Reviews for The Cuban Missile Crisis (International Crises and the Role of Law)

The average rating for The Cuban Missile Crisis (International Crises and the Role of Law) based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-05-19 00:00:00 Steven Rossi Law 101, by Jay Feinman, is a practical and indispensable guide for general readers. The book enables citizens who are not lawyers to understand the basics of U.S. federal and state Constitutional law, our criminal and civil justice system, and other aspects of our judicial system that impact our lives, directly and indirectly. By providing the historical context for the U.S. legislative, executive, and judicial system, the author helps readers understand the increasingly complex and controversial issues of the day (and of the past). The author does not take stances on controversial issues. Rather, Feinman provides background that can help lay readers follow legal and policy decisions in the news and develop informed opinions based on reason, not emotion or political partisanship. Law 101 will be especially helpful to people who feel that listening to pundits shouting at each other on broadcast news is not productive or informative. In short, this is a useful, unbiased resource, best read with a copy of The Constitution of the United States at hand, for easy reference.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-12-08 00:00:00 Jim Johnston As an introductory text to the American justice system, Feinman’s 2000 book has no equal – at least this far into my preliminary research as I gear myself up for law school in less than two years’ time. Not only is he judicious in his explanations, but he also doesn’t shy away from the more complicated theoretical matters upon which our fundamental rights are based. For example, when he discusses the nuances of how our First Amendment rights have been interpreted over the course of two centuries’ worth of judicial review, Callahan is brilliantly succinct. "A first principle is that religion is a realm of voluntary choice…A second principle is that religion and government are two separate spheres…A third principle is that government should be neutral as to religion. It should not favor or disfavor one religion over another, nor should it give preferences to religious activities over nonreligious activities, or vice versa." Although the beauty of these ideas is clear – commonly to as the establishment and free exercise clauses – it is still odd, and even disturbing, that so many religiously minded Americans choose to ignore them in their self-righteous desire to shove their personal interpretations of the divine down our collective throats. (Did you read about how many Christian Scientists have been advocating a pay-for-prayer portion to be added to the current health care bill? If it wasn’t so bizarrely true, I would actually be laughing at the hilarity of it.) Feinman also goes deep into the heart of how politics is not meant to permanently interfere with our basic rights when he discusses the cases that come to the Supreme Court, as did Roe vs. Wade. "The will of a temporary majority, the sentiments of the moment, a vote in the legislature, cannot upset basic constitutional guarantees. In determining the content of those guarantees, though, the Court is not free to ignore the sentiment of the moment; the Court’s view of what rights are fundamental can be shaped by the temperament of the times as to what rights are fundamental." A carefully constructed fulcrum is established and balanced here. Feinman’s 330-page “introductory course” is top-notch. Reading it takes less than a tenth the time of actually sitting in on an 101 Law course, and without being either interrogated Socratic-style by a persistent law professor, or having to study like mad for that annoying final exam that will determine your entire grade. Now that’s a bargain.