Amending America: How The...

Though the title may sound frivolous, this is a sober, straightforward history of the process of amending the Constitution, augmented by analysis from Bernstein, coauthor of Are We to Be a Nation?: The Making of the Constitution. Bernstein is an able, anecdotal guide to the debates and conflicts over each amendment. He addresses the unsuccessful efforts by states to enact the Equal Rights Amendment and discusses the amendments concerning the flag and the English language that were rejected by Congress. He reflects on how amendments have changed the presidency and judiciary, and, thus, the nature of government. Though his chapter on proposals to rewrite the Constitution seems sketchy, Bernstein, prompted by the 1992 passage of an obscure amendment (about the timing of legislators' salary increases) proposed in 1789, intriguingly explores how several unresolved issues ``haunt the Constitution's amending process.'' Coauthor Agel has collaborated with authors Carl Sagan and Marshall McLuhan, among others. (Mar.)