Book review: It Is Dangerous to Be Right When the Government Is Wrong: The Case for Personal Freedom by Andrew P. Napolitano

I got this e-book because I had heard comments about from my co-workers and as a lawyer I am always looking for a novel interpretation of the Constitution. With the Occupy Wall Street movement underway, there is certainly interest in the society right now on the subject of individual rights versus corporations and government.

Let me state right away, I have no specific political opinion about this book or its author. I merely read this book out of intellectual curiosity regarding the constitutional interpretation of rights by the author.

This book is dedicated to Ron Paul, so it does have direct relevance to the ongoing debates among Republicans and I found it interesting that the author, who can be seen frequently on FoxNews, seems to clearly side with one of the potential Republican candidates.

The main subject of the book, as can be guessed from the title, is the growth of government, which may not have been intended by the drafters of the constitution. The author is clearly disturbed by what he perceives as excess government and leaves no doubt that he wants to convince the reader that the current government has grown too much and this is not a good thing. While the constitution is certainly open for discussion and there will be plenty of scholars to point out that the government is not excessively large, the author does make some good and interesting points and includes references to back up his point of view.

The book is split up into 15 chapters, each dealing with a specific issue in which the author believes government is infringing on individual rights. The topics range from the right to bear arms and the right to privacy all the way to the how the constitution may have been circumvented to permit the US to enter war.

Overall, the book makes some interesting points that the reader is free to agree or disagree with. No matter how the reader views the eventual opinion of the author regarding the growth of government, the book certainly gives enough incentives to think about the constitution and what protections it entails for the individual.

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me for free through BookSneeze.com in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are solely my own. This review does not constitute an advertisement of Booksneeze or the book itself.