This week I finished:

Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840-1920, by Akhil Reed Amar: I came across Amar almost a year ago, learning about US Founders and Lincoln. By then I had finished biographies on Lincoln, Jefferson, and others, and was moving on to Madison. Here are the first videos I watched of him.

My most important message on Amar and this book: The Constitution, Declaration, people who wrote them and ratified them, and their histories are relevant today to your and my life. In particular, they are relevant to how we as a nation handle pollution and depletion, though the book doesn’t cover them. The book and Amar’s work show how to apply it to daily life where people interact with each other.

Since those first videos I’ve listened to dozens of his podcast episodes, read his book The Constitution Today, followed up his recommendations to read books by his hero Gordon Wood, and listed him in My favorite books and movies of 2025.

I met him in person twice too, hence the autographed copy of his book made out to me in this picture. Once I saw him at a New York County lawyer talk, another time at a book event for Born Equal with podcast guest James Oakes. As it turns out Born Equal just won the Lincoln Prize, which I think is the one Oakes won twice.

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EDIT: I found the event with Jim on video. In fact, you can see me in the video! (that link goes to a moment in the video where you can see me, or cue the video below to 59:57, among other times. You can see the back of my head since I sat front and center from about 57:00.)

He’s open to being a guest on the podcast, but we haven’t worked out logistics yet.

The more I learn of his views and work, the more I find relevant to today the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers, and history of the Founders, authors of constitutional amendments, the ratifiers of the documents, and the public understanding of them when ratified. I’m increasingly calling myself an originalist in the style of Douglass, Lincoln, and Amar.

Amar, Wood, Oakes, David Blight, and a few others are invigorating my passion for learning more about these documents, people, and times.

Born Equal is 625 pages, so took a while. It’s thorough for what it covers, and chooses a few things to cover—that is, it’s not comprehensive, but looks at a few people, their relationships, art, maps, and most of all laws and amendments.

Some parts about Lincoln were new to me, especially his reverence for the Founders. I knew the anti-slavery views on the Constitution that differed from William Lloyd Garrison’s, but I learned a lot new from this book.

I’m holding back from writing more detail because there were several passages I’m thinking of quoting in my upcoming book so have to reread parts. Sorry I’m selling the book short, but I recommend it, along with Amar’s podcast, many video appearances, and books.

For a thorough review, read Gordon Wood’s review in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.

And see him in person if you can.

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The Princess Bride, directed by Rob Reiner: Many people describe this movie as “perfect,” and I’m one of them. It’s a lovely story. It’s not trying to change the world or make a statement. It doesn’t prompt reflection like Groundhog Day, though I consider them similar. It’s just wonderful.

All the actors, characters, lines, scenes, composition, … etc. Everything fits. It’s fun, funny, engaging, and so on.

I presume you’ve seen it. If you haven’t, watch it. I don’t know how many times I’ve watched it. Maybe three or four. I’ll watch it again.

Since I’m watching movies in a new light since Yi Yi, A Brighter Summer Day, Tokyo Story, and those that followed, it’s hard not to try to compare Princess Bride to them, but I can’t. It’s beyond a different genre, almost a different medium.

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