The Cartoon Guide to the Constitution of the United States

I bought and read this book all the way back in 1983. At the time I was most struck by its willingness to allege that various Supreme Court decisions had been outrageous MISinterpretations of the constitution. One normally associates that view point with conservative "originalist" or "strict construction" doctrine, but this book made -- a decade or two ahead of its time, apparently -- that it was conservatives who were ignoring the 9th amendment (rights retained by the people despite not being enumerated in the constitution) and the privileges & immunities clause. Today, Daniel Farber is making the same case in "Retained by the People", and Randy Barnett has come close in "Restoring the Lost Constitution". Lurio was ahead of the both and far more accessible.

If only all learning were like this! This wonderful little book deserves to be a classic. If you're looking to learn about the Constitution or just brush up on it, "Cartoon Guide" is a hilarious and painless way to do it. (Or if you just want to have some fun.) The text is well-written and humorous, and the illustrations are uproarious. I believe the book would be appropriate as a text or at least a supplement for high school courses and basic college courses; if I were choosing a book on the Constitution for such a course, this would certainly be it.

The entire text of the constitution is included in this book with a serious cartoon narrative explaining both what is written and the historical reasons each portion of text was put into the constitution and its amendments. That history (including how we almost had a President Burr in 1800 and a President Tilden in 1876) helps making the constitution come alive. This is a good book both for people of all ages that need to learn about the constitution and for people who enjoy reading about a serious subject written with a light-hearted perspective.