Impeaching the President: Past, Present, and Future

Description

"Impeaching the President is lucid, balanced, and deeply informed. Anyone in search of a reasoned guide to the unreason of our current situation should read it."-Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction "Ousting a president is a complicated and uncertain endeavor, according to this perceptive study of impeachments. . . . [This book] shrewdly assesses the impeachability of President Trump based on his alleged offenses . ... Hirsch's lucid prose and careful analysis make the book a fine corrective to cavalier popular rhetoric surrounding discussions of impeachment."- Publishers Weekly "A masterpiece for the masses."-Ralph Nader "Amid the partisan passion, an illuminating primer of analysis and context lowers the temperature on this hot-button issue. . . . A cogent analysis that builds a common-sense case for proceeding with caution and against using impeachment as a partisan weapon."-Kirkus Reviews " The reader gets a hearty mix of American history, political intrigue, and constitutional law, all adhered with Hirsch's amazing writing. He captures the political chaos surrounding each prior case, yanking the reader out of our present exceptionalism to see the evolution of impeachment with the proper context and clarity. Can't recommend it enough."-Travis Cohen, Brookline Booksmith, MA "In an era when the notion of impeachment is tossed around as the ultimate political indictment, Alan Hirsch guides us with a steady hand through our own history to consider the three presidents who faced that ultimate punishment. This is a sober, precise, and carefully argued analysis that should be read by every member of Congress-and every president."-David K. Shipler, former reporter for the New York Times and Pulitzer Prize recipient "Alan Hirsch brings clarity, wisdom, and wit to a contentious and critical subject. Impeaching the President is must reading for all concerned citizens."-Howard Shapiro, former FBI General Counsel "Incredibly readable, well-researched, analytically sound and important."-Alan B. Morrison, Associate Dean for Public Interest & Public Service at the George Washington Law School Donald J. Trump is only the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. Constitutional scholar Alan Hirsch offers clear and to-the-point guidance for all matters relating to removing a sitting president, including: the Founders' vision for checking presidential power; the impeachment stories of presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton; wrongdoing in the Trump administration; and the availability of the 25th Amendment and presidential self-pardon. Illustrated throughout with historical engravings, photographs, and other impeachment documentation, this concise, timely, and accessible analysis offers an invaluable perspective on how the Constitution provides stability during times of political upheaval.

Alan Hirsch received his BA from Amherst College and JD from Yale Law School. He is the chair of the Justice and Law Studies program at Williams College. Alan has authored several books, including For The People: What the Constitution Really Says About Your Rights (Free Press) (coauthored with Akhil Amar) and A Citizen's Guide to Impeachment (Basic Books), The Duke of Wellington, Kidnapped! (Counterpoint). His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, Newsday among many other places.

"As the producer of 'The Forum' in San Francisco, which strives to foster civil conversation on complex issues, I couldn't have asked for a more mature, sophisticated, and fair look at impeachment, as Alan Hirsch provides in Impeaching the President: Past, Present, and Future. I can't tell you how reassuring it is to find an adult voice on this issue, calmly and clearly breaking through all of the current bombast and posturing. Everyone who is concerned about the governance of our country should read this book."--Rebecca Nestle, Director of Cultural Programs, Grace Cathedral Praise for For The People: What the Constitution Really Says About Your Rights (co-authored with Akhil Amar) "A fascinating conversation over the future of our Constitution and our Bill of Rights."-Legal Times "Consistent and contentious throughout, Amar and Hirsch offer an analysis that should threaten both liberals and conservatives with a commitment to popular sovereignty both like to avoid."-Kirkus Reviews "A healthy challenge to conventional wisdom, with significant implications for public policy."-Booklist "Amar and Hirsch believe in the people . . . and they devote the most valuable part of their book to some useful reassurance against some of the boogeymen with which populism is often discredited."-New York Times THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON KIDNAPPED: THE ART THEFT THAT SHOCKED A NATION (Counterpoint, 2016) "[An] entertaining narrative ... This gripping story of a hapless art thief, a prized work of art, and the workings of the British justice system makes for an intriguing addition to the annals of modern art history."-Booklist "This colorful true-crime story makes a zany whodunit out of an art heist . . . Hirsch writes [the] opening chapters like a finely tuned suspense thriller . . . His description of [the] amusing trial is the stuff of an Ealing Studios comic crime caper. The book's surprise ending perfectly caps this story."-Publishers Weekly The Beauty of Short Hops: How Chance and Circumstance Confound the Moneyball Approach to Baseball (McFarland, 2011) (coauthored with Sheldon Hirsch) "Engagingly written . . . highly recommended."-Library Journal "Punctures gaping holes in Moneyball."-The Atlantic "Terrific."-Murray Chass, J.G. Taylor Spink Award-winning sportswriter "With careful and detailed research, the Messyrs Hirsch take apart Moneyball myths and provide accessible and balanced bases for analyzing our great game."-Fay Vincent, Commissioner of baseball, 1989-1992 "A beauty of a book. . . . Demolishes the Sabermetric myth."-LibraryThing "A thoughtful, spunky counterpoint of a book, sure to be panned by true believers."-Spitball "Thankfully, the Hirsch brothers provide the first sensible rebuttal to the Moneyball approach. The authors pick apart Michael Lewis's arguments with relish."-FrumForum For The People: What the Constitution Really Says About Your Rights (co-authored with Akhil Amar) (Free Press, 1998) "A fascinating conversation over the future of our Constitution and our Bill of Rights."-Legal Times "Amar and Hirsch believe in the people . . . and they devote the most valuable part of their book to some useful reassurance against some of the boogeymen with which populism is often discredited."-New York Times "Consistent and contentious throughout, Amar and Hirsch offer an analysis that should threaten both liberals and conservatives with a commitment to popular sovereignty both like to avoid."-Kirkus "A healthy challenge to conventional wisdom, with significant implications for public policy."-Booklist "Most readers should have no difficulty following the well-presented arguments. After reading it, one should feel that 'the Constitution is a rich tapestry weaving together the ideas of citizenship and self-government.'"-Tampa Tribune "An important, fresh look at one of the most important documents ever created."-San Antonio Express-News "Should stir lively debate, and the country needs that."-Indianapolis Star Talking Heads: Political Talk Shows and their Star Pundits (St. Martin's 1991) "This argument in favor of more thoughtful and wide-ranging on-air analysis is a model of its kind."-Publisher's Weekly "A devastating critique of political roundtables."-Atlanta Constitution "A useful and provocative book."-Washington Post's Book World "Alan Hirsch skillfully critiques these programs and laments the demise of reasoned debate about important topics." -Dallas Morning News "He has described and analyzed and criticized the program formats and their gabby stars and their influence on democracy . . . in a clear and fair and thoughtful manner."-Baltimore City Paper