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Library Journal Review

This is certainly one of the most innovative, ambitious, and useful of the scholarly publications celebrating the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution. Its nearly 300 contributors (historians, lawyers, and political scientists) have written over 2000 entries pertaining to all facets of the Constitutiondoctrinal concepts, specific judicial decisions, important people, and historical periods in American constitutional development. Entries vary in length from one paragraph to several pages; all are abundantly cross referenced to allied topics and most contain bibliographical references. Included are a glossary and three useful indexes: general, names, and cases. This richly detailed, skillfully edited, and easy to use reference set belongs in most libraries.Edward C. Dreyer, Political Science Dept., Univ. of Tulsa, Okla. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Levy (Claremont Graduate School) and his large and inclusive staff of authors (historians, political scientists, legal scholars, and practitioners) have assembled a unique and valuable reference work in the Constitution's bicentennial year. The other standout reference work to appear in conjunction with the celebration, The Founders' Constitution (CH, Apr '87), is not an encyclopedia at all, but a well-organized anthology of documents on the thought that formed the general background and clause-by-clause content of the Constitution, In more than 2,000 articles alphabetically arranged, the Encyclopedia's experts range from brief biographies and definitions to indepth treatments of constitutional doctrines and historical periods, drawing upon two centuries of history, analysis, and legal interpretation, through the 19841985 Supreme Court term. The Encyclopedia's audience is apparently intended to be broad, and for the most part its informative and scholarly articles are clearly expressed and fully accessible to the general reader. It includes plentiful cross-references, lists of suggested supplemental reading, and three very useful indexes by name, case, and subject. The general reader may not be able to use the set quite so easily as the legal expert. A reader wanting to know more about ``the right of the people to keep and bear arms,'' for instance, will get no guidance from the subject index under ``arms,'' ``self-defence,'' or ``militia,'' but will have to look under ``gun-control'' or already know where in the Constitution the right appears in order to look for the article on ``Second Amendment.'' These small difficulties aside, however, the Encyclopedia is a first-rate reference work, useful for all levels from adept secondary students through faculty.-S.J. Steinberg, Yale University

Booklist Review

``The year 1987 marks the bicentennial of the Constitutional Convention. This Encyclopedia is intended as a scholarly and patriotic enterprise to commemorate the bicentennial.'' The preface of this carefully planned and well-carried-out work continues in its description of ``the need for a single comprehensive reference work treating the subject in a multidisciplinary way.'' No other encyclopedic work exists on the subject although there are many volumes on specific aspects. In its aim at comprehensiveness, this Encyclopedia bridges history, law, and political science. The more than 2,000 articles cover concepts of American law (55 percent of the articles), people who have been influential in shaping the two-century process (15 percent), decisions (mostly of the Supreme Court) (15 percent), public acts (federal legislation and executive orders) (5 percent), and critical historical periods in the country (10 percent). Justice Frankfurter's statement that ``American history is constitutional law'' is demonstrated by the articles in this work. The preface also notes that contributors of articles were told the work would be used by high school students as well as by general adult readers and specialists. The writing style of the work is thus readable overall. Both the editor in chief and editorial board are very well known in the constitutional law field. Included on the board are a Supreme Court justice and other high-ranking judicial scholars or officials. The 262 authors include historians, political scientists, and lawyers (both practitioners and teachers). They are from 86 academic institutions throughout the U.S. and from several foreign countries. Planning for the work began in 1978, and all articles were written by 1985. Updating was accomplished where possible; thus, the nomination of Justice Rehnquist for chief justice in 1986 is noted. Other examples of currency are the death of Senator Sam Ervin in 1985, the mid-1980s federal district courts' action on the Japanese-American internment cases of World War II, and several bibliographies at the end of articles listing books from the 1980s. The work is alphabetically arranged, and the length of the articles varies from brief definitions of terms to 6,000-word treatments of major subjects. Longer articles conclude with brief bibliographies. An alphabetical list of articles with authors noted is in volume 1, as is an alphabetical list of the authors with a note on their institutional affiliations and articles written. There are many cross-references in the bodies of the articles (printed in small capital letters) as well as at the end of articles. In some articles, even though an earlier related case or topic is noted, it is not highlighted as a cross-reference to the related article. Thus, Abortion and the Constitution and Birth Control include references to Reproductive Autonomy but not to each other. Nor does Abortion and the Constitution lead the reader to Lochner v. New York even though the former article discusses this decision. But the work succeeds in conveying an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the wisdom and complexity of the American constitutional process. Articles on Charles H. Houston (who forged the NAACP legal team that struck down laws supporting racial discrimination), obscenity (with all of its complexity), and legal issues that arose from the Vietnam War are handled with clarity and objectivity. It is truly a work in which to browse as well as to seek specific information. The case, name, and subject indexes are invaluable, and all were found accurate. The case index is 21 double-column pages. The citations include references to the legal sources. Although most are in United States Reports, the official publication of Supreme Court cases, other legal case reports are noted, e.g., Federal Reporter, second series. The name index, 9 triple-column pages, includes major and minor characters in the country's constitutional history. Presidents, Su