American Constitutional Law

Tribe has a long-existing and well-deserved reputation as one of the country's great Constitutional scholars. This book is thorough, well-thought-out, and provocative. It's not a book for a beginning Constitutional Law student, but it's one that a reader can come back to over the years, over and over,with the goal of better understanding the unity and structure of the Constitutional system. The text is both comprehensive and, at the same time, confrontational: it challenges the reader, it argues, it takes strong positions, and it educates. Argue with it, let it argue with you. You'll come out of the argument with a better sense of Constitutional logic, the dynamic nature of the system of Constitutional government, and of your own views. It's a classic.

I was sad to see some reviewers here give this volume one or two stars based on some imaginary defects with the work -- ie, that this is a revisionist history of the Constitution, that Tribe is anti-natural law, or that Tribe didn't say enough about the Second Amendment (duh! he reserves discussion of that Amendment and all the other rights-creating amendments/provisions for Volume Two!). It's pretty clear that the reviewers who gave this work negative reviews didn't even crack the spine. Give me a break!The fact is that this volume is extremely well-written and meticulously researched. Plus it's written by THE preeminent con law scholar, somebody Supreme Court justices read on a regular basis (and hear regularly at various oral arguments). If you don't agree with Tribe's conclusions on a particular issue, well, he's given you plenty of other scholarship and caselaw to go look at. I turn to this volume quite a bit in my practice to get an overview of constitutional issues. My only regret is that Volume Two is not yet available. Come on Larry!

This treatise on Constitutional Law is essential to every law student. I am currently enrolled in first-year Constitutional Law course, and I open up this book at least once everyday. The information contained in the book almost always answers my question, but on the rare occasion it does not the case cites and especially the secondary legal cites are excellent. I have purchased several Constitutional Law hornbooks and study aids, and this book by Professor Tribe easily surpasses the rest. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

In this first volume of the soon to be two volume third edition, Professor Tribe does an excellent job of articulating the most prominent arguments of today, as well as an excellent analysis of all constitutional law topics. After reading any topic in this book it is hard to believe that there is more to know on that issue, but if there is, the place to find it is in the excellent citations this book has to offer. These citations alone would be reason to purchase this book.As a law student in a first year con law class, my recommendation to every law student is to buy this book, and the second volume when it comes out, as soon as you can, you will not need another hornbook or study aid.

If you have not yet had a chance to grace the doors of Harvard Law School, this is your opportunity to experience the wit and wisdom of Professor Laurence Tribe on the subject of constitutional law. The book is an invaluable addition to any federal court litigator's arsenal, and many aspects of it can usefully be referred to by law students as well. The book is especially interesting and informative with respect to the intricate and often quite creative connections it draws between constitutional provisions and doctrines that on their face do not seem particularly interrelated. The historical overviews of the development of key constitutional doctrines are especially riveting, and will likely interest individuals in a broad variety of fields.