A Life for Liberty

Law professors with a strong commitment to liberty and the Constitution are all too rare. That’s right, I said it. Randy Barnett has walked the walk as well as talked the talk. In this book, he shows how it’s done. He developed the theory of constitutional originalism, devised the constitutional challenge to Obamacare, proposed a constitutional amendment to limit federal power, and fought hard to get originalist justices on the Supreme Court. This is the life story of a great American. —Mark Levin, author of Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto I admire contrarians, being a card-carrying one myself. But Randy Barnett is in a category by himself. His pioneering contrarianism made it acceptable to believe that the Court should side with liberty against encroachments by both state and federal government. Barnett’s autobiography is a must read. —Rand Paul, US Senator (R-KY), author of The Case Against Socialism This memoir is an inspiration to all who would wish liberty well, and, more than well wishing, a model for how to live a life of significance in that effort. It is a coherent, indeed compelling, life story because it has been in pursuit of a noble goal: The protection of liberty where it exists and its expansion wherever possible. —Hugh Hewitt, author of The Happiest Life Fittingly, Randy Barnett, an American original, has produced a book unlike any other. It is a nourishing literary three-deck club sandwich, elegantly blending autobiography, a guide to today’s arguments surrounding jurisprudential originalism, and a participant’s story of how some recent constitutional history was made. Delicious. —George F. Will, author of The Conservative Sensibility A highly personal and penetrating account of the making of one of the nation’s most powerful voices. At a time of rising intolerance on our college campuses, Randy Barnett has remained unbowed and undeterred.  His remarkable journey from a kid raised in Calumet City outside of Chicago to a world-renowned educator and litigator provides a model for young lawyers. It shows how it is possible to overcome personal and professional obstacles in finding your own voice in our profession. —Jonathan Turley, author of The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage The tale of Randy Barnett's colorful career offers vital insight into nearly every major legal drama in recent memory. It's one thing to be a brilliant legal mind, but Barnett is also one heck of a storyteller. — Mollie Hemmingway, Fox News Contributor