By Stephen Breyer -- This book, by Justice Stephen Breyer, defines the term active liberty as a sharing of the nations sovereign authority with its citizens. Regarding the Constitution as a guide for the application of basic American principles to a living and changing society rather than as an arsenal of rigid legal means for binding and restricting it, he argues that the genius of the Constitution rests not in any static meaning it might have had in a world that is dead and gone, but in the adaptability of its great principles to cope with current problems. He also insists that the people, through participation in community life, can and must develop the experience necessary to govern their own affairs. With a fine appreciation for complexity, Breyer reminds all Americans that Congress, rather than the courts, is the place to resolve policy disputes. Hardcover.