Abstract
The four chapters in part one depict state constitutions as distinctive, separately identifiable legal phenomena. Williams briefly characterizes the form, content, quality, and political resonances typical to state constitutions; something of both their early pre-federal history and their later evolution; and the several constraints that federal law sets. The four chapters in part three sketch the state constitutional law of separation of powers, highlighting differences as against federal approaches. The single chapter that Williams marks as part four addresses interpretive questions, “with a specific focus on those that arise from the unique nature of state constitutions.” (P. 311.) The final two chapters address the modern history of state constitutional revision, noting the differences in approaches taken in the states that have taken the matter seriously in the twentieth century – very briefly summarizing as well the nature of judicial review of constitutional change in state courts.