Scan barcode
wooknight's review against another edition
4.0
An academic guide to the idea of impeachment. I am not sure that I still understand it but I was heartened to find out that I am in august company with the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Gerald Ford
bookishblond's review against another edition
4.0
My 1L Con law professor was obsessed with impeachment. Most classes cover impeachment only as a side note, but we spent at least a day or two on it (which is a lot). The professor recommended this book several times, and I bought a copy to read before the final. There wasn’t a question about impeachment on the final, so I didn’t need the book then, but I certainly need it now.
Sunstein walks his readers through the text of the Constitution, what the framers might have intended, the three presidential and nineteen federal official (that’s it!) impeachments in American history, and implications for today. It’s a brief yet informative book that I would highly recommend if you want to understand what’s happening in the House right now.
Sunstein walks his readers through the text of the Constitution, what the framers might have intended, the three presidential and nineteen federal official (that’s it!) impeachments in American history, and implications for today. It’s a brief yet informative book that I would highly recommend if you want to understand what’s happening in the House right now.
mark_lm's review against another edition
4.0
The author is called the most frequently cited American legal scholar in recent years, he is the former Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, he is a professor at Harvard Law School, and, in 1981, his boss asked him, as a young attorney in the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice, to write a formal memorandum on the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution (that provides a mechanism for transfer of power in the event that the President is incapacitated). Ronald Reagan was shot, and incapacitated, one month after he completed the work. Professor Sunstein gives us citizens a review of the historical basis of impeachment, its significance to the founding fathers, a review of the schools of constitutional interpretation, a list of all the federal officers who have been impeached, and several imagined cases of what he believes to be examples where impeachment would be inappropriate, appropriate, or problematic. Some of his examples might have been taken from today’s newspapers. The book is clear, especially considering the complexity of the topic, and pertinent to current considerations.
bernfarr's review against another edition
5.0
Clearly written and easy to follow, this book provides the constitutional history and background for impeachment. It shows how impeachment is an important aspect of ensuring that presidents and other American elected officials, follow the laws and morals of their office properly.
One of the most useful chapters outlines a number of possible offences and explains why they are or are not impeachable, or where the question is ambiguous.
I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a better understanding of the impeachment process and when it's applicable to an office holder.
One of the most useful chapters outlines a number of possible offences and explains why they are or are not impeachable, or where the question is ambiguous.
I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a better understanding of the impeachment process and when it's applicable to an office holder.
jnap13's review against another edition
4.0
A really good overview of what impeachment is and isn't. The examples range from looking at the specific cases of impeachment as well as hypotheticals - that seem like they may be thinly veiled nods to current and previous presidents actions ;) - that helps illustrate what is impeachable. Some of this is a little clouded by Sunstein's optimism that parties will do the right thing. He admits in previous cases that partisan politics led to votes that don't line up with what should've been-and-dry decisions on impeachment.
gunderthunder12's review against another edition
5.0
Starts off frustrating, just like a constitutional law class/both-sides-isms, but then gets really good and definitive. Page-turner!! Highly recommend especially with King Cheeto getting impeached in 2019.
libra17's review against another edition
5.0
Unbiased, informative, and very, very relevant to everything that's going on today.
natep's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great book that maintains a rarely given face of neutrality in terms of a government issue. Sunstein goes through step by step the qualifacations of the impeachment clause, along with the history of it and its related amendments. Could not recommend this more highly. It maintains a readable style throughout but not by withholding any of legal nitty-gritty. He goes through many political situations for impeachment as well as its entire history (quite small as only a couple tens of officials have been seriously considered for impeachment and only 3 presidents). He argues for a very balanced, case by case when necessary dealing with this, as degree is very important in some of the greyer cases for impeachment. Not a mention or even allusion to Trump, again helping his credibility as a neutral expert on the issue, where he describes few knowing or discussing the topic due to lack of jurisprudence. So interesting, so well done.