The sequel to Irons's first look inside the Supreme Court offers edited versions of arguments addressing pivotal, controversial issues regarding the First Amendment. Like the first volume, this is based on recordings of oral arguments, often by prominent lawyers such as Lawrence Tribe and William Kunstler, before the Supreme Court. These arguments are made in an atmosphere of high solemnity and drama. Through sophisticated, penetrating questioning, often leading to energetic dialogues with the arguing attorneys, the justices probe the strengths and weaknesses of the contending parties' respective legal arguments. As spoken constitutional history providing unique glimpses into the reasoning process of our highest court, oral arguments are worthy of serious study. Along with tape recordings of 16 First Amendment arguments (four 90-minute cassettes accompany the book, but were not available for previewing), Irons (Brennan vs. Rehnquist: The Battle for the Constitution, 1994, etc.; Political Science/Univ. of Calif., San Diego) provides a text consisting of excerpts from each argument, preceded by a summary of the particular legal issue involved and followed by an edited version of the court's written decision, as well as opinions by dissenting justices. The issues are well selected, covering many fascinating and momentous matters, including burning the American flag, nude dancing, hate speech, prayer in public schools, the meaning of obscenity, and Reverend Jerry Falwell's ultimately unsuccessful suit against Hustler magazine for printing a parody suggesting that Falwell once had intercourse with his mother in an outhouse. The heavily edited arguments make lively and informative reading and should be welcome in the library of any university or law office; but the very brief prologues to each case and the book's three-page introduction provide scant background for laypersons unfamiliar with the perplexing intricacies of First Amendment jurisprudence.
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1997
ISBN: 1-56584-330-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: The New Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1997
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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