Product Description

Written at a time when furious arguments were raging about the best way to govern America, The Federalist Papers had the immediate pratical aim of persuading New Yorkers to accept the newly drafted Constitution in 1787. In this they were supremely successful, but their influence also transcended contemporary debate to win them a lasting place in discussions of American political theory. Acclaimed by Thomas Jefferson as 'the best commentary on the principles of government which ever was written', The Federalist Papers make a powerful case for power-sharing between State and Federal authorities and for a Constitution that has endured largely unchanged for two hundred years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #239504 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

About the Author
Isaac Kramnick is Professor of Government at Cornell and introduced the new edition of Democracy in America for Penguin Classics.

Customer Reviews

A Political must
The Federalist Papers are a collection of writing by Madison, Hamilton and Jay, the architects of the constitution of the US, written analysing the reasons for its formation and content. This book is a must for anyone living within the US and living under the consititution. I myself don't live in the US and still find the philisophical and political concepts raised intriguing and intelligent. Anyone with an interest in the rule of the government, or in the evolution of a federal Europe, really ought to read this. The content in its self can be hard to follow, being a collection of articles to a newspaper, rather than a work intended to be read in continuous form. The concepts are also complicated and require some political knowledge before reading, reading it is occasionally hard work, but definitely worth the effort.

Every American should know passsages from this book by heart
The essential commentary on our system of government. The U.S. Constitution is a brilliantly constructed document. But for those who are unable to fully understand its simplicity, read "The Federalist Papers." It makes clear the basis for our system of government (Natural Law). It also explains why the Constitution is a document from the people telling the government what rights it has to govern rather than a government document telling the people what rights are available to them.

Government gridlock is not a bad thing according to "The Federalist Papers." The Constitution is written in such a way that the government can't easily pass laws. Remember, for every law passed, we loose some of our natural rights.

"The Federalist Papers" was written to encourage the people of the time to support a new constitution (as opposed to keeping the Articles of Confederation). However, there is not a more modern explanation of why our current system is very flawed but the most viable option of self-rule anybody has ever devised.

Good book but terrible publication
I have to say that the contents of this book is very good. The Introduction is also very informative. However the major problem I had with this particular book was the binding quality. As soon as I opened this book it fell apart in my hands. Literally when I turned a page it just fell out.