A breath of fresh air! After being subjected to “Constitutional experts” in the media for the past few years, delving into this was a welcome respite. The amount of knowledge and genuine insights found in this book was impressive.
I’m a retired educator and for 20 years somehow found myself teaching US Govt. to adult and secondary students. Aside from having to brush up on my own knowledge of civics at the outset, one stumbling block one faces is always how best to present course material. How does one make the topics accessible and relevant to students?
The approach the author devised in this book, utilizing Augustus Treatise and his unlikely election as POTUS, is a very effective format. It enables the reader to consider firsthand the vast range of problems faced by our government through the years and then the novel solutions Augustus attempts. In this way, I thought this book to be a wonderful example of the “show not tell” maxim.
The assessment and methods Augustus uses to find solutions as the Chief Executive and “right the ship” are based on common sense — to such an extent, one has to wonder about the insane alternatives that have somehow prevailed. For me, this mindset was reminiscent of reading Mark Twain’s observations.
In this overall question of “how are men to be governed,” the author gives a detailed history behind many issues as part of examining how to go forward. Another lesson in how it helps to probe the past and how we arrived here. In addition, many problems in government were brought to my attention that had simply never occurred to me.
The book also has sprinkled throughout a nice amount of comic relief in the way of anecdotal details and even a hilarious illustration of political correctness carried to the extreme and its devastating effect on card games.
Overall, a refreshing lesson on several levels. Highly recommended!
