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ederwin's review
5.0
No current politicians or scandals are mentioned in this book.* It is about the history of the idea of impeachment in the USA, and even back into England. Excellent and informative.
A lot of the book focuses on what exactly are impeachable offenses. It will probably surprise you. Committing a crime is not necessary. Most crimes, up to and including murder, are not impeachable offenses. A crime must be related to the office and duties of the elected official to be impeachable. Intentionally disobeying the law is not impeachable, as long as there is some good-faith argument that can be made about why the law did not apply or was unconstitutional. On the other hand, an official can be impeached for taking too many vacations or not taking enough action to protect the public in an emergency situation. Really fascinating stuff, and perfect for reading on July 4.
* I read the 2017 edition. A later edition add on a discussion of the Mueller report.
A lot of the book focuses on what exactly are impeachable offenses. It will probably surprise you. Committing a crime is not necessary. Most crimes, up to and including murder, are not impeachable offenses. A crime must be related to the office and duties of the elected official to be impeachable. Intentionally disobeying the law is not impeachable, as long as there is some good-faith argument that can be made about why the law did not apply or was unconstitutional. On the other hand, an official can be impeached for taking too many vacations or not taking enough action to protect the public in an emergency situation. Really fascinating stuff, and perfect for reading on July 4.
* I read the 2017 edition. A later edition add on a discussion of the Mueller report.
deearr's review
4.0
As one who was not a fan of Cass Sunstein in 2008, I hesitated to purchase this book. In the end, I fell back on what usually drives me, which is you can't learn anything if you only read one side.
For most of Mr. Sunstein's part of the book (about 40% is dedicated to excerpts from The Mueller Report), I was pleasantly surprised. His history of the Founding Fathers and the creation of The Constitution was entertaining and informative. As to be expected, extensive time centered around the concept of Impeachment. This included the arguments between those crafting the Constitution, some of the initial drafts, and why the Founders ultimately chose to use the words they did.
From Chapter 1, in the author’s own words: “My principal goal in this book is to try to dissolve the mist, and in the process recover something about our nation’s origins and aspirations.” An admirable goal, and had the author stopped there, the book might have finished untainted by a partisan view. I should have known better but missed the importance of the next sentence: “But what ultimately inspired me to pursue this topic was something far more personal.”
I will stop here and say, for the information in Chapters 1-10, I would encourage everyone to read this book. Mr. Sunstein presents a well-rounded view of not only what constitutes impeachment, but also delves into the Twenty-Fifth Amendment (dealing with situations when the President is unable to discharge his duties). He challenges the issues from both sides of the aisle, always falling back to the Constitution for guidance. Kudos for these chapters…except for the couple of nudges slipped in.
For a test case example, the author described events preceding the 2016 election (based on what some believe happened), and without naming any names, Mr. Sunstein declares that the President should be impeached. He refers back to this case a number of times, nudging us in the direction that will lead us to the Afterward. Everything comes together here, where the Mueller report is quoted along with Nancy Pelosi. The author takes Ms. Pelosi to task for her statement that impeachment is “divisive” and “unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country.”
Based on Mr. Sunstein’s own statements, that history demonstrates that a President will be acquitted of impeachment unless most of the country is in agreement against that finding, his argument as to what Ms. Pelosi really meant don’t hold water. Although the author continues to nudge us toward his ultimate conclusion, that President Trump should be impeached and Ms. Pelosi is not doing her duty, it is important to also consider Mr. Sunstein’s words when he is offering his explanation of Mr. Mueller’s report. The author feels that Mr. Mueller “…declined to say that Trump committed obstruction of justice (though for reasons sketched above, he probably thinks that he did.” The key words here are “he probably thinks that he did,” as Mr. Sunstein would need to clarify with Mr. Mueller exactly what he meant in the report (not to mention giving Ms. Pelosi the same courtesy). Thus the author’s insistence on impeaching the President lies on his interpretation of what Mr. Mueller said. (In fairness, if Mr. Mueller stated unequivocally that he meant exactly what Mr. Sunstein insists he meant, I would be forced to rethink my own thoughts).
