judicial activists (led by William Brennan) profoundly shaped American society. In retrospect, the Brennan camp did a healthy job of holding off the conservatives for a number of years. Individual liberties expanded at the expense of governmental control. Professor Irons does a good job of setting forth the battleground and tallying the score for each camp. What he fails to do, however, is provide the reader with any insight to the nuances of the battle. I would have been happier with this book if it would have attempted to provide some additional legal analysis that described how the Brennan v. Rehnquist battle established new ways of thinking about Constitututional law.

Brennan vs. Rehnquist is a very interesting study into the careers of two justices who, for the eighteen years during which they each served on the Supreme Court, presenting two very differing views of the Constitution, battled over the meaning of that most essential document. Peter Irons, at the start, admits his preference for the Brennan approach. Despite this, he does a fairly good job at presenting both sides fairly evenhandedly. The reading of this book does convey an understanding of two approaches to the interpretation of the Constitution which underlie many of the cases which we see reported in the press. Irons' writing style bridges the gap between the needs of the lawyer and those of the layman. While presenting the arguments with sufficient depth to interest the lawyer, he avoids the technical jargon which could bore the lay reader.

I bought this to read to my 9 year old son. The language used in this book was very advanced. I found the difficulty level to be just a notch below the actual plays. I found a book called "Stories from Shakespeare" by Geraldine McCaughrean which was much better and my son is enjoying reading "Shakespeare".

Edith Nesbit is a wonderful writer, who keeps the integrity of the Shakespeare plays, and makes them understandable to young readers.

I read these stories to my boys, who love to hear all the tales of sword fights, king and queens, difficult lives, funny situations, and times of long ago.

For me, it has been a great overview of famous Shakespeare plays that seem to complicated to read through in their original form. This book gives you the core of the stories, so that later on , one could then read the original stories by the Bard of Avon.

This is yet another book in a long list of bookwork books and it is basically without merit.The projects are below juvenile level and many of the so-called simple processes [like using PVA glue with a small brush over a large area] are risky for the un initiated. The vertical instruction format is hard to follow. Bookbinding is a REAL craft and this book does it no service. The dumb photographs are staged and dopey. Why cannot anyone take a photo of a craft process without putitng in a bunch of logs or ribbons or leeks?? It is a marvelously weird book.

Mary Maguire strikes another homerun with her latest book, _Bookworks_. While the photographs are gorgeous and the instructions are -- as usual -- easy to follow, it is the projects themselves which make this book outstanding. Maguire takes the reader from simple to complex bookmaking, using materials as easy to find as paper, cloth, and string. From fabric notepads to wedding albums, suede writing journals to portfolios, Maguire shows step-by-step how to create elegant yet simple gifts or everyday items and throws in some interesting tips as well, such as using foamcore to create sturdy covers.

Other cool projects include a binder which holds treasures such as rocks and seashells, a book shaped like a cloud, a book which uses the shiny side of the CD as its focal point (hey! something to do with all the internet cds we get in the mail), and books for the baby to chew on.

I love this book, and I've already made a book based on Maguire's instructions. I've read a lot of bookbinding books, but I've always found the projects either too weird or too difficult. This book is perfect for someone looking to make really lovely and really simple books that don't require arcane equipment or supplies.

Those looking for a a followup to Blatty's The Exorcist (a truly great novel, and one of the rare bestsellers actually worthy of the acclaim it received) will be disappointed with this rather limp Hollywood satire. It's overwritten and the humor is strained. If you want humerous horror, try William Browning Spencer's Resume With Monsters.

Blatty pokes fun at Hollywood and the Exorcist hype in this well executed humorous novel. Those who only read The Exorcist may not know that Blatty started out as a humor writer, and this book shows he still has it. It may be out of print, but I recommend you do whatever you can to get ahold of this one.

Superficial at best, this book is not worth the entry fee. Unless you have a burning desire to sample the writing style of the famous Ms. Weinman's sibling or learn how to use Sausage Software Java utilities, look elsewhere

I can't believe this book is out of print now! Rarely do you find the expertise and clear writing that is found here. I found it easy to read, easy to follow, and brimming with information.

If you are able to get your hands on this book, it's definitely worth your time. If nothing else, as an example of coding whiz Ms. Brown's fine editorial efforts.

The textbook contains a great deal of relevant basic information on politics in Western Europe. Unfortunately, it needs to be better organized. This goes for the organization of chapters and organization within the chapters. I used it in my Western European Politics class, but students did not respond favorably. The textbook sometimes picks up a topic without any obvious reason for doing so, and then, having said a few sentences about it, leaves it off, also without any obvious reason. This makes individual chapters hard to follow.

For those who teach European politics, their students, and those who wish to gain a basic understanding of the topic, this text is quite nicely done. Each country section - including the EU - is about 80-100 pages long. While good for those who are new to the topic, it doesn't bore those who aren't. It's one of the better textbooks I've found on the subject, and I will use it in my class.

The book did not entertain or inform. I'm sorry I spent my money on it

Let's assume you can ride a bike, but your knowledge stops there. If you are in this situation and are comtempleting riding a bike in order to increase your fitness level, then this is the book for you. This book is a comprehensive look at basic and intermediate level bike riding. Equipment, safety, nutrition and a comprehensive set of training schedules are included in this book. The message in the text is reinforced by the use of humerous illustrations. The only complaint I had about the book it that the beginning rides are 10 miles long, which felt like they were going to kill me! But!, as the author promised, those days rapidly fell behind me and I have quickly increased my fitness level, lost some weight and had fun, all because of this book. Buy it if you are thinking about riding a bike for you health!!

The stock market barometer is a completely unecessary defense of what the stock market is. It provides an incredible amount of uninteresting and completely trivious information. It is definitely NOT a must read.

William Hamilton was the successor (both at the Wall Street Journal and in expounding the Dow Theory) to Charles Dow, and the one who clarified the Dow Theory as most people understand it today. To students of the Dow Theory, and of Wall Street and Investment history in general, this is a must-have volume. Also see works by Robert Rhea.

I just took the SAT today and I feel that this book changed nothing. Although it has an O.K. grammar section, I've seen better. The analogy and critical reading section were [garbage]. It had nearly no vocbulary building strategies. Plus, the book was outdated.(1986 - please!)This book also knew next to nothing about the tests.(and what it did was outdated) I bought it because it was cheap and covered both the SAT and ACT, so I thought it might be good. Was I in for a big shock! Don't be enticed by the low price, you can find better, newer, updated books on the market.

I loved this book! All your question you have about grammer are here! You might not know whether to use who or whom or when to use few or less. This book has a fantastic index also for when you want to touch up on certain subjects (i.e. who/whom). There are also some great vocabulary words in here. A must buy!

This is a very good guide to Egypt in that it gives an excellent historical account of the culture of the Nile. However, outside of Cairo, the practical information is very patchy and generally misleading. Within Cairo, the guide provides detailed maps, excellent recommendations on accomodations, sights, museums, restaurants. If only this were titled the Blue Guide to Cairo, since its section on Cairo is the only one that shines. The guide provides very little information on transportation and accomodation in cities and smaller locales outside of Cairo. Recommended, as long as you know its limits and do not rely on it outside of the major metropolitan areas.