ORIGINAL MEANINGS - POLITICS AND IDEAS IN THE MAKING OF THE CONSTITUTION - RAKOVE,JN

Jack Rakove's Pulitzer prizewinning book Original Meanings will likely change the terms of the constitutional interpretation debate. As Judg e Kozinski and Mr. Susman explain, Rakove's book offers a number of in teresting insights into raging constitutional disputes, In particular although Original Meanings provides some support for advocates of non- Article V constitutional change, such as Professors Bruce Ackerman and Akhil Amar, it cautions against the use of informal procedures. Moreo ver, Original Meanings presents an intriguing account of the ratificat ion procedure, focusing on its all-or-nothing character. Kozinski and Susman argue that this account sounds the death knell for the strict o riginalist position. Finally, Original Meanings also illustrates the p otential to hijack various interpretative methods for purely political purposes.