what does the constitution say | Black Dog & Leventhal

What Does the Constitution Say?

by Ben Sheehan Illustrated by Mary Kate McDevitt

If you've never read the Constitution, let this guidebook help you! Featuring fun facts, cool illustrations, and even hilarious jokes, What Does the Constitution Say? will help you understand how our American government really works.

Written more than 230 years ago, the Constitution can be hard to understand (even for adults). But it also gives you what you need to make our country the best it can be for everyone. What Does the Constitution Say? takes you on a tour of the whole Constitution while explaining what its fancy words really mean. From the Preamble to the 7 Articles to the 27 Amendments (so far), this fun-to-read guide is packed with bite-sized info, historic quotes, and graphics on important topics such as:

Why the Constitution is a "living document"
How the first attempt at a constitution (the Articles of Confederation) failed
What powers the president does (and doesn't) have
Key figures like James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington
A bonus section on the Declaration of Independence
And much more!

The Words We Live By

by Linda R. Monk

The Words We Live By takes an entertaining and informative look at America’s most important historical document, now with discussions on new rulings on hot button issues such as immigration, gay marriage, gun control, and affirmative action.

In The Words We Live By, Linda Monk probes the idea that the Constitution may seem to offer cut-and-dried answers to questions regarding personal rights, but the interpretations of this hallowed document are nearly infinite. For example, in the debate over gun control, does “the right of the people to bear arms” as stated in the Second Amendment pertain to individual citizens or regulated militias? What do scholars say? Should the Internet be regulated and censored, or does this impinge on the freedom of speech as defined in the First Amendment? These and other issues vary depending on the interpretation of the Constitution.

Through entertaining and informative annotations, The Words We Live By offers a new way of looking at the Constitution. Its pages reflect a critical, respectful and appreciative look at one of history’s greatest documents. The Words We Live By is filled with a rich and engaging historical perspective along with enough surprises and fascinating facts and illustrations to prove that your Constitution is a living — and entertaining — document.

Updated now for the first time, The Words We Live By continues to take an entertaining and informative look at America’s most important historical document, now with discussions on new rulings on hot button issues such as immigration, gay marriage, and affirmative action.

The Thing You Think You Cannot Do

by Gordon Livingston, MD

What are we afraid of and what can we do about it?Fear–of change, of intimacy, of loss, of the unknown–has become a corrosive influence in modern life, eroding our ability to think clearly. Exploited for power by politicians and for money by the media, it has become embedded in the way we think about our lives. Overcoming our fear, says Gordon Livingston, constitutes the most difficult struggle we face.

Dr. Livingston, a psychiatrist, has increasingly found himself prescribing virtues like courage to his patients instead of tranquilizers or antidepressants. Now he tells us all what we need to do to develop personal virtues in the face of societal fear-and our own individual fears. And he does this with the crystalline prose and leavening wit that have made him an internationally bestselling author.

As the celebrated novelist Mark Helprin has said of Dr. Livingston: “To read him is to trust him and to learn, for his life has been touched by fire, and his motives are absolutely pure.”

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