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A review by meganmreads
Me the People: One Man's Selfless Quest to Rewrite the Constitution of the United States of America by Kevin Bleyer
3.0
I won this book via Goodreads First Reads giveaway program.
When I first saw this book listed on Goodreads, I was curious. After all, most Americans love the Constitution (well the ones who know what it says, anyway). It’s the oldest constitution around, which is something to be proud of. So how can there be room for improvement?
What I didn’t know until receiving this in the mail was that Bleyer is a writer for The Daily Show. With that being said, this book was fun, funny, educational, and entertaining, so it does not disappoint. It wasn’t really scholarly or critical (which is the fun part). Bleyer didn’t necessarily rewrite the Constitution. He just kind of used the foundation and remodeled it, like you would with a house. When you’re done, it’s still the same house, only better. He didn’t knock it down and build a new one. I suppose Rewrite should be changed to Edit in the title.
I loved the backstory about the Founding Fathers and their quest to write our Constitution. I loved the insight into their characters and motives (and drinking habits). Instead of being a boring swipe with red ink on the document, this book was interesting and written in a way that makes history fun. My advice to other readers is NOT to skip parts. Because you’ll be off telling your buddy some story about George Washington being a British spy without realizing in the next paragraph, Bleyer sets the record straight. He introduces outrageous rumors only to knock them down after we’re thoroughly shocked and entertained by them. How clever. So if anyone you know comes at your with hysterical stories about the Founding Fathers, you can deduce quickly that they are skimmers and not readers. =)
This book satisfied my curiosity and was enjoyable and I’d certainly recommend it to others looking for a fun, but still thought provoking book. However, I would not recommend this to scholarly people looking for a truly deep analysis of what may be wrong with the Constitution. Because of this, my rating was reduced to a 3. It’s fun, sure, and it’s even educational. But I can’t take it seriously and the nerd in me wanted a book that was a bit more serious. If there are indeed problems, it’s a serious matter to both address and fix them. Some of Bleyer’s changes were serious, others… not so much.
If you are curious about what one man, especially a humorous one, might do to improve our Constitution, definitely read this book. You’ll enjoy this. Well, unless you love Rhode Island or Nebraska. In that case, you may be offended!
Overall, this book is a fun way to think about our system of government and learn a little something about the people that created it.
http://meganm922.blogspot.com/2012/04/me-people-one-mans-selfless-quest-to.html
When I first saw this book listed on Goodreads, I was curious. After all, most Americans love the Constitution (well the ones who know what it says, anyway). It’s the oldest constitution around, which is something to be proud of. So how can there be room for improvement?
What I didn’t know until receiving this in the mail was that Bleyer is a writer for The Daily Show. With that being said, this book was fun, funny, educational, and entertaining, so it does not disappoint. It wasn’t really scholarly or critical (which is the fun part). Bleyer didn’t necessarily rewrite the Constitution. He just kind of used the foundation and remodeled it, like you would with a house. When you’re done, it’s still the same house, only better. He didn’t knock it down and build a new one. I suppose Rewrite should be changed to Edit in the title.
I loved the backstory about the Founding Fathers and their quest to write our Constitution. I loved the insight into their characters and motives (and drinking habits). Instead of being a boring swipe with red ink on the document, this book was interesting and written in a way that makes history fun. My advice to other readers is NOT to skip parts. Because you’ll be off telling your buddy some story about George Washington being a British spy without realizing in the next paragraph, Bleyer sets the record straight. He introduces outrageous rumors only to knock them down after we’re thoroughly shocked and entertained by them. How clever. So if anyone you know comes at your with hysterical stories about the Founding Fathers, you can deduce quickly that they are skimmers and not readers. =)
This book satisfied my curiosity and was enjoyable and I’d certainly recommend it to others looking for a fun, but still thought provoking book. However, I would not recommend this to scholarly people looking for a truly deep analysis of what may be wrong with the Constitution. Because of this, my rating was reduced to a 3. It’s fun, sure, and it’s even educational. But I can’t take it seriously and the nerd in me wanted a book that was a bit more serious. If there are indeed problems, it’s a serious matter to both address and fix them. Some of Bleyer’s changes were serious, others… not so much.
If you are curious about what one man, especially a humorous one, might do to improve our Constitution, definitely read this book. You’ll enjoy this. Well, unless you love Rhode Island or Nebraska. In that case, you may be offended!
Overall, this book is a fun way to think about our system of government and learn a little something about the people that created it.
http://meganm922.blogspot.com/2012/04/me-people-one-mans-selfless-quest-to.html