From abortion to same-sex marriage, today's most urgent political debates will hinge on this two-part question: What did the United States Constitution originally mean and who now understands its meaning best? Rakove chronicles the Constitution from inception to ratification and, in doing so, traces its complex weave of ideology and interest, showing how this document has meant different things at different times to different groups of Americans.

JACK RAKOVE, the William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies and a professor of political science at Stanford University, is one the most distinguished historians of the early American republic. He is the author of, among other books, "Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution, " which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1997. He frequently writes op-ed articles for the "New York Times, " the "Washington Post, " and other major newspapers. He has been an expert witness in Indian land claims litigation and has testified in Congress on impeachment.