An Open Letter to Professors Paulsen and Powell

Abstract

A book is an open invitation to a conversation between an author and his (or her) readers, and I am delighted that you both have accepted the invitation that I sought to extend in America's Constitution: A Biography. I recall many face-to-face conversations with each of you when we were all students together at the Yale Law School in the early 198Os. I learned a great deal from you at that time; I have continued to learn a great deal from you in print since then - indeed, you are both repeatedly cited with approval in my book; and I look forward to learning more from each of you in the days to come as the conversation that we have begun in this Journal ripens into what I hope will be additional, more informal, discussions among us.