Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution Audiobook

" I really did read this with an open mind, I swear. I wanted to see how the more liberal 'evolving Constitution' justices explained their jurisprudence. But this was a real snore. Just not well written, no colorful examples, no personality really of any kind. In person Breyer seems pretty fun, but there's no evidence of that in here. Not to mention that his jurisprudence makes no sense to me still - he's trying to encourage democracy by ruling the way he does? Really? By taking abortion and capital punishment and affirmative action and all these other hotly contested issues TOTALLY OUT OF THE DEMOCRATIC SPHERE? That's an interesting (read nonsensical) notion... "

" Disappointing on many levels. Doesn't hold a candle to Judge Bork's many works. I'll summarize "active" liberty for you: We're the judges, we know best, we need more power, and the "negative" liberty of the Founding Fathers is holding us back. Downright scary in some parts. "

" Kind of difficult to follow for somebody with no background in the field. "

" Describes the concepts of the personal rights of active liberty (participation in government) and passive liberty (freedom from government interference), and discusses how judicial decision making can be influenced by taking these rights into account. This book is short and repetitive, but the fundamental importance of these rights in American society outweighs those shortcomings. "

" This book is based on a series of lectures and, unfortunately, it, for the most part, reads like it. His overall thesis is interesting as are sections like the one on affirmative action. "

" I tried, but I could not finish it. I could not follow his arguments. His writing felt muddy. I stopped at page 60 or so. "

" An excellent little book by a Justice likely to go down in history as solid, if not superlative. Certainly worth reading if an 'Originalist' found it thought-provoking (see below. "

" I started this after I read The Nine, but it is extremely hard to get through. I wish I could push through it and pick up some anti-Constructionist tips. "

" Reinforced my liberal, pro-gov't leanings with a real philosophical foundation. "

" The underlying point to this was very interesting, and a different take on the living constitution than I had read before. However, it reads like a very long speech, and is incredibly dry. "

" Justice Breyer is truly a 21st century jurist. This book showcases his brilliance and ability to consider American law from a whole new perspective. Not an easy read, and requires a careful study but well worth the time of anyone interested in American legal development. "

" Succinct read on the value of avoiding become too textual in the interpretation of the law. Context and consequence matter. "

" Terrible book. Awful sentence structure. Way to complicated to understand "

" Makes more sense than Scalia's book. "

" Interesting look into the thought process of a deliberate man "

" A good read - Breyer is thoughtful and a good writer - his concept of active liberty, as he conceives a kind of liberty associated with the greek city-states is thought-provoking. "

" Well written, but I'm not convinced. "

" This was a pretty fascinating little book by Justice Breyer. The idea of active liberty, or the liberty of the ancients, was interesting and definitely something worth considering. "

" Another geeky Supreme Court book. Why? "

" Justice Breyer is a horrible writer. He is preoccupied with sounding scholarly and academic than with fostering real debate on the topic. "

" SCOTUS Justice Stephen Breyer continues a tradition of essentially Libertarian interpretations of the US Constitution, contributing his analysis of precedent and meaning to the broader body of interpretations about Constitutional Law "

" If you read a Matter of Interpretation, you should read this book. This book is a short exposition of Justice Breyer's theory of statutory and constitutional interpretation, and that, quite simply, is what makes it valuable. "

" Very well written, a fast read, succinct, really gets his point across. And of course, a point of view I agree with! "

" Interesting look into the thought process of a deliberate man "

" I tried, but I could not finish it. I could not follow his arguments. His writing felt muddy. I stopped at page 60 or so. "

" SCOTUS Justice Stephen Breyer continues a tradition of essentially Libertarian interpretations of the US Constitution, contributing his analysis of precedent and meaning to the broader body of interpretations about Constitutional Law "

" This was a pretty fascinating little book by Justice Breyer. The idea of active liberty, or the liberty of the ancients, was interesting and definitely something worth considering. "

" An excellent little book by a Justice likely to go down in history as solid, if not superlative. Certainly worth reading if an 'Originalist' found it thought-provoking (see below. "

" The underlying point to this was very interesting, and a different take on the living constitution than I had read before. However, it reads like a very long speech, and is incredibly dry. "

" Very well written, a fast read, succinct, really gets his point across. And of course, a point of view I agree with! "

" Another geeky Supreme Court book. Why? "

" I started this after I read The Nine, but it is extremely hard to get through. I wish I could push through it and pick up some anti-Constructionist tips. "

" Well written, but I'm not convinced. "

" Kind of difficult to follow for somebody with no background in the field. "