Bottom line: Recommended reading for everyone, as it is a good history lesson and clearly explains what impeachment is and when it should be used. The Afterward contains Mr. Sunstein’s personal thoughts (see paragraph 3 above) and the rest of the book are excerpts from the Mueller report (the author does suggest one may read the entire report, which can be found elsewhere. Although I was not happy with the nudges, it is not fair to award less stars because of them. Most of the book was good, informative reading. Three-and-a-half, rounded to four stars.
For most of Mr. Sunstein's part of the book (about 40% is dedicated to excerpts from The Mueller Report), I was pleasantly surprised. His history of the Founding Fathers and the creation of The Constitution was entertaining and informative. As to be expected, extensive time centered around the concept of Impeachment. This included the arguments between those crafting the Constitution, some of the initial drafts, and why the Founders ultimately chose to use the words they did.
From Chapter 1, in the author’s own words: “My principal goal in this book is to try to dissolve the mist, and in the process recover something about our nation’s origins and aspirations.” An admirable goal, and had the author stopped there, the book might have finished untainted by a partisan view. I should have known better but missed the importance of the next sentence: “But what ultimately inspired me to pursue this topic was something far more personal.”
I will stop here and say, for the information in Chapters 1-10, I would encourage everyone to read this book. Mr. Sunstein presents a well-rounded view of not only what constitutes impeachment, but also delves into the Twenty-Fifth Amendment (dealing with situations when the President is unable to discharge his duties). He challenges the issues from both sides of the aisle, always falling back to the Constitution for guidance. Kudos for these chapters…except for the couple of nudges slipped in.
For a test case example, the author described events preceding the 2016 election (based on what some believe happened), and without naming any names, Mr. Sunstein declares that the President should be impeached. He refers back to this case a number of times, nudging us in the direction that will lead us to the Afterward. Everything comes together here, where the Mueller report is quoted along with Nancy Pelosi. The author takes Ms. Pelosi to task for her statement that impeachment is “divisive” and “unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country.”
Based on Mr. Sunstein’s own statements, that history demonstrates that a President will be acquitted of impeachment unless most of the country is in agreement against that finding, his argument as to what Ms. Pelosi really meant don’t hold water. Although the author continues to nudge us toward his ultimate conclusion, that President Trump should be impeached and Ms. Pelosi is not doing her duty, it is important to also consider Mr. Sunstein’s words when he is offering his explanation of Mr. Mueller’s report. The author feels that Mr. Mueller “…declined to say that Trump committed obstruction of justice (though for reasons sketched above, he probably thinks that he did.” The key words here are “he probably thinks that he did,” as Mr. Sunstein would need to clarify with Mr. Mueller exactly what he meant in the report (not to mention giving Ms. Pelosi the same courtesy). Thus the author’s insistence on impeaching the President lies on his interpretation of what Mr. Mueller said. (In fairness, if Mr. Mueller stated unequivocally that he meant exactly what Mr. Sunstein insists he meant, I would be forced to rethink my own thoughts).
Bottom line: Recommended reading for everyone, as it is a good history lesson and clearly explains what impeachment is and when it should be used. The Afterward contains Mr. Sunstein’s personal thoughts (see paragraph 3 above) and the rest of the book are excerpts from the Mueller report (the author does suggest one may read the entire report, which can be found elsewhere. Although I was not happy with the nudges, it is not fair to award less stars because of them. Most of the book was good, informative reading. Three-and-a-half, rounded to four stars.
pbokelly's review
5.0
Concise and timely -- an excerpt:
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/impeachment-american-style
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/impeachment-american-style
squidbag's review
4.0
Engaging and well-cited; succinct, but also dense at the same time. Sunstein is unfailingly honest and unbiased - the book wouldn't be worth a damn if he weren't. Enormously important for understanding all of the conversations coming up - we impeach folks who aren't Presidents, which might be worth remembering if your Reps & Senators aren't up to snuff, and hope for the 25th needs to be let go. On the other hand, the current resident of 1600 is easily impeachable, right now, with either an originalist or broad interpretation, and it's all in this book. Buy several copies and hurl them at Trumpists.
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