At a time of renewed debate over guns in America, what does the Second Amendment mean? This book looks at history to provide some surprising, illuminating answers. The Amendment was written to calm public fear that the new national government would crush the state militias made up of all (white) adult men -- who were required to own a gun to serve. Waldman recounts the raucous public debate that has surrounded the amendment from its inception to the...

"[This book] chronicles an institution that dramatically evolved from six men meeting in borrowed quarters to the most closely watched tribunal in the world. Underscoring the close connection between law and politics, the authors highlight essential issues, cases, and decisions within the context of the times in which the decisions were handed down...[Combining] doctrine and judicial biography with case law, [the authors] demonstrate how the justices...

"In the spirit of 'A short history of nearly everything, ' an energetic and wide-ranging book of discovery and discoverers, of exploitation and celebration, and of superstition and science, all in search of the ways the chemical elements are woven into our culture, history, and language"-- Provided by publisher.

"Many children, from the time they are old enough to be attracted to a siren and flashing lights, dream of becoming a police officer. As a retired police officer herself, Alley Evola looks at the daily ins and outs of the job of a police officer. Through recruitment, life at the academy, patrol, and eventually promotion, she provides a helpful understanding of what you can really expect. She also looks at current issues, including race and gender,...

"Author Adam Winkler, a professor of Constitutional law, uses the landmark 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller, which invalidated a law banning handguns in the nation's Capitol, as a springboard for a historical narrative of America's four-centuries-long political battle over gun control and the right to bear arms. From the Founding Fathers and the Second Amendment to the origins of the Ku Klux Klan, ironically as a gun control organization,...

Marijuana, scientifically known as Cannabis sativa, thrived underground as the nation's most popular illegal drug. Now the tide has shifted: In 1996, California passed the nation's first medical marijuana law, which allowed patients to grow it and use it with a doctor's permission. By 2010, twenty states and the District of Columbia had adopted medical pot laws. In 2012, Colorado and Washington state passed ballot measures legalizing marijuana for...

Problems of constitutional interpretation have many faces, but much of the contemporary discussion has focused on what has come to be called "originalism." The core of originalism is the belief that fidelity to the original understanding of the Constitution should constrain contemporary judges. As originalist thinking has evolved, it has become clear that there is a family of originalist theories, some emphasizing the intent of the framers, while...

A former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal investigative reporter, and the New York Times bestselling author of Inside the White House, Ronald Kessler presents the definitive history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Based on exclusive interviews, including the first with Robert Mueller since his nomination as director, The Bureau reveals startling new information about the bureau-from J. Edgar Hoover's blackmailing of Congress to the...

"Learn how to research like a lawyer, locate key sources online or in the library, put your results to work in the real world"--Cover.