On Reading the Constitution
A lively and important contribution to the continuing dialogue on constitutional interpretation...[The book] serves to remind us of the trouble we make for ourselves when we assume that we can predict the conclusions of the original intentionalist, that liberals are always activists and conservatives never, or that the protections of liberty afforded by a living Constitution have all come from only one ideological camp. (Harry N. ScheiberNew York Times Book Review)[A] well-argued and clearly written volume...By the clarity and persuasiveness of their detailed analysis of particular cases, they...establish that progress is made most securely when one proceeds with caution and humility. (T. R. S. AllanCambridge Law Journal)This book amounts to an energetic and often highly illuminating discussion of how constitutional interpretation inevitably involves substantive choices but is not simply a matter of making things up...On Reading the Constitutionreminds us of the extent to which our understanding of constitutional interpretation remains in a primitive state...Tribe and Dorf's book counts as an unusually articulate contribution to the large number of recent works attempting to justify, to preserve, and to extend the work of the Warren Court. (Cass SunsteinNew Republic)A provocative, well argued book. (John MoellerPolitical Science Quarterly)