New Books - Spring 2006, List 2

America's Constitution: A Biography
Akhil Reed Amar
New York: Random House, 2005

KF4541.A87 2005 Third Floor
Shelved in New Books first, then at call number location

From Random House:
In America’s Constitution, one of this era’s most accomplished constitutional law scholars, Akhil Reed Amar, gives the first comprehensive account of one of the world’s great political texts. Incisive, entertaining, and occasionally controversial, this “biography” of America’s framing document explains not only what the Constitution says but also why the Constitution says it.

We all know this much: the Constitution is neither immutable nor perfect. Amar shows us how the story of this one relatively compact document reflects the story of America more generally. (For example, much of the Constitution, including the glorious-sounding “We the People,” was lifted from existing American legal texts, including early state constitutions.) In short, the Constitution was as much a product of its environment as it was a product of its individual creators’ inspired genius.

Despite the Constitution’s flaws, its role in guiding our republic has been nothing short of amazing. Skillfully placing the document in the context of late-eighteenth-century American politics, America’s Constitution explains, for instance, whether there is anything in the Constitution that is unamendable; the reason America adopted an electoral college; why a president must be at least thirty-five years old; and why–for now, at least–only those citizens who were born under the American flag can become president.

Ambitious, even-handed, eminently accessible, and often surprising, America’s Constitution is an indispensable work, bound to become a standard reference for any student of history and all citizens of the United States.

Akhil Reed Amar graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School, and has been a member of the Yale Law School faculty since 1985

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The Legal Guide to Affordable Housing Development
Edited by Tim Iglesias and Rochelle Lento
Chicago, Ill: Section of State and Local Government Law, American Bar Association, 2005

KF5729.L44 2005 Third Floor
Shelved in New Books first, then at call number location

From the ABA:
The Legal Guide to Affordable Housing Development covers the most important areas of law applicable to affordable housing development and provides a comprehensive overview of affordable housing laws. Part I covers the regulatory framework of developing affordable housing. It includes chapters on planning requirements and zoning issues, a wide variety of constitutional and statutory provisions promoting affordable housing, and building and housing codes affecting affordable housing.

Part II addresses the provision of affordable housing finance, including local, state, and federal regulation of private, local, state, and federal sources of finance; local government powers; and mixed-finance housing development. Part III surveys critical legal obligations that affect affordable housing after it has been built, including regulatory compliance and enforcement at the state and federal level as well as preservation of subsidized housing issues. It also includes a chapter on federal relocation and replacement law that concerns housing acquired for the purpose of making it affordable.

Tim Iglesias is an Associate Professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Rochelle Lento was a Clinical Law Professor at the University of Michigan Law School and the Director of its Legal Assistance for Urban Communities Clinic from 1991 to 2005. Starting in July 2005, she has been Of Counsel at Dykema Gossett, PLLC in Detroit where she will be spearheading the firm’s Affordable Housing Practice Group in the Real Estate Division.

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A Revisionist History of Tort Law:
From Holmesian Realism to Neoclassical Rationalism
Alan Calnan
Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press, 2005

KF1251.C35 2005 Third Floor
Shelved in New Books first, then at call number location

From Carolina Academic Press:
A Revisionist History of Tort Law explodes the myths of modern tort historiography. It challenges both the methodology and the conclusions of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., America's first and most influential tort historian. It contends that Holmes' jurisprudence corrupted his view of history, and that his historiography corrupted the outlook of his successors. Yet Revisionist History offers much more than simple deconstruction. It identifies the principles for historical analysis and uses those principles to propose a revolutionary new history of tort law.

As a social science, history requires deep, comprehensive and unbiased investigation. Thus, Revisionist History does not trace the development of any specific tort doctrine. Rather, it uncovers the political, philosophical, social, and moral influences which gave the law its life. Moreover, this book does not simply reinterpret the law’s primary sources. Instead, it marshals a vast array of secondary authorities which place those sources in context. Finally, Revisionist History does not set its focus on a single, isolated epoch. Rather, it traces the law’s entire intellectual history — from its earliest beginnings to its emergence in the modern era.

Alan Calnan is a professor of law at Southwestern University School of Law.

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