Just finished “The Bill of Rights” by Professor Akhil Reed Amar and I cannot recommend it highly enough. The book traces the origin of the Bill of Rights from its beginnings during the writing and ratifying of the Constitution to how it was changed after the Civil War by way of the 14th Amendment.

Professor Amar writes in a very engaging style making relatively complex topics easy to understand. What I like best is his even handedness. By his own admission he does not support gun ownership and wishes that we could do something about the Second Amendment. After stating this he then goes on to say that the Constitution is pretty clear when it says the “right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed”. It is his ability to rise above his prejudices to deliver balanced exposition that makes his writing so good.

While this book is good by itself, I strongly recommend reading it after reading his book, “America’s Constitution: A Biography”. Reading both these books gives a great foundation for understanding our Constitution and how the 26 amendments have changed and modified it so that it is not a stale, 200+ year old document with no basis in modern thought but a vibrant and relevant document that is still our best hope for reigning in government overreach and protecting our natural rights.