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Constitution Cafe: Jefferson's Brew for a True Revolution: Jefferson's Brew for a True Revolution
by
Christopher Phillips (Goodreads Author)
Energized by the initial optimism surrounding Obama's presidency and, conversely, the fierce partisanship in Congress, Christopher Phillips has set out to engage Americans in discussions surrounding our must fundamental rights and freedoms, with some help from Thomas Jefferson. A radical in his own day, Jefferson believed that the Constitution should be revised periodicall...more
Hardcover, 321 pages
Published
August 22nd 2011
by W. W. Norton & Company
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I'd actually like to give this 2.5 stars, but don't take the rating as a reason not to read the book, do read it and talk about it with everyone you know. I support the idea for a new Constitutional convention, and I appreciated the diverse voices in the amendment discussions, especially the female prisoners and the San Fransisco Scouts. The draft discussions are very good, and I agree that if Americas Armies were not all volunteer, we would not be involved in the Imperial ventures in Iraq and A...more
I started this book only to prepare for a city-wide book event; previously I had little interest in the constitution, under the notion that it's the foundation of American politics that should not be disobeyed nor (God forbid) changed. Phillips' discussions about doing the latter make the idea actually seem reasonable, if not feasible.
The book doesn't begin all that exciting - after all, since when is there a nonfiction thriller about the constitution? - but it's worth reading to get a glimpse o...more
The book doesn't begin all that exciting - after all, since when is there a nonfiction thriller about the constitution? - but it's worth reading to get a glimpse o...more
Christopher Phillips has thrown a big, fat, juicy bone into the political arena that is sure to please both Constitutional Statics (restraint) and Constitutional Activists (responsive) alike. No matter where the reader falls on this continuum, each knows that there is nothing more satisfying than reading a well-written and researched argument about the merits of judicial restraint. Within the contour of numerous vignettes based upon anecdotal reasoning, personal interviews and historical review,...more
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This book started off interesting, but by about 1/4 through, I got bored. Learning about how Thomas Jefferson (and the men of his time) envisioned the Constitution and relatedly, the Declaration of Independence, is interesting. You don't spend much time in 8th grade US History or 10th grade AP US History on this stuff (or maybe you do, and I just didn't pay attention). However, reading the interpretations/opinions of regular joes across America? Decidedly less interesting. For me, at least.
I found this book refreshing in the midst of the election of 2012. A new perspective on what our constitution could be and what it was meant to be. What a great concept".. Changing our constitution with the times. Taking out what does not fit anymore and adding in what does.
I did not necessarily like the recommendations, but love theconcept. And I loved reading about the history of our constitution and Jefferson's thoughts on it.
I did not necessarily like the recommendations, but love theconcept. And I loved reading about the history of our constitution and Jefferson's thoughts on it.
An interesting exercise in small group contemplation of parts of the Constitution, what people generally believe, what is actual, and stories about how these sections came about in Jefferson's time.
Dec 10, 2011
Juliana
marked it as to-read
NPR - December 10, 2011
Reconstituting The Constitution: How To Rewrite It?
Reconstituting The Constitution: How To Rewrite It?
This book wants to be a Socratic attempt to better understand and reform the constitution, but it is terrible. The conversations have all been extensively rewritten by Phillips, so any group consensus is destroyed with his really hackneyed dialog (it's painful) that is always too abrupt in coming to a conclusion. The amendments agreed upon by the groups are always short sighted and pathetic (are we supposed to lean through haphazard attempts?) and the author's political bias doesn't guide this,...more
Excellent book!! I learned a lot from this book, I'm going to buy my own copy so I can annotate it.
adult nonfiction. Goodreads refused to save my last review (again) and I'm not going to write it again.
Received through goodreads.com giveaways program. Not received yet.
Didn't read all of this , but it is interesting
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I'm an author, scholar and pro-democracy activist. My principal projects are Socrates Cafe (see www.philosopher.org) and Constitution Cafe (see www.ConstitutionCafe.org), and my personal website is at www.ChristopherPhillips.com
